Scrooge
Also known as A Christmas Carol
Brief Description:
On Christmas Eve, tight-fisted businessman Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the Spirit of Christmas Past, the Spirit of Christmas Present, and the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. Is there any chance his frozen old heart will change, and that he can escape the frightful destiny that awaits him?
(probably written by me)
Date: 1951
Genre: British Christmas fantasy drama
Running time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Cast:
Alastair Sim (Scrooge)
George Cole (Young Scrooge)
Michael Hordern (Marley)
Patrick Macnee (Young Marley)
Mervyn Johns (Cratchit)
Hermione Baddeley (Mrs. Cratchit)
John Charlesworth (Peter)
Catherine Leach (Belinda)
Moiya Kelly (Martha)
Luanne Kemp (Mary)
Glyn Dearman (Tiny Tim)
Kathleen Harrison (Mrs. Dilber)
Michael J. Dolan (the Spirit of Christmas Past)
Francis de Wolff (the Spirit of Christmas Present)
Czesław Konarski (the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come)
Rona Anderson (Alice)
Carol Marsh (Fanny)
Jack Warner (Mr. Jorkin)
Roddy Hughes (Mr. Fezziwig)
Brian Worth (Fred)
Olga Edwardes (Mrs. Fred)
Peter Bull (Narrator)
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst
Production company: George Minter Productions
Based on: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5
Excellently portrayed Victorian England.
Characters: 5/5
Everyone felt exactly like the book, and I was delighted. The Cratchits were all sweet; Scrooge was hateful at first and loveable at last; the Ghosts were well done; everyone was wonderful!
Plot: 5/5
I haven’t read the book in about a year but I saw very little that had been changed or adapted; in fact, I was very impressed by how closely it followed the book. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for poor Scrooge—just a little—because of his past, and his mistake was very human—such a warning to remember. I used to be bothered by the ghost thing but I realized that they aren’t actually ghosts—Scrooge dreams all of it. The “spirits” merely show him what his life used to be, what it is now, and what it will be at his death. You could except Marley and insist he’s a real ghost but as ghosts don’t exist, Scrooge plainly dreamt him. (Though that part is a little less obvious in the film than the book.)
Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5
Splendid moral, really, about not losing love and faith in people, and being willing to remember your roots, and give grace, and not try to make up for the trials you went through in the past by reaching a status where they “can’t reach you” or living with the assumption that everyone is out to get you and you have to be sharper.
Content: 4/5 (low)
A few shots of dancing + women in low-necked (1860s) dresses. Slight spookiness involved with all the “spirits.”
Overall: 5/5
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