Adaptation: Starring Fredric March as Ebenezer Scrooge
Dates and Places of Earliest Release:
THU, 23 DEC 1954 U.S.A.
TUE, 25 DEC 1956 U.K.
SUN, 22 DEC 1957 Sweden
Format Reviewed: live-action film, on DVD
Runtime: 60 minutes
Availability:
As of February 2, 2021, this film is available on YouTube. Copies of this film, on DVD, are available online, for approximately $10 U.S. Dollars.
Is this adaptation reverent? Yes.
Does this adaptation mention "God" or "Christ"?
Yes. (See below.)
Does this adaptation include the phrase "God bless us...?"
Yes, Tiny Tim says, "God bless us, everyone!"
What does my wife think of this adaptation?
She finds it annoying; she especially dislikes Ray Middleton's singing.
Where and when does this adaptation take place?
Victorian England.
What language and/or dialects are used?
American English.
How closely does this adaptation follow the original novel, by Charles Dickens?This adaptation follows the original novel fairly well, with some deletions, and odd changes.
The opening scene and credits feature a group of carolers, including two men, two women, a man playing a flute, and a child soloist, singing a song "on this darkest day of winter," about "holly, pine, and mistletoe," along streets with horse-drawn carriages.
Then Scrooge's office is shown, as two gentlemen enter to ask him for a charitable donation.
After Scrooge shows them the door, he tells Bob to clean up before leaving, in about five minutes.
Then Fred (Ray Middleton) shows up. Scrooge sends both Fred and Bob away.
Then Scrooge locks up his office and takes his strong box home, where his housekeeper has prepared his supper and his bed. He cuts her short when she wishes him a merry Christmas as she leaves.
Jacob Marley appears to him, and tells him other spirits will visit him.
The first Spirit, of Christmas Past, looks like Belle to Scrooge, and is played by the same actress: Sally Fraser.
She shows Scrooge himself, singing a duet with Belle at Mr. Fezziwig's Christmas Ball. Later, Belle is seen leaving Scrooge, because he has changed so much.
Then Ray Middleton appears in the form of a muscular, young Ghost of Christmas Present, looking more like an elf. Scrooge mistakes him for Fred. Fred sings to him, and shows him a vision of the Cratchits, in their home on Christmas Eve.
Then Scrooge finds himself alone with a crow in a cemetery, where he discovers his own tombstone, with his name and the year 1843 inscribed on it; he also finds Tiny Tim's tombstone.
As he wails and cries, and pats Tim's tombstone, he wakes up patting his own headboard on Christmas Morning.
He opens his window and takes in the fresh air and sunlight, and asks a boy what day it is.
The boy informs him that it's Christmas.
Instead of sending the boy to the poulterer's, Scrooge gets cleaned up and dressed, and invites himself to Bob's for Christmas dinner.
On the way, Scrooge happens to cross paths with the gentlemen seeking charitable donations, so he apologizes for the horrible things he told them the day before, and gives them some money, in an amount which astonishes them.
At Bob's, Scrooge promises to raise Bob's salary, and help get Tiny Tim the medical care he needs.
The story ends with Tiny Tim saying, "God bless us, everyone!"
For some odd reason, only five of Bob's children are seen; the middle boy is missing, and, when he introduces them to Scrooge, it appears that Belinda is the eldest daughter, and Martha perhaps the youngest. The other daughter is named Susie - information not found in the novel.
Fred's party is never shown, and there is never any indication that Scrooge decides to visit Fred.
The entire day after Christmas is precluded by Scrooge's visit to Bob's house on Christmas Day.
The opening scene and credits feature a group of carolers, including two men, two women, a man playing a flute, and a child soloist, singing a song "on this darkest day of winter," about "holly, pine, and mistletoe," along streets with horse-drawn carriages.
Then Scrooge's office is shown, as two gentlemen enter to ask him for a charitable donation.
After Scrooge shows them the door, he tells Bob to clean up before leaving, in about five minutes.
Then Fred (Ray Middleton) shows up. Scrooge sends both Fred and Bob away.
Then Scrooge locks up his office and takes his strong box home, where his housekeeper has prepared his supper and his bed. He cuts her short when she wishes him a merry Christmas as she leaves.
Jacob Marley appears to him, and tells him other spirits will visit him.
The first Spirit, of Christmas Past, looks like Belle to Scrooge, and is played by the same actress: Sally Fraser.
She shows Scrooge himself, singing a duet with Belle at Mr. Fezziwig's Christmas Ball. Later, Belle is seen leaving Scrooge, because he has changed so much.
Then Ray Middleton appears in the form of a muscular, young Ghost of Christmas Present, looking more like an elf. Scrooge mistakes him for Fred. Fred sings to him, and shows him a vision of the Cratchits, in their home on Christmas Eve.
Then Scrooge finds himself alone with a crow in a cemetery, where he discovers his own tombstone, with his name and the year 1843 inscribed on it; he also finds Tiny Tim's tombstone.
As he wails and cries, and pats Tim's tombstone, he wakes up patting his own headboard on Christmas Morning.
He opens his window and takes in the fresh air and sunlight, and asks a boy what day it is.
The boy informs him that it's Christmas.
Instead of sending the boy to the poulterer's, Scrooge gets cleaned up and dressed, and invites himself to Bob's for Christmas dinner.
On the way, Scrooge happens to cross paths with the gentlemen seeking charitable donations, so he apologizes for the horrible things he told them the day before, and gives them some money, in an amount which astonishes them.
At Bob's, Scrooge promises to raise Bob's salary, and help get Tiny Tim the medical care he needs.
The story ends with Tiny Tim saying, "God bless us, everyone!"
For some odd reason, only five of Bob's children are seen; the middle boy is missing, and, when he introduces them to Scrooge, it appears that Belinda is the eldest daughter, and Martha perhaps the youngest. The other daughter is named Susie - information not found in the novel.
Fred's party is never shown, and there is never any indication that Scrooge decides to visit Fred.
The entire day after Christmas is precluded by Scrooge's visit to Bob's house on Christmas Day.
Is this adaptation a prequel or a sequel? No.
Is this adaptation supernatural?
Is this adaptation supernatural?
Yes, it includes ghosts and time travel.
Is this adaptation "framed"? No.
Is this adaptation a musical? No.
Is this adaptation "framed"? No.
Is this adaptation a musical? No.
What songs and/or dances are included?
Music by Bernard Herrmann... Carolers, Fred, young Scrooge, Belle, Tiny Tim, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and old Scrooge all sing songs I haven't found anywhere else. The first song, about "holly, pine, and mistletoe," is, in my humble opinion, the best. I agree with my wife that the others are annoying.
For some odd reason, a harp, instead of a fiddle, is seen at Mr. Fezziwig's Christmas Ball.
How attractive and effective is the visual art?
For some odd reason, a harp, instead of a fiddle, is seen at Mr. Fezziwig's Christmas Ball.
How attractive and effective is the visual art?
The visual art is adequate, except that it's in black and white.
How creative and intense are the transitions, especially when "the Scrooge" is taken from one time and/or place to another?
How creative and intense are the transitions, especially when "the Scrooge" is taken from one time and/or place to another?
The transitions are adequate.
What aerial and/or nap-of-the-earth footage is included? N/A
What use is made of background extras?
Adequate is made of background extras, on the streets of London, and at Fezziwig's Christmas Ball, for example.
What is the most remarkable thing about this adaptation?
The most remarkable thing about this adaptation is, perhaps, the absence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and Fred's Christmas Dinner. Perhaps the crow is intended to serve as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
The most remarkable thing about this adaptation is, perhaps, the absence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and Fred's Christmas Dinner. Perhaps the crow is intended to serve as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
What bonus materials are included on the tape or DVD?
There are no bonus materials on this DVD.
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