The Reformation of St. Jules (1949)
Author Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) casually narrates his uncanny 1937 tale. 'Audible skywriting' and its unintended consequences are the unlikely subject, effectively undercut by a surprise ending. The camera angles are eccentric, but it's a rare opportunity to see Blackwood onscreen.
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Absolutely Brilliant!
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Algernon Blackwood was one of the leading ghost story writers of the early 20th century and his writing still provokes plenty of shudders today. He blends the best of Robert Bloch and M. R. James although his style is all his own. THE REFORMATION OF ST. JULES is a filmed version of one such tale, a short that consists of him sitting in front of a roaring fire and regaling his story to viewers.This kind of 'armchair reading' has a long tradition in Britain, with JACKANORY being one of the most popular formats. Robert Powell and Christopher Lee have both done fireside readings of M. R. James stories over the years. The novelty value of seeing the cadaverous Blackwood in the flesh is enough reason to tune in, but his twist-in-the-tale story is pretty decent too and his mannerisms are very enjoyable.
I don't normally post reviews, but this had no rating or review when I watched this so I thought I best say something as it may help someone out in the future. This is a strange short film given it's one old man sat in a chair talking to the camera. He's basically telling a joke type tale akin to what you might find between two people conversing in a pub or bar. There is a slightly creepy element to it though, possible because of the unusualness of film alongside the obscure story being told. My guess is at the time there were very few films where the protagonist talked directly into the camera to the audience, so there's definitely value in this British time capsule which the BFI hold a copy of. There's no real requirement for this to be on film either, it could easily work on radio or in prose, but the director cuts up the angle fairly frequently to keep the visual interesting enough, although the fireside setting has clearly been thoroughly thought out before the first call of 'action' took place.