A Christmas Carol has been filmed in almost every decade since the 1900s. The first filming was a silent version in 1908 starring Tom Ricketts, followed by a 1910 version, which starred Charles Ogle as Scrooge. Ogle remains famous as the Frankenstein Monster in Edison’s Frankenstein. Another silent rendition appeared in 1915. Television versions appeared in 1943 with William Podmore as Scrooge; John Carradine was Scrooge in a 1947 TV drama; 1949’s version offered Vincent Price as the narrator; 1950 saw Bransby Williams in the lead; 1953 offered Joel Leslie as Ebenezer Scrooge and Melville Cooper as the Ghost of Christmas Present; in 1962 Mr. Magoo took on the famous miser in Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol; Rod Serling adapted the novel for director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1964 TV special starring Sterling Hayden, Ben Gazzara and Eva Marie Saint; Michael Hordern appeared as Scrooge in 1977; Rich Little played all the roles in his 1978 TV special; Bugs Bunny even got into the act in 1979’s Bugs Bunny’s Christmas Carol; that same year Hoyt Axton led a cast of country music all- stars in Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol; Henry Winkler riding high on his Happy Days fame starred in An American Christmas Carol. The 1980s offered a sleighful of Dickens: William Paterson starred in the 1981 adaptation; Richard Hilger lead the cast of a 1982 special; George C. Scott starred in the most respected TV version in 1984; George Jetson even had his go at it in The Jetsons’ Christmas Carol in 1985; from Britain came 1988’s Blackadder’s Christmas Carol; in 1994 a ballet version was shown on television directed by Christopher Gable; also in 1994 Fred Flintstone joined fellow animated characters Mr. Magoo, Bugs Bunny and George Jetson when he portrayed Scrooge in A Flintstones Christmas Carol; in 1998 an animated An All Dogs Christmas Carol was released on video, while the next year Patrick Stewart and Joel Grey starred in a big-budget telling of A Christmas Carol in 1999. British television offered another remake in 2000 directed by Catherine Morshead and that same year Vanessa Williams starred in A Diva’s Christmas Carol as Ebony Scrooge. We have elected to examine several of our favorite adaptations of the timeless novel.
A Christmas Carol (1938)
Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Terry Kilburn, Leo G. Carroll, Ann Rutherford
Credits: Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz; Director: Edwin L. Marin; Writer: Hugo Butler; MGM; 1938
Reginald Owen’s performance as Scrooge is in almost the same class as Alastair Sim’s portrayal in the 1951 film. The basic screenplay remains the same but in this version Bob Cratchit (Gene Lockhart) is actually fired by Scrooge on Christmas Eve for hitting the miser with a snowball while playing with a group of boys. We see Fred (Barry Mackay) and his fiancée Beth (Lynne Carver) happily singing carols during a church service where they meet Bob and Tiny Tim, and we also see them gleefully sliding on the ice. Scrooge listens with childish delight as Bob Cratchit tells his children the thrilling story of Aladdin and his lamp. After his awakening to the true spirit of Christmas, Scrooge visits a toy shop and delivers armloads of toys to the Cratchit children.
The fine cast, wonderful Franz Waxman score and Cedric Gibbons art direction make this a truly heart-warming holiday film.
A Christmas Carol (1951)
Cast: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Jack Warner, Mervyn Johns, Michael Hordern
Credits: Producer: George Minter; Director: Brian Desmond-Hurst; Writer: Noel Langley; UA; 1951
When it comes to the greatest Christmas movies of all time, producer/director’s Brian Desmond-Hurst’s 1951 production of A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim deserves to be placed right at the top of artistic contenders for several reasons: Its insightful translation of a literary classic (by Charles Dickens) for the screen, its wonderful attention to set decoration and the recreation of Dickens’ world, its stellar cast that shines from the starring roles (Sim as Scrooge, Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit) to its supporting cast (Ernest Thesiger as the Undertaker, Carol Marsh as sister Fan) and its letter-perfect manner by which it captures the Christmas spirit better than any other film ever made, period.
Primarily Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a novel that attempts to recapture the spirit of the past in the evolving industrial world of the present; interesting that Dickens’ world-gone-mad world is essentially the very same world that viewers/readers of today’s world consider the blissful past, an era itself to be recaptured. But even then, for Charles Dickens, he sensed that his world had lost its spiritual soul; and he needed to remind his contemporary age what Christmas was all about. Perhaps each generation panics as it realizes this loss of spirit by witnessing its dependency on materialism, and decides that change must come now, it’s later than we think!
First and foremost, A Christmas Carol establishes its lead character as a man of business, pragmatic and logical. As he tells the two gentleman at the movie’s beginning: “I am not in the habit of keeping Christmas, sir... Because Christmas is the habit, sir, of keeping men from doing business... and Christmas is a humbug!” In other words, anything that prevents Scrooge from 
conducting his business is a major nuisance and must be avoided.
Scrooge then enters his place of business and we see his clerk, Bob, secretly warm his hands using the candle on his desk. In the background, waiting, are two men inquiring whether Scrooge will donate money to the poor and destitute during the holiday season. Scrooge matter-of-factly, inquires, “Are there no prisons? And the union work houses, are they still in operation...? From what you said at first, I thought something had stopped them in their useful course.” A sly, arrogant smile slowly creeps onto his lips. The two men then ask Scrooge for an exact dollar commitment. And his answer is simple and to the point, “Nothing... I wish to be left alone!” He states he supports those institutions he asked about before. The two gents counter by stating that many people would rather die than allow themselves to be sentenced to such institutions. And Scrooge, insensitive and seemingly uncaring, announces, “If they would rather die, they’d better do it and decrease the surplus population. Besides, it’s not my business! It’s enough for a man to understand his own business without interfering with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly.” And such obsession about one’s work proves detrimental to Scrooge’s spirit.
To Scrooge, the making of money and living independently is the mark of a successful man. Any person who is poor or unable to work is a curse upon mankind and must be quickly removed, for a man’s very moral code and personal identity, to Scrooge, is based upon amassing money and conducting successful business dealings. Those who can compete are worthwhile and may continue, those who cannot compete are a blight and must be removed. To Scrooge, a man’s worth is based primarily upon how effectively he conducts his business-nothing more, nothing less.
Scrooge’s nephew Fred (Brian Worth) merrily enters the office, inflicting upon the somber surroundings a healthy dose of good will and enthusiasm that falls on Scrooge’s deaf ears. Fred states he is here “not to borrow money nor beg a mortgage. Simply to wish you a Merry Christmas.” Scrooge, who has never been happy with Fred’s marriage, listens as Fred states, “My marriage was the making of me!” To which Scrooge answers, “The ruin of you, you mean!” “Come and see for yourself,” Fred counters by inviting his uncle to his annual holiday party tomorrow evening, Christmas night. To which Scrooge asks, “Why did you marry against my wishes!” When Fred answers that he fell in love, Scrooge grumbles and sputters forth, “Fell in love... with a woman as penniless as yourself.” In other words, the act of matrimony is itself a business deal, and one should only marry to better one’s business position. A poor man must marry a rich or socially prominent woman; marrying for love is worthless because it cannot better one’s professional status in life.
Finally, Bob Cratchit asks his employer, Scrooge, for Christmas off, and the same round of arguments ensue year after year. Cleverly, Scrooge, before always acquiescing, casts himself as the victim, the one who is being taken advantage of by his employee. To Bob he states, “You will want the entire day off tomorrow!” And Bob always gives the same answer, “If quite convenient.” And Scrooge retorts with, “It’s not convenient-unfair, pay a day’s wages for no work!” Bob of course reminds his boss that it’s only one day per year. Then Scrooge refers to that one day as “putting one’s hands into my pockets,” creating the analogy of Bob as a pickpocket, and finally gives in: “I suppose-but be back earlier the next day.” This is an argument that Scrooge realizes he will most certainly lose, but he seems to enjoy the fear and power he wields over the totally dedicated family-man Bob and seems to enjoy this game of cat and mouse. Smiling back at Bob, who is now happy as a lark, Scrooge reminds Bob (and himself): “15 shillings a week. You’ll retire to Bedlam!”
The solitary Scrooge, settling down at the local pub for his evening meal before returning home, asks the waiter for some extra bread, to which the servant quietly mentions, more bread will cost extra. Realizing the common sense of business, he mutters back firmly, “No more bread!” Ask for no quarter, get none. But he does understand business and appreciates his own discipline of life is at work when he receives this small rejection in his request for more food at his meal. But he will not pay extra, and he accepts the fact that he will have no bread (though he could afford several loaves each night).
On his way home, Scrooge manages to scare off some innocent young carolers and the resident blind beggar and generally demonstrates that he is recognized by all as an unloved, nasty old man. And Scrooge seems most content in his clearly earned identity.
After a few minutes of sitting in his chair near the fireplace, strange sounds echo through the house, doors fly open by their own will, and the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley (Michael Hordern), the closest thing in his life to a friend, appears wearing the shackles and chains that he created for himself during a lifetime of making money. Scrooge, who is startled, quickly tries to compose himself by explaining away this supernatural insanity. Scrooge assumes Marley must be “an undigested bit of beef, a piece of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato... there’s more gravy than the grave in you.” However, when Scrooge tells Marley that his presence is nothing but a humbug, Marley rattles and wails away, literally shaking the walls, causing Scrooge to accept the inevitable: “I do, I do, I do believe!”
And Marley’s lesson, unfortunately not learned in life, is shared with Scrooge in hopes that Scrooge can change before his death condemns him to the ghostly, haunted existence of his former colleague. Marley states that the spirit of all men should walk forward among his fellow man. “If it goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death... to wander forth in death... I am doomed to wander without rest or peace.” Marley then refers to his binding chains, each link he created in his life, by his own free will, something he now regrets. To which Scrooge declares, “You were a good man of business, Jacob!” Again we hear Scrooge’s morality, that a man is to be judged as good or bad by virtue of his business sense. To which Marley then delivers the moral of the story: “Mankind was my business. Their common welfare was my business... and it is this time of year I suffer most.” The business of serving humanity vs. the business of accumulating wealth. Christmas time, the seasonal symbol of man loving his fellow man, is the season stressing the spiritual over the materialistic. Marley then tells his friend that three spirits will visit him over the course of Christmas Eve night and will offer “the chance of hope.”
Cleverly, the character of Scrooge has been firmly etched so clearly and so early in the movie. However, the appearance of the first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael Dolan), explains all the tragic situations that occurred in Scrooge’s life that molded him into the cold-hearted businessman that he has become. The purpose of this first Ghost is to make the audience’s present loathing of Scrooge fade to pity, so we can feel some compassion for the despicable old fool. Not surprisingly, Scrooge asks of the Ghost, “What is your business here with me?” Fearing that he, as mortal, will be dashed on the streets below if he steps outside his window as the spirit requests, the Ghost states, “One touch of my hand and you’d be upheld in more than this.”
Revisiting significant incidents from Scrooge’s distant and not-so-distant past, the tragedy of his life is interestingly patched together.
Visit A: his old boyhood school. There, all the other children have left for the Christmas holiday except Ebenezer, who is saved from solitary confinement by the arrival of his dear, younger sister Fan (Carol Marsh), the only person he loves and who loves him. She has come to fetch Ebenezer home to celebrate Christmas. Fan’s message is now one of reconciliation, to please come home, “that father is kinder.”
Visit B: a Christmas dance, jolly and festive. There he has warm memories of his first boss Fezziwig (Roddy Hughes), “never a kinder man.”
Visit C: Scrooge proposes marriage to the only soulmate he found in life, Alice (Rona Anderson). Alice, who also loves Scrooge, is afraid the very young man will have a change of heart, that he will come to realize that she is poor, not proud and foolish. However, as long as he remains the man he now is, she accepts his ring.
Visit D: Good-natured boss Fezziwig is offered a business buyout by shrewd Mr. Jorkins (Jack Warner), which he refuses. Fezziwig states that to him a business is “to preserve a way of life that one knew and loved.” The wizened old man claims he must remain loyal to the old ways (another theme of the story). “There’s more in life than money.”
Visit E: Scrooge’s sister Fan is near death, having just given birth to her son. In her semi-conscious state, she mumbles on about a promise. However, Ebenezer leaves the room, distraught, and fails to hear her request which he now hears for the first time: “Promise me you’ll take care of my boy.” This is the same nephew Fred that Scrooge blames for the death of his beloved sister much in the same way that his own father blamed him for the death of his mother.
Visit F: The businessman, Mr. Jorkins, who attempted to buy out Fezziwig’s business, now hires Scrooge away, blinded by the promise of more money. Here Scrooge is introduced to his friend for life Marley. Scrooge mutters, “I think the world is becoming a very hard and cruel place. One must steel oneself to survive it. Not to be crushed under with the weak and infirm.” Marley smiles and responds, “I think we have many things in common, Mr. Scrooge.”
Visit G: Fezziwig’s business sign is lowered, his way of life symbolically having passed. A young clerk who worked for Fezziwig for five shillings a week asks Mr. Scrooge for a position. He is hired for four shillings a week. But Scrooge’s avoidance of his former employer signals a sense of profound shame.
Visit H: The dissolution of Scrooge’s relationship with Alice is bitter and sparks the spiritual downfall of the formerly kind and salvageable materialist. The Ghost tells Scrooge, “She is not changed by the harshness of the world, but you are!” Alice tells Scrooge that he no longer loves her, that another idol has replaced her in his heart, a golden idol. “You fear the world too much,” she protests. Realizing that money means everything to the corrupted young businessman, she wishes him happiness in the life he has chosen.
Visit I: Mr. Jorkins, an embezzler now bankrupt, smiles at the men who are charging him with illegally squandering the business’ funds. Jorkins declares if the shareholders find out the bad news, panic will spread and “everyone loses money.” Slyly and quietly, Marley and Scrooge offer to use their private resources to return all the misspent funds, with the option of buying 51% of the shares in the business, meaning they will control the business.
Visit J: Marley, now in old age, is ready to die. Scrooge’s house servant rushes to his office to implore Scrooge to see Marley at once. Scrooge, very coldly, reminds her that it is “quarter to five” and “the business of the office is not yet finished.” He will come at seven. The servant makes a snide remark that Mr. Marley will try to hold on until then.
Luckily for all concerned, Marley is still alive at seven, even though the too-eager undertaker (Ernest Thesiger) waits quietly outside his bedroom door. Rushing in and dutifully saying the proper things to his best friend, Scrooge asks and seemingly answers his own question: “There’s nothing I can do!!!?” Pulling Scrooge’s ear near his mouth, Marley mutters “While there’s still time... Wrong, we’re wrong... Save yourself!” and then dies.
Amazingly, in such short snippets, the complex life of Scrooge has been revealed quite dramatically yet compactly by focusing upon all those pivotal events occurring throughout Scrooge’s lifetime. Interestingly, the audience sees Scrooge’s reactions to what he sees and hears, and we feel his fear and hesitation at being forced to relive painful and tragic events from his past.
Next, the Spirit of Christmas Present (Francis de Wolfe) appears in Scrooge’s bedroom, a robust and hearty man with long Santa Claus robes and a 
wild, dark beard. The Spirit laughs lustily and freely, a sense of playfulness evident in this most serious lesson.
First the Spirit of Christmas Present shows Scrooge a joyous barroom holiday party, the patrons all singing Christmas carols.
Second, Scrooge is allowed to watch the Christmas dinner and holiday treat occurring at the Bob Cratchit household. All the children are gathered, anxious to surprise their weary father. The family shares the financial bonuses of the holiday, with a holiday roast and two rounds of gin punch. And Bob is able to announce that eldest son Peter will be qualified to start a full-time job earning 4 to 5 sixpence a week, as starting salary. At the Cratchit house, there are many reasons to celebrate the holiday, and Scrooge observes the family in all its joy and happiness.
Third, Scrooge gets to observe his nephew’s Christmas party with all the love and joy evident erupting from Fred’s happy heart and home. When his wife complains of nasty Mr. Scrooge, Fred corrects her by pointing out that Uncle Scrooge “cheated himself” out of a wonderful dinner and evening of merriment.
Scrooge is next transported to the present day Alice, his neglected lost love, who now cares for the sick, the lame and the poor. Alice, who never married, seems to exude contentment as she tends to the needs of those less fortunate. And for the first time in recent memory, bombarded with visions of the woman who once stole his heart, Scrooge feels regret for allowing this wonderful woman to slip away.
Finally, becoming momentarily less cheerful, the Spirit parts his huge coat to reveal two shivering and dirty children huddled together at his feet, one a boy and one a girl. The Spirit refers to the boy’s ignorance and the girl’s want and mocks Scrooge for his earlier apathy.
The final ghost of the evening, the Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come (C. Konarski), is totally silent and wears a black shroud which completely covers his face and features. This is a vision of the Grim Reaper, a Christmas ghost who symbolizes death and displaced opportunity.
The Spirit shows the not-so-festive Cratchit household shortly after Tiny Tim’s death, the father returning home after visiting the young lad’s grave, a visit that brought him a feeling of peace.
Next Marley’s undertaker and Scrooge’s housekeeper speak of someone who died as they attempt to sell artifacts from his estate for personal profit. The audience can immediately suspect who this dead person may be.
The scene changes to a hall of businessmen, with Scrooge noticeably missing. The businessmen speak of the fact that they will only attend their colleague’s funeral if a luncheon is served.
The Spirit shows Scrooge his own grave stone in the cemetery, as Scrooge wails out and cries. “Are these the shadows of things that must be, or shadows of things that might be?” Of course, Scrooge receives no answer. “Spirit, believe me, I’m not the man I was. Why show me all this if I’m beyond all hope! Pity me. I do repent. I’m not the man I was.” As if wakened from a dream, Scrooge snaps to life on Christmas morning.
Sensing his life has been salvaged and renewed, that the potential for change lies before him, Scrooge becomes giddy, cackling and dancing like a young schoolboy across his bedroom. His housekeeper screams for her life, believing her nasty old employer has lost his senses. He increases her pay from two to 10 shillings a week. He hires a boy to purchase the prize-winning turkey to send to the Cratchits for Christmas dinner. As the day wears on, he ends up at nephew Fred’s home, apologizing to his wife (Olga Edwardes), asking, “Can you forgive a pigheaded old fool!” They dance together with gusto to the cheers of the friends and relatives in attendance.
The next morning, barely beating Bob Cratchit to the office, Scrooge pretends to be upset, as usual, with Bob’s tardiness the morning after the holiday. As Bob runs and rushes down the street to arrive as fast as he can, Scrooge, after toying with his employee, says, “I haven’t taken leave of my senses, Bob, I’ve come to them.” Scrooge then announces that Bob will receive a raise in salary, but he also wishes to help raise his family by offering financial and other assistance. As for now, he orders Bob to put more coal in the fire. “I don’t deserve to be so happy. I just can’t help it!” Scrooge mutters.
That night, Scrooge even stops to put money into the can of the same blind beggar who used to flee in fright, “And it was said, he knew how to keep Christmas well.”
A lifetime of lessons learned in one night’s sleep: damnation, fear, regret and salvation. How wonderful if each of us had the opportunity to confront our regrets and failings in life, if we had the chance to learn from our mistakes and really turn our lives around.
For Ebenezer Scrooge, the harsh realities of life that hardened him into an uncaring, bitter old man, these same realities that had frightened him so in the days of his youth, can be erased and rectified all in a night’s rest. The audience pulls for Scrooge’s vindication and spiritual renewal because we witnessed the victimized youth, a solitary boy left alone, trying to survive his childhood. We saw his goodness as a youth, but we also witnessed his corruption, turning toward the material, losing the one woman who loved him and turning to a life making money. We care for Scrooge because we knew him before he was corrupted and tarnished and we wish for his spiritual cleansing as we wish for the same within ourselves. This universal quest for spiritual renewal transcends holidays, cultures and time periods: It is simply universal, and both the novel and the movie capture this inner journey with all the passion possible.
For Alastair Sim, his characterization of Scrooge became a landmark performance in all of cinema. His character’s former ruthlessness and cruelty, echoed by his dull and cold eyes, transform to schoolboy giddiness and overwhelming joy in a performance that is as textured and as complex as any that has ever appeared on the screen. Sim becomes the definitive Scrooge, and his interpretation has never been topped.
A Christmas Carol’s success lies in the exhilaration it creates in displaying the spiritual redemption that Christmas symbolizes. Not spiritual necessarily in a religious sense, but spiritual as in rebirth of the soul and the hope of an evolution of joy to be found within the flawed human condition. No matter how many times this movie is seen, and no matter what time of year it is viewed, A Christmas Carol is a movie that simply transcends the traditional Yuletide message to create something heartfelt and emotionally moving. It remains a true classic of the movies, and it never fails to touch our collective hearts.
A Christmas Carol (1954)
Cast: Fredric March, Basil Rathbone, Ray Middleton, Bob Sweeney, Christopher Cook
Credits: Director: Ralph Levy; Writer: Maxwell Anderson; Television, 1954
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has not only been developed for the movies but also for television as well, and the 1954 CBS-Desilu TV Production, produced for the Shower of Stars TV show, starring Fredric March as Scrooge, Basil Rathbone as Marley’s Ghost, with musical score written and conducted by Bernard Herrmann, has a great deal to recommend it. Following closely to the Dickens text, this hour production does truncate the original story, but it also adds an entire musical subtext, featuring the Roger Wagner Chorale and several operatic-styled songs sung by members of the cast. The Bernard Herrmann score, a real coup for television, is wonderful when it is used to underscore the dramatic action, but far too often the ill-placed songs intrude into the story, destroying any mounting momentum.
The setting is masterfully established with the Roger Wagner Chorale singing their hearts out in the London streets at Christmas time, and a man journeys into a shop and looks through a copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As the man turns each page, the show’s credits appear. After he makes his purchase and exits the shop, he is approached by the charity solicitors asking for donations, and the book buyer gives generously. Then the two solicitors walk further down the street and enter Scrooge’s business, asking him for money with the typical negative results. Interestingly, since the drama is a period piece, it is very odd and not very logical that characters within the story itself see and purchase a copy of the very story that is being produced.
In the initial scenes at Scrooge’s office, the dialogue is fairly faithful to Dickens’ original. What is outstanding is Fredric March’s interpretation as Scrooge, wearing a frizzy white-haired wig, hair receding, and sporting a hawkish beak of a nose. March tackles Scrooge as a one-dimensional (here in these initial scenes) intense businessman who won’t allow anything to disrupt him from his work. March projects a quiet intensity and focus which helps to establish the character not so much as being evil or nasty but as being narrowly focused and self-centered. His one-note grumpy disposition and sour face are consistent. Bob Sweeney, portraying Bob Cratchit, is the least developed Cratchit of any live-action version covered in this volume. His character is so tentative as to become almost sneaky and wimpy, appearing to be afraid of his own shadow. Sweeney’s Cratchit lacks an innate sense of jolliness, missing that special love of family/mankind that allows him to overlook Scrooge’s rudeness and insensitivity. Instead, Cratchit comes off as any other disgruntled underling who loves to put down his boss, whether he has reason or not. And last, Ray Middleton’s performance as Fred is too broad and over the top. First of all, he appears too old to be Scrooge’s nephew, and every line is delivered with the actor’s artifice showing, almost as if he is posing his body whenever he delivers dialogue. He bulges and rolls his eyes, smiles too long and broadly and never seems to be a human being. Even Scrooge notes that Fred is a good speaker and “is ready for Parliament!”
In one of March’s best scenes, after Cratchit has left the office on Christmas Eve, having left the office window open to better hear the songs sung by the chorale outside, Scrooge is distracted by the music. His irritated face scowls from the office window as he comments on how the songs of Christmas even invade his own office and he slams the window shut. Yelling out in disgust the required “hum-bug, hum-bug!” Scrooge then creates a wonderful little rhyme that expresses his disposition so well, delivered in sputtering grumpiness. “Kris Kringle, old St. Hypocrite... handout for everybody... calculated lists for things to give away... where can you make a profit on Christmas day!”
The sequence with Marley’s Ghost, as portrayed by Basil Rathbone, has never been better. Most actors either overplay the role as a howling banshee or underplay the role with morbid internal quiet, almost as if the outfitted chains wear down the spirit to the point that the role is underplayed as a quiet whisper. Rathbone finds a happy medium between these extremes, and truly makes Marley his own. Wearing the necessary bandage around his head and tons of chains and shackles and iron weights, Rathbone appears as a transparent image, delivering all the familiar Dickens lines but with a quiet intensity. “I am nothing to you?” the spirit questions Scrooge. Then Marley reveals his purpose in haunting his former partner: “To undo the evil we have done, to witness happiness we cannot share... happiness that might have been... wearing chains of useless things.” In order to really communicate his message to Scrooge, during the middle of his speech, Marley reaches out his ghostly hand and places it firmly on Scrooge’s arm, at this point becoming a solid figure, no longer transparent. Thus, Rathbone is fully present when delivering his most essential lines. Picking up their ledger book, Marley speaks of the injustices done by the firm of Scrooge and Marley, “thousands of them.” Before leaving, Marley slams the same book to the floor, in utter disgust. From guilt and fear, Scrooge asks, “What can I do, speak some comfort to me!” But Marley can offer none, only the announcement about the three spirits to visit him this night. Slowly fading away, Marley’s ghost, evoking pity and shame, mutters, “Oh God, there is so little help for me... oh God!” As a follow-up to such an intense sequence, Bernard Herrmann’s score, in the form of haunting choral music similar to the score of Invaders from Mars, echoes in the background as Scrooge circles around the room staring and thinking. Here Herrmann’s music complements perfectly the dramatics and March’s acting in a production where the overuse of music generally is artistically harmful.
The Spirit of Christmas Past appears, played by the very beautiful Sally Fraser, who also portrays Scrooge’s love Belle in the Fezziwig sequence which follows (the only sequence to be shown Scrooge by the Spirit of Christmas Past). Featuring the usual party festivities, the blossoming love affair between the young Ebenezer and Belle is shown, and then, in a flash, their emotional break-up. However, the entire sequence is undermined by the duet which the lovers sing, very operatic in tone, containing the lyrics, “What shall I give my love/my girl for Christmas.” It brings the festivities down to a crawl. As the Spirit states to Scrooge, “You’ve forgotten what the world is like for children,” and after musical numbers such as this duet, Scrooge might well be better off as a nasty, lonely old man.
Even more annoying is the appearance of the Spirit of Christmas Present, aka Fred (Ray Middletown), here even more of a nuisance than he was at the beginning of the film. Scrooge, sleeping soundly in his bed, is awakened by the Spirit singing “A Merry, Merry Christmas.” Trying to steal the spotlight and over-emoting, Middleton even places mistletoe over Scrooge’s head and kisses him on the cheek. As Middleton sings on and on and on, March is left to either stare and look miserable or, worse yet, begin to melt to Middleton’s charms by cracking several large smiles and swaying to the music. In other words, after working so hard to establish a consistent, intense character, March is here undermined by being forced to respond to the music’s charms. By the song’s end, Middleton has grabbed onto March’s arms and the two of them begin to dance and spin around the room. Coming to his senses, Scrooge as disbeliever crawls into bed and pulls the covers over his head. Peeking out from under the covers, Scrooge asks, “Fred?” but Middleton now only answers to the Spirit of Christmas Present: “You don’t give many of them, do you?” the Spirit, referring to presents, asks. But Scrooge is already lost when he pleads, “If you have anything to teach me, I am ready to learn.” And the pair are transported to the Bob Cratchit family as they prepare for their Christmas dinner, each family member carrying out a specific task. Bob Cratchit continues in his nasty mode by asking the family a riddle: “Lives in London... an animal, growls (some debate here), eats everything... people, real estate.” Of course the answer is Scrooge. No toast to the Founder of the Feast here. After the Christmas tree is decorated, Bob lifts Tiny Tim to place the star on top; unfortunately, this provides an excuse for the young actor to sing a song. Asking the Spirit if Tim will live, the Spirit states: He sees an empty seat and a crutch in the corner next year, but the Spirit of Christmas Future can change this shadow. “Look inside yourself, the answer is there before you,” the Spirit cautions.
Utilizing the “look inside yourself” vision, Scrooge never encounters the grim reaper as Spirit of the Future. Instead, he finds himself wandering within a fog-shrouded graveyard and immediately comes across a tombstone bearing his name. In shock he falls to the ground and looks up and sees another tombstone bearing the name Tiny Tim. With that second shock, Scrooge awakens in his own bed on Christmas morning. From here on, the plot develops according to the novel and other film versions, becoming marred by the Christmas song that Tiny Tim sings at the Cratchit Christmas dinner where close-ups focus on Scrooge’s face as he longingly drifts into his private thoughts, smiling, being visibly moved by the lyrics. At song’s end Tim delivers his “God bless us, everyone!” line and up come the credits.
Surprisingly, this 1954 CBS television version of A Christmas Carol has a great deal to recommend: a superb performances by Fredric March and Basil Rathbone, some clever lines of dialogue, some effective use of Herrmann’s music early on, etc. However, the production is undermined by its needless, intrusive, operatic song-fest which destroys the mood rather than enhances it. And Ray Middleton’s and Bob Sweeney’s performances are either too broad or misinterpret the character as written. Until the Spirit of Christmas Past breaks into her duet, the production is outstanding, but by Christmas dinner at the Cratchits’, the film has lost both steam and enthusiasm and becomes something less than it might have been.
A Christmas Carol
Cast: George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, Edward Woodward, David Warner, Susannah York
Credits: Director: Clive Donner; Writer: Roger O. Hirson; Television, 1984
Granted, Alastair Sim’s 1951 A Christmas Carol has become the cinematic masterpiece for bringing Charles Dickens’ literary classic to the screen. However, since Dickens’ novel was very short, and since most screen adaptations use extended passages from the literary work in the screenplay, we must ask how could one movie version be better or worse than the other?
This 1984 adaptation, starring the renowned George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge and directed by Clive Donner (the film editor of the 1951 production), answers the question.
Let’s start by covering the film’s virtues. Interestingly, the film’s screenplay, again sticking closely to Dickens’ dialogue and the text from the 1951 film, does embellish certain sequences, adding a nuance of meaning. For instance, at the film’s beginning, Bob Cratchit (David Warner, looking a tad young for the role) and Scrooge (Scott) share some juicy dialogue which helps establish Scrooge’s aloof tone. Cratchit mentions the fire has grown cold and reaches for more coal. Scrooge coughs and stops his clerk dead in his tracks. “What is this?” Scrooge asks pointing to his shirt and coat. Cratchit rattles off the correct, easy answers. Then Scrooge makes his point: “These are garments, Mr. Cratchit. Garments were invented by the human race as protection against the cold. Once purchased, they may be used indefinitely for the purpose for which they were intended. Coal burns. Coal is momentary and coal is costly... There will be no more coal burnt in this office today.”
Another interesting speech is delivered by George C. Scott as Scrooge defines his view of the season of Christmas. Speaking to his nephew Fred (Roger Rees), Scrooge declares: “What is Christmas. But a time for buying things which we have no need, no money, finding yourself a year older, not an hour richer. If I could work my will, every idiot who goes around with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.”
In these early interchanges, the character of Scrooge, as enacted by Scott, seems to borrow heavily from Sydney Greenstreet’s “Fat Man” film 
noir performances (most especially The Maltese Falcon) where Scott mumbles his dialogue, spitting it out amongst guttural giggles and little asides. The performance is effective but seems more mannered and rehearsed, showing off its craft, compared to the superior Alastair Sim performance which seems more natural and heartfelt.
Instead of rushing off from the office on Christmas Eve to the local pub for dinner, the Donner version has Scott momentarily return to The Exchange to meet with businessmen who offered to buy corn from him. He named a price yesterday which was not accepted. The shrewd negotiators expect Scrooge to accept an even lower price today, in fear that he might be stuck with corn which will rot if not sold in time. Instead he surprises his colleagues by stating the price has risen 5% since yesterday, and if they do not accept his deal, the price will rise 5% tomorrow. One of the interested parties cries, “It’s not fair!” And with a smirk on his face, Scrooge counters with, “No, but it’s business!” This sequence is far more successful in demonstrating Scrooge’s business sense than the sequence in the pub in the earlier version.
In one of Donner’s more innovative visual touches, as Scrooge walks home, a horse-drawn hearse approaches him from beyond, and as he moves over to the side of the snow-covered street to allow it to pass, one lone casket as its cargo, Scrooge believes he hears a voice call out to him, and as he watches the hearse pass by, it disappears into thin air farther down the street. A very eerie and spooky sequence that foreshadows ghostly events to follow.
Even though Michael Hordern made a marvelous, over-the-top Jacob Marley in the 1951 Desmond-Hurst version, the equally gifted Frank Finlay one-ups his performance. Hordern loves to almost sing his dialogue and accent pivotal phrases with wails and screams, almost creating a caricature of the ghostly human spirit returning to Earth as penance. However, Frank Finlay is obsessive and intense: He delivers his warning to Ebenezer as though the souls of all Purgatory depended upon the redemption of Scrooge. Interestingly enough, in this colorful adaptation, the makeup department worked wonders by coloring Finlay in tones of blue-gray, making his ghostly spirit a monochrome man in a world of full color. Finlay, referring to his chains and shackles (in the 1951 version Hordern remains superimposed during his entire speech; here, in the 1984 version, Finlay enters the scene superimposed but quickly morphs into a solid presence where each link can be plainly viewed), Finlay states, “mine [the chains] were invisible until the day of my death...” Becoming more menacing and foreboding, Finlay delivers his lines with grim determination: “My... spirit... never walked beyond our counting house... of our money changing hole.” Finlay’s inflections and caesuras, creating dramatic pauses in all the right spots, make his Marley one of the high points of the production. In another ghostly touch, before the ghost enters the room, Scrooge bolt-locks all the doors; but the door flies open when the spirit enters nonetheless. Surprisingly, after the spirit departs, the bolt-locks on the door remain undisturbed!
A few interesting changes occur on his journey when Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past (Angela Pleasence), here played by a female, with blonde hair and white robe, framed by flowers and a bright glow of truth. The first change is the sequence where Scrooge sees himself as a young schoolboy sitting alone at school during Christmas break. While the 1951 version has sister Fan enter now, here Scott (as in the novel) delivers a sensitive sequence speaking of the books he read as a child and how those literary characters came to vivid life, becoming his solitary friends. This pattern of being deserted and left alone at school during holiday break continues for years, thus making the grudge his father holds take on more dramatic meaning. Now much older, sister Fan rescues him one Christmas season and states father has changed, that he wants him home. However, Silas Scrooge (Nigel Davenport) awaits brother and sister outside the school and it becomes apparent that father only intends to have Scrooge spend three days at home before Scrooge will accept an apprentice position working for Mr. Fezziwig. The gruff manner of the father makes clear that he still holds the grudge and that his son will be welcomed home for only a brief visit.
From here, things go downhill for this production.
Too much in this 1984 version of A Christmas Carol is too similar to earlier versions and it offers little that is visionary or innovative. George C. Scott delivers an effective performance, as already stated, but his transformation after the visit from the Three Ghosts is too restrained and subtle for its own good. Scott smiles and giddily laughs occasionally, but his eyes lack that sparkle that the inebriated Sim bellowed forth. Scott plays his performance too safely and fails to make Scrooge his own.
The screenplay is one of the major reasons that Scott’s performance seems flat, as much of the subtlety inherent in the short sequences observed by the Ghost of Christmas Past are here truncated or omitted. We see the blossoming romance between the youthful Ebenezer and his beloved Belle (Lucy Gutteridge), but this version never makes clear the changes in Scrooge as a new golden idol controlled his life. We do not see those initial sequences with Mr. Jorkins slowly seducing Ebenezer away from Mr. Fezziwig, nor do we see Fezziwig’s business fail. We do not see the initial introduction of Scrooge and Marley, nor do we see how they bail out/buy out out their former employer Jorkins as greed overcomes his formerly kindhearted manner. In order for Scrooge’s redemption at the end to work, we must see his initial corruption from his early life. But most of that seduction to the dark side is omitted here, becoming the film’s chief flaw. And without that earlier transformation, it becomes even more difficult for Scott to create more than a one-dimensional portrayal. Too much plot is wasted for trivialities, such as the lame word game played at nephew Fred’s during Christmas celebration as seen by the Ghost of Christmas Present.
The sequences with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Be elevate the film slightly with a fog-shrouded initial appearance of the Grim Reaper with bony, pointy finger. In this 1984 version, Scrooge is allowed to go to his home and see the corpse of its owner covered by a white sheet. Tempted to remove the sheet, Scrooge stands in mortal terror unable to do what he wishes. In a novel touch, Scrooge demands of the Spirit to see one person who feels any emotion over this man’s death, and then he is transported to the foul part of town, where his housekeeper sells his personal artifacts (including his pocket watch) and other household items such as curtains, etc. “Greed and avarice” are the only emotions he is offered. Then, in anger, he desires to see any depth of feeling concerning this man’s death. Then he is transported to the somber Cratchit house for the sequence where Tiny Tim is now dead and Bob returns home late having stopped to visit the grave. With this “tenderness and depth of feeling,” Scrooge states he has seen enough and wishes to return home. But first, the Spirit makes its required stop by the graveyard and Scrooge’s face to face encounter with his own gravemarker. Again, working against the grain, Scott plays the scene much more calm and controlled than in earlier versions, almost as if Scrooge knew what his ultimate future visit would be. When he wakes in his own bed, he emotionally thanks the Spirits and states “I will keep my promise... I say this on my knees Jacob Marley, on my knees.” This one little sequence fulfills the need of a dramatic climax that seemed missing in the sequence where he sees his own grave.
The remainder of the film is almost verbatim from the 1951 production, except for the already mentioned fact that Scott fails to create the utter schoolboy giddiness required for the role at the end. Even in the short sequence where Scott jumps up slightly into the air and flops onto his bed, the man seems more ridiculous than reborn. Scott never seems as utterly evil as Sim, nor does he seem as redeemed. Think of the difference between the Fredric March and Spencer Tracy interpretation of Mr. Hyde from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to best visualize the analogy. Sim devolves and evolves from radical extremes, while Scott sticks closer to the center point between corrupted businessman and redeemed human being. Scott seems as though he is performing, while Sim appears to be having one hell of an epiphany.
A Christmas Carol ultimately depends upon its characterization of Ebenezer Scrooge. While Scott’s performance shines in parts, it is bland in far too many others. However, the film as a whole is respectable and works well enough. It may not be the classic movie the 1951 production has become, but it certainly is a pleasant way to spend 90 minutes during the Christmas season.
A Christmas Carol (1972)
Cast: (voices) Alastair Sim, Michael Hordern, Melvyn Hayes, Michael Redgrave
Credits: Producer/Director: Chuck Jones; ABC; 1972
Television animated special of A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol (1997)
Cast: Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York, Ed Asner
Credits: Writer: Louis Gassin; 1997
One of the most recent re-interpretations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the 1997 animated version, starring the voices of Tim Curry (as Scrooge), Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York, and Ed Asner. While the animation is bland, perhaps a step above the typical TV Saturday morning cartoon standards, it does a nice job of capturing the mood of the story. The screenplay adaptation by Jymn Magon borrows heavily, as have the other versions, from the Dickens novel, and only in some cases has the dialogue been simplified or modernized to communicate to children. Much of the juicy dialogue from former screen versions has been kept intact.
A brief pre-credit teaser begins the movie with a piece of interesting dialogue: “Some say life is a song-to some a ditty, to others a dirge-but, for the holiday season, we all sing a carol, a Christmas carol.” Nice beginning.
However, the lack of imagination from the animators (most likely just as limited by budget as by imagination) makes this latest version of the Dickens classic seem redundant.
As is expected for animated features, interminable songs fill out the running time, and the ditties/dirges, co-written by Megan Cavallari and David Goldsmith, are soon forgotten as their final notes fade away. “Sing a Song of Christmas...” begins the movie, as the viewer discovers one new character has been added to the cast, most likely to appeal to the youngsters: Scrooge has a pet bull dog named Debit. Bob Cratchit, who is trying to warm his hand by his desk candle, sees Scrooge pick up a handful of coal and throw it at a young boy who knocks upon his door. Then the old coot asks Cratchit to hunt through the snow to retrieve all the pieces. Upon Bob’s return, Scrooge grouses, “Five lumps, where’s the sixth?” The initial plot and speeches closely follow the earlier versions, but instead of using the word “idiot” in one speech, we find the modern slang “numskull” substituted instead.
Interestingly enough, while Scrooge’s dog is as nasty and loud as its master, Debit gets along famously with Tiny Tim who finds his face licked, and in return, Tim tickles the dog’s belly.
After leaving the office, in this version, Scrooge goes to the local pub for his meal. “Hash for me, scraps for my dog!” The barmaid notes that Scrooge orders the cheapest meal on the menu. Then, the barmaid breaks into typical bland song... “It’s Christmas time at last.” She dances around serving patrons food and drink, and in a typical reversal that children love, she serves Debit Scrooge’s meal and the old codger gets the dog’s bones. Leaving, Scrooge says the only tip he would ever offer up is “find a new chef... your hash is not fit for a dog!”
The sequence with Marley’s ghost is not played as much for its horrific jolts, but Marley himself resembles a cartoon caricature of Thorley Walters from Hammer’s Frankenstein Created Woman, although slightly heftier. The ghost first appears, as usual, as a face superimposed over Scrooge’s doorknocker, but his face again becomes visible etched as a stone relief on Scrooge’s fireplace. When the spirit finally appears, the bedroom door is radiated, from behind, with an eerie green glow, similar to sequences in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Humorously, this Marley floats like a fat balloon and his shackles and chains serve as an anchor for this wayward ship in the night. This ghostly hot air bag bounces and flops all over the room spouting out its warning for Scrooge.
Interestingly, the Ghost of Christmas Past is here portrayed as a young, rascally boy who shows Scrooge his past. Debit, who accompanies Scrooge on his journey, becomes the old man’s scapegoat. “Why didn’t you think of that, you twit,” he screams at his loyal dog. During the sequence where the abandoned boy reads Robinson Crusoe during Christmas holiday, characters come to life in the shadows of the fireplace. Time to break into another song, “No friends at all when shadows fall.”
The only musical number that works is the duet sung by Scrooge and Belle, as she breaks off their relationship because of changes in Ebenezer’s character. He sings, “It’s our wealth which will endure,” while the sad Belle sings, “I’ll cross this bridge with you if you show me the man I once knew... where’s your passion, where’s your heart?” He asks, “Can we cross this bridge together?” and her answer-“I’ll cross this bridge alone.” Very touching and a very imaginative musical number which portrays inner turmoil in a way that a young child can understand.
Politically correct is the Ghost of Christmas Present, now recast as a black woman wearing green Christmas robes with flowers in her hair. After the toast at the Cratchit household, where Bob wishes his family to raise their glasses to Mr. Scrooge, Bob breaks into another very P.C. number, “Random acts of kindness, he could use some kindness.” Most cleverly, Tiny Tim sits and reads a book, Robinson Crusoe, casting Tiny Tim as a younger version of Ebenezer Scrooge. At Fred’s house the party gets rolling with a silly song, “Never caught a Santa sight as Santa’s sooty suit.”
While this animated version of A Christmas Carol borrows freely from other movie versions of the literary classic, it follows the George C. Scott version most closely, even including the towering presence of the Grim Reaper whose gigantic proportions make Ebenezer appear small and cowering.
Coming back to present day reality, Scrooge wakes and shows his joy by dancing with his pet Debit. The finale of the story makes a few changes to the plot, as Scrooge sends a message for nephew Fred and his wife to come to the Cratchit home, so both holiday sequences may be combined into one. Scrooge makes a mention of the festive household, comparing it to Mr. Fezziwig’s parties of old, and Bob Cratchit repeats his toast, now universally applauded, “I give you Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast!”
A Christmas Carol (1997) could benefit from better songs and a more imaginative use of animation and visual imagery. Simply throwing in a cute old dog and a seemingly helium-inflated excuse for Marley’s Ghost does not a classic make. But for kids who might not be ready for the more realistic horrors of the Alastair Sim version, this might be a good first step.