Schalcken the Painter

There's no point repeating what other viewers have said - this is one of the great lost classics of BBC television.A stunning piece of work, and the climactic scene is both erotic and horrific.

It may not originally have been "A Ghost Story for Christmas", but I'm sure it was shown in that slot at some point in the 80s.

There was a companion piece made in 1987 - again with Charles Gray as narrator - this time based on an incident the life of Italian painter Cariani. It was called Cariani and the Courtesans, and starred a pre-Withnail Paul McGann.

It lacks the atmosphere or the horror of the earlier piece, but it's worth a look if the chance ever presents itself.

In 1665 Leiden, Dutch art is renowned the world over as budding artist Godfried Schalcken(Jeremy Clyde) takes up a students role under the tutorship of esteemed artist Gerrit Dou(Maurice Denham), himself a student of Rembrandt van Rijn. Schalcken's days are spent in Dou's home, painting in oils the content of classical heritage that Dou presents before him. Here in Dou's home and without his knowledge, Schalcken falls for Dou's niece, Rose Velderkaust, but they both know that their relationship may never blossom as Schalcken has no income and could not possibly take care of her and as such Dou's consent is unlikely. One evening a tall and sickly pale man calls on Dou's home, there he briefly introduces himself to Schalcken as a Mr Vanderhausen of Rotterdam and tells him he will call the following night to seek a meeting with his master Gerrit Dou. Vanderhausen duly arrives the following night carrying a casket, he requests Dou to get the contents valued by a goldsmith straight away, so that their business can be done without haste. While Schalcken is gone, Vanderhausen immediately gets down to business, he tells Dou that he once saw his niece in a church in Rotterdam and that he has now come to ask for her hand in marriage, he demands his signature to his consent that same night and will not give Dou any time to decide, he must decide immediately, in return he gets the contents of the casket. When Schalcken returns with the valuation, Dou can't but be impressed and despite his love for Rose, greed overtakes him and he acquiesces and signs the papers. Rose in naturally none too impressed when she meets the deathly Vanderhausen and pleads with Schalcken to elope with her, he again states his love for her, but again claims his poverty prevents him from doing so, but he pledges that when he is wealthy he will buy her back at twice the price. Rose departs with her new fiancé and is not seen again. Schalcken agrees to go to Rotterdam to find her and check on her health, he tracks her movements to that same church in Rotterdam, where he learns from a local carriage driver that brought them there that night, that the odd couple had entered the church but had never came out and when he had searched the church, had found nobody. Schalcken returns with the bad news and from here on settles himself back into his work.

Many years pass and Schalcken is now as famous as his mentor, he still works with the now elderly Dou, who despite his wealth can't help but feel cheated on the deal, never quite getting over her loss. Suddenly one night, a ravished Rose appears back home, in fear and crying that "The Dead and the living can never be one" and pleading not to be left alone and calling for a Man of God to be dispatched to save her soul, but who or what has put her in this distress?

So who was Godfried Schalcken? Well he was a real painter of modest renown, he painted in oils in the style of the time, his work reminiscent to the untrained eye (my own included) as mimicking that of Vermeer, Rembrandt and his Mentor Dou. At some point his work altered, the content of his work not mirroring his perceived life, what was it that altered his thinking, is this period reflective of some radical event in his life? His work it is claimed lacked any human intimacy, the figures within usually caught up in some kind of monetary transaction and usually lit by candlelight as if something dark is lurking in the darker corners of his work. This Omnibus adaptation is of Sheridan le Fanu's short story The Strange Event in the life of Schalcken the Painter. based on tales told to him by an acquaintance of his, one Captain Vandael, or so the story goes. Needless to say the reasons for his altered work style, are given some elaboration within the film, suffice to say that it involves tragedy and a supernatural experience, to say more could spoil someone's viewing. The events contained within are not clearly defined however and the viewer is given plenty of leeway to come up with their own ideas as to who for instance Vanderhausen was, a man or monster? was he in fact alive or dead? Looking at the work of Schalcken, one can see why le Fanu was immediately struck by his work and why he decided to write this story based on real events. There is so little light and so much shade and utter darkness in his work, the darker corners of his paintings only giving the merest hints at what menace lurks there, that his work just shouts out to be discussed and what better place to do it, than in a ghost story. As this was part of the Omnibus series, that also spawned Whistle and I'll come to you, it isn't a straight forward drama, its more a docu-drama, which is superbly narrated by the wonderful Charles Gray, its also a fine period drama, that seems to capture plenty of culture and atmosphere of the time. Visually it mirrors the artistic works of the time, with each frame seeming like a living moving painting, obviously as a TV production, there are budgetary constraints that limit just how authentic it can be and given these factors director and writer Leslie Megahey does a fine job of recreating that mood. You might be asking, so where's the Horror? well, its true that there isn't a whole lot going on, the horror is for the most part implied, we the viewer are given some facts and are asked to fill in the gaps and as such we might all have differing views on what went on, but it's a damn good drama/ghost story that's finely acted by all concerned.

Only the BBC has the ability to outdo great writers, and even then, only rarely (Ashenden was one example, Jeeves and Wooster another). Here is one of the best examples: a classic BBC TV play adapted from J. Sheridan LeFanu's chilling short story of the same name.

The atmosphere of this TV film is incredibly disturbing, and the cast and crew all do a brilliant job to recreate one of the most chilling stories of gothic literature. Godfried Schalcken was a real painter who studied under Gerrit Dou in Leiden (Holland). Schalcken painted figures lit by candlelight, and his paintings are quite atmospheric. It is this dark atmosphere which suffuses LeFanu's work and this TV play. After seeing the movie, I took a trip to Europe, and had the chance to see some of the original paintings. They are brilliant in their depiction of light, shadow, and darkly captivating mood.

The TV play is a kind of allegory and a mystery, in which a young maiden (a rare appearance by the lovely and talented Cheryl Kennedy) is married off to a mysterious suitor and disappears. It falls to Schalcken (played brilliantly by Jeremy Clyde), who had used the girl as a model, to investigate. The horror that he uncovers haunts him (and his subsequent artworks) forever.

Unfortunately, like many late-night TV plays that were prevented from making it to VHS by a reactionary '70s era British VHS censorship debacle (the play features a very brief frontal nude scene, performed quite eerily by Cheryl Kennedy), this TV classic is now apparently lost. It has not been seen on TV for over a decade (as far as I'm aware), and like many '70s BBC masterpieces, seems destined to spend decades completely forgotten in some film vault. We can only hope that someone at the BBC will eventually find it and get the powers that be to release it on DVD or VHS. Hopefully soon!

The young lover of a student artist in 17th century Holland is spirited away in marriage by her guardian to a grim, wealthy suitor. Years pass, and the student becomes successful, but then he finds her again ...

A strange, cold story, with a fabulously eerie climax. Shot with all eyes on recreating the image of Dutch interiors, still lifes and portraits from the era, and very spare with the dialogue. I did feel the lovers' relationship should have been given more substance, but the performances are excellent, and the psychology of the protagonist is deep and not easy to understand. The outstanding theme is the treatment of women as objects, but the message is complex and rounded out with inevitable terror as life's betrayals and compromises accumulate.

Pace is a little slow and solemn. Music is harpsichord, sometimes contrasting in mood with what's on screen.

Overall, very interesting and the scene in the vault is a good 'un.

Nicely-handled period ghost story (by the renowned Irish author J. Sheridan LeFanu, of "Carmilla" fame) that is somewhat lengthy at 70 minutes; its backdrop of classical Dutch painting is, however, admirably evoked throughout in the subdued and tasteful quality of the photography that also extends to the occasional nudity on display which, given the subject matter, was inevitable. The two notable names within the cast each play principal roles: Maurice Denham – from NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1957) – as Schalcken's mentor and John Justin – from the definitive 1940 version of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD – as the mysterious and wizened rich visitor who barters with the former for the hand of his niece (who is secretly in love with the titular figure). Incidentally, both painters truly existed and, apparently, the story was concocted as a means of explaining the sudden change in Schalcken's style of painting and especially the 'story' behind one particular canvas in which he depicts himself defending the honor of his beloved and about to strike at something vaguely visible with a sword!