Christopher Lee IS (or was) M. R. James

While he bears little resemblance to the author, I hope nobody can fault Mr Lee's reading. This is an abridged version of Monty James' darkest tale, and the only 'classic' he wrote after the Great War. The fate of Mr Paxton seems wildly disproportionate to his supposed offence - indeed, if you follow the story it seems as if he is lured to his doom. But that's part of the appeal of MRJ's stories; their refusal to quite make sense, the triumph of imagery and incident over plot logic. Well, that's what I think.