The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)

Directed by: Lawrence Gordon Clark | 38 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Michael Bryant, Peggy Aitchison, Virginia Balfour, Anne Blake, Sheila Dunn, John Herrington, Paul Lavers, Frank Mills

This ‘The Treasure of Abbot Thomas’ is part of the BBC’s ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ series, made for television in the 1970s. In this episode, the aristocratic Peter Dattering enlists the help of the Reverend Justin Somerton in the quest for a long-buried treasure. During the quest, Dattering and Somerton uncover numerous clues left by the cleric Abbot Thomas. The pair make good use of their knowledge of the Bible and the Latin language. Because of the ingenious finds they make, the treasure hunt is also interesting and fascinatingly designed, but it is also striking that it takes up too much of the story. That is why this part of the series can be regarded as a combination of a ghost and detective story. Fun for those who love detective stories, but for those who don’t like this, Dattering and Somerton’s quest can be too long-winded.

More striking about this episode, however, is that, again with the ‘Ghost Story’ naming in mind, the ghostly oriented developments are pushed into the background. There are some telling events during the scavenger hunt—indistinct sounds, shadows slipping away—that indicate that Dattering and Somerton are being followed on their quest, but the extent is limited. This time, director Clark puts the detective work first in such a way that he allows too long, both in terms of number and design, too little appealing ghost-oriented events. In any case, not enough to achieve an oppressive atmosphere such as is present in other and more striking parts of this series. At a later stage, in terms of ghostliness, this episode comes into its own. In combination with the necessary shock effects, a dark atmosphere is present here to a certain extent. However, this comes about too late and not enough to elevate this episode into one of the more memorable in the series.

This is partly due to the lack of fear of the main characters. Somerset, after a revealing confrontation, has considerable nerves in the last part of the story, but this too happens too late, too suddenly and in too small a degree for it to come across as truly horrifying. This would have been possible if, despite the perhaps short playing time, the admittedly amusing but little or irrelevant first part of the story had been omitted and things had been designed more gradually and more balanced in terms of ghostly. This does not mean, however, that the environment or the design of the events in it is not attractive or that they are not portrayed attractively. The cathedral with its long dimly lit corridors and rooms, the impression of desolation that the area gives by the small number of people that can be seen there, the contours of the cathedral against the full moonlit sky, the catacombs that lie under the cathedral, the wanderings that take place in it… with the correct use of light and dark and solid camera work, it in any case ensures a suitable environment, suitable enough for this story to take place. It’s just a shame that its functionality only partly comes into its own because of the snowy ghostly events.

However, there is creditable work by the various actors. Paul Lavers is nice, although his character Peter Dattering occasionally comes across as flat. Most striking is Michael Bryant as Reverend Somerton, who is overcome by greed in his quest for the treasure and who manages to show this convincingly. He also manages to correct his later anxious behavior when the consequences of his lust for riches reveal themselves to him in a not too pleasant way. And although the options for the other cast members are limited or, especially in the first part of the story, it doesn’t always seem relevant to the story, there is also solid work from their side. Still, this can’t hide the fact that this ‘The Treasure of Abbot Thomas’ clearly lacks what it needs to be considered too memorable. It repeatedly has its moments within an atmospheric environment, but in terms of the construction and retention of an oppressive atmosphere, it does not compare to the more successful parts of this series in this regard.