The Signalman is a 1976 BBC television adaptation of "The Signal-Man", an 1866 short story by Charles Dickens. The story was adapted by Andrew Davies as the BBC's sixth A Ghost Story for Christmas, with Denholm Elliott starring as the signalman and Bernard Lloyd as the traveller, an unnamed character who acts as a plot device in place of the short story's narrator.
It was the first episode of the series not to be an adaptation of an M. R. James story, and the last adaptation of an existing story. The production was directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and filmed on the Severn Valley Railway.
Plot summary
A man (referred to as "The Traveller" in the cast list) observes the solitary figure of a signalman standing by the track in a railway cutting. Shielding his face from the sun with one arm, the Traveller waves and greets the Signalman. However, the Signalman seems fearful and makes no attempt to speak to the Traveller. Observing the man's demeanour, the Traveller notes that the Signalman appears to be afraid of him. Having been reassured that there is nothing to fear, the Signalman invites the Traveller into his lonely signal box. Seated in front of the fire, the two men talk about the Signalman's work. Although his labour consists of a dull, monotonous routine, the Signalman feels he deserves nothing better because he wasted his academic opportunities when he was young.
During their conversation, the Signalman is repeatedly distracted by an unusual, high-pitched vibration of his signal bell that only he can hear. The Traveller remarks on the bell, and the red light at the entrance to the nearby tunnel, before changing the subject to how an accident in the tunnel would be a terrible thing. The Signalman, slightly wide-eyed, tells him that a tunnel collision is the "worst to be feared". To comfort the disturbed man, the Traveller comments that he almost believes he has met a contented man at peace, because the Signalman does his duty no matter what and has no desire to be anywhere else.
The Traveller agrees to meet the Signalman the next night when he starts his shift. Holding his light so that the Traveller can find his way back up the path, the Signalman asks him not to call out. At the inn later that night, the Traveller hears the faint sounds of a passing train before retiring to bed, and in his sleep, dreams of the Signalman telling him not to call out and, even though he could not hear it at the time, of the bell making its vibrating ring, bathed in the red light of the signal at the tunnel entrance.
The next evening, as the fog settles in, the Traveller finds the Signalman waiting for him. The Signalman reveals the reason for his initial fear; the Traveller's waving action and words mimic those of a ghostly spectre which rings his bell and is visible beside the red tunnel light. The spectre has appeared twice: first before a tunnel disaster, and then before a young bride fell to her death from a passing train. The Signalman explains that the spectre had returned a week before and has appeared since in fits and starts, always by the light at the tunnel and always gesturing with one arm across its face and the other waved in warning. The frustrated Signalman says that he has no rest or peace because of it, and that it calls out to him with an agonised shout of, "Below There, Look Out, Look Out!", as well as waving and ringing the signal box bell.
The Signalman notes his dilemma; if he was to telegraph "danger" he would not be able to give any reason why and would surely be displaced or fired, so he feels powerless to prevent a possible calamity. The Traveller tries to reassure him by telling him that there is nothing the Signalman can do but discharge his duty, and he must remain calm. The Signalman thanks the Traveller for his advice and they agree to meet again.
After a troubled sleep, the Traveller goes to meet the Signalman the following morning, but as he nears the cutting a train approaches through the tunnel and the Traveller realises he can hear the bell ringing. Running towards the scene, he attempts to warn the Signalman, who is standing transfixed on the rail line beside the red light at the tunnel entrance. As the spectre reappears, the Signalman is struck by the oncoming train.