The Duel of the ‘Christmas Carols’
The holiday cheer continues here at ArtScene SA as we compare select film adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens’ famous story has been done many, many times on stage, on television and on film. There have been female Scrooges, African-American Scrooges, comedy Scrooges. But which versions reign supreme?
Film productions of the tale date back to as early as 1901, and one performer, British actor Seymour Hicks, portrayed Scrooge twice in 1913 and 1935. I’ve seen the 1935 version. It’s a primitive if interesting curio, with 64-year-old Hicks making a good older Scrooge but not terribly convincing in flashbacks when he must portray a much younger man.
Also, only the Ghost of Christmas Present appears fully onscreen, with the rest represented by indiscernible shapes, pointing fingers and disembodied voices. However, this is one of only two sound versions that shows the dead body of Tiny Tim!
The MGM factory took a stab at the story in 1938, with Reginald Owen as the miser. It’s too sweet for me. A lot of the grimmer aspects of the story were reduced in keeping with the family friendly fare the studio was producing at the time.
There are no wailing phantoms, the Ghost of Christmas Past is played by a pretty young woman, and the romance between his nephew Fred and fiance Elizabeth was greatly expanded in a way that Dickens never intended.
And Owen just doesn’t have the presence to make a truly menacing Scrooge. Humbug, indeed!
The 1951 English version started airing seasonally on American television in 1970 and quickly became the favorite. It’s clear to see why: Alastair Sim is an absolutely perfect Scrooge.
When the film begins, he is grim, humorless and absolutely incapable of expressing human warmth or emotion. As the spirits visit him, he gradually remembers the way he used to be and realizes that his time for redemption is running out.
He becomes more exuberant — even childlike — as the feelings long dormant in his old carcass are awakened once more. It’s a marvelous performance, and Sim is supported by a splendid cast of British character stalwarts.
Though produced on a modest budget by tiny Renown Pictures (which is still in existence, much to my surprise), the sets and art direction are wonderful, the special effects are terrific and it doesn’t cop out on the creepiness. This is essentially a horror story, after all. Sim and Michael Hordern, who portrays Marley’s ghost, lent their voices to an animated adaptation 20 years later.
Check out the trailer here. It looks much more like a Universal horror classic than a seasonal heartwarmer.
Another English version is the 1970 musical Scrooge, which I recall first seeing at a kiddie matinee when I was a kiddie. It’s one of those films that people said “meh” to when originally released, but it has grown in stature through the years.
Mounted lavishly in the style of the 1968 smash Oliver!, it features 34-year-old, Golden Globe-winning Albert Finney convincingly portraying Scrooge through the ages. As a matter of fact, when you see him in flashback during the Christmas Past sequences, you’re shocked to see just how young he really was.
Alec Guinness plays Marley’s Ghost, and it’s obvious that he’s having a blast with the role. His performance is off-kilter, quirky and a lot of fun. When Scrooge is sent to hell during the Christmas Yet to Come segment, he asks where they are and Guinness deadpans, “I should have thought it would be obvious.” And “I’m sorry your chain isn’t ready yet. They had to put on extra demons to finish it.”
I have a super 8mm print of the 25-minute Mickey’s Christmas Carol on super 8mm and I have to admit it’s a charmer.
The filmmakers had the dual challenge of telescoping the story into under half an hour while still inserting as many familiar Disney characters as possible, and they succeed admirably. Scrooge McDuck plays the miser, of course, with Mickey portraying Bob Cratchit.
Among the other familiar characters are Minnie as Mrs. Scrooge, Donald Duck as Scrooge’s nephew, Jiminey Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past and many other recognizable characters.
It’s actually funny without being cloying, and it looks great, with wonderfully lush animation and vivid colors. And it was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon made in 30 years at the time, on a double bill with a re-release of The Rescuers for the 1983 holiday season.
In 2008, I saw a stage production starring Christopher Lloyd, John Goodman and Jane Leeves at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. You’d think it’d be a dream, but it was a mess! A huge set overpowered the stage, dwarfing the performers, and frequent scene changes required much hilarious and loud moving around of backdrops and awkward pauses.
The music cues seemed to derive from whatever was handy, including a song from the Charles Laughton-directed classic Night of the Hunter! The actors seemed confused by the constantly flying scenery, resulting in some flubbed lines and unsure performances.
Overall, you can’t lose with a double-feature of the Sim version followed by the Finney musical. They make a nice counterpoint to each other: one black and white, one color; one a musical, one a straight drama. But they both dish out the supernatural elements inherent in Dickens’s original tale.
Oh…and go see the stage version currently playing at the Woodlawn!
Merry Christmas…
