Number 13 (2006 film)

2006 TV series or program

Number 13

Title screen

Based on| "Number 13"
by M. R. James
Written by| Justin Hopper
Directed by| Pier Wilkie
Starring|

*     * Greg Wise as Mr Anderson
* Paul Freeman as Harrington
* David Burke as Gunton
* Tom Burke as Jenkins
* Charlotte Comer as Alice Goddard
* Anton Saunders as Hotel Porter

Production
Producer| Richard Fell
Running time| 40 minutes
Original release
Release| 22 December 2006 (2006-12-22)

Number 13 is a short film which is part of the British supernatural anthology series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Justin Hopper, produced by Richard Fell, and directed by Pier Wilkie, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first Broadcast on BBC Four on 22 December 2006.[1][2]

It stars Greg Wise as Prof. Anderson, an academic who, whilst assigned to authenticate papers which appear to date back to the Reformation, stays in room 12 of a drafty hotel which has no room 13 in a small English cathedral town. When he awakes one night to discover that the door to room 13 has mysteriously appeared, he decides to investigate, with fearful consequences.

## Cast

[edit]

* Greg Wise as Mr Anderson
* Paul Freeman as Harrington
* David Burke as Gunton
* Tom Burke as Jenkins
* Charlotte Comer as Alice Goddard
* Anton Saunders as Hotel Porter

## Production

[edit]

Director Pier Wilkie had produced the previous year's "A View from a Hill". David Burke, who had appeared in that instalment, also appeared in "Number 13", this time alongside his son Tom Burke.

It was the last episode to originally air on BBC Four until "The Dead Room" (2018).

## Home video

[edit]

"Number 13" was first released on DVD in Australia in 2011 by Shock Entertainment as part of the box set The Complete Ghost Stories of M. R. James.[3]

In 2012, to mark the 150th anniversary of James' birth, "Number 13" was released on DVD by the BFI alongside "A View from a Hill" (2005) in the same release, and the entire run of A Ghost Story for Christmas from 1971-2010 was released in a DVD box set, which was updated the following year to include additional material.[4][5]

In 2023 it was released on Blu-ray by the BFI alongside "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" (1974) "The Ash Tree" (1975), "The Signalman" (1976), "Stigma" (1977), "The Ice House" (1978), and "A View from a Hill" as Ghost Stories for Christmas - Volume 2.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Warren, Adrian (18 November 2012). "The Resurrection of 'BBC Ghost Stories: 'A View From a Hill' and 'Number 13'". PopMatters.
2. ^ Knott, John (7 November 2012). "DVD Review: BBC Ghost Stories - Vol. 5". Starburst.
3. ^ "Ghost Story for Christmas (A) AKA Ghost Stories for Christmas (TV) (1968-2022)". Rewind. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
4. ^ BFI press release Archived 11 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 2012-5-18
5. ^ BFI releases, retrieved 2014-1-21
6. ^ "Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1". BFI. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* "Number 13" at IMDb
* Ghost Stories for 2007 at bbc.co.uk.

* v
* t
* e

A Ghost Story for Christmas

* The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
* A Warning to the Curious (1972)
* Lost Hearts (1973)
* The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)
* The Ash Tree (1975)
* The Signalman (1976)
* Stigma (1977)
* The Ice House (1978)
* A View from a Hill (2005)
* Number 13 (2006)
* Whistle and I'll Come to You (2010)
* The Tractate Middoth (2013)
* The Dead Room (2018)
* Martin's Close (2019)
* The Mezzotint (2021)
* Count Magnus (2022)
* Lot No. 249 (2023)
* Woman of Stone (2024)

Related|

* Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968)
* The Stone Tape (1972)
* Schalcken the Painter (1979)
* Crooked House (2008)
* The Turn of the Screw (2009)

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