Adaptation: Starring Leo G. Carroll, as Cosmo Topper, "the Scrooge"
Dates and Places of Earliest Release: FRI, 25 DEC 1953 U.S.A.
My Rating: **(Substandard; black and white)
Format Reviewed: live-action television episode, streamed from YouTube
Runtime: 30 minutes
Availability:
As of December 14, 2022, this film was available to stream for free on YouTube.
Does this adaptation include the phrase "God bless us...?"
No.
Is this adaptation reverent?
Not particularly.
Does this adaptation mention "God" or "Christ"?
No.
What does my wife think of this adaptation?
She's not interested in it.
Where and when does this adaptation take place?Los Angeles, California, circa 1950
What language and/or dialects are used?
American English
How closely does this adaptation follow the original novel, by Charles Dickens?This adaptation makes drastic departures from the original novel. It is framed as the day dream of Cosmo Topper, a banker who lives with his wife and three ghosts, in L.A.: George Kerby; his wife, Marion; and their St. Bernard, Neil.
The scene opens with the ghost of Marion Kerby helping Mr. Topper decorate his Christmas Tree. Neil is there, and Mr. Kerby also appears to give advice.
Then Mr. Topper's wife, Henrietta, arrives, soon followed by Dr. Lang and Thelma, and they have a small Christmas Party, during which Mr. Topper begins reading A Christmas Carol. His wife keeps interrupting, so finally, he asks her to read it.
As she does so, he falls asleep. During his nap, he dreams that he is Scrooge. A woman who resembles appears as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and shows him on a date with his wife before they were married.
Then a man who resembles Mr. Kerby appears to him as the Ghost of Christmas Present, dressed in a box with a ribbon, as if he were a Christmas Present. He shows Mr. Topper how a neighbor boy, named Tiny Tim, abuses his parents (Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit, who look like Dr. Lang and Thelam) and threatens to run away from home and move in with Mr. Topper. (The boy knocks his mother onto their Christmas Dinner Table so hard that it collapses under her.)
A talking dog who looks like Neil appears to Topper as the Ghost of Christmas Future. Neil tries to get Topper to follow him, but, back in "reality," Henrietta wakes Topper up from his nap.
Then the neighbor boy, who inspired Topper to dream of Tiny Tim, arrives and gives Topper a Christmas present, which Topper opens, to discover it's a slingshot, which the boy claims he uses "for hitting cats."
Then Henrietta discovers another "gift": Neil, who has appeared so that she can seem him. (She doesn't know about the three ghosts who haunt her home.)
Is this adaptation a prequel or a sequel? No.
Is this adaptation supernatural?
Yes, this film features ghosts.
Is this adaptation "framed"?
Yes, it is framed as a day dream which Topper has while his wife reads A Christmas Carol at their Christmas Party.
Is this adaptation a musical?
No.
What songs and/or dances are included?
Theme music composed by Roy Ingraham, Charles Koff, and Edward Paul
How attractive and effective is the visual art?
The set, wardrobe, and art are adequate.
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 use is made of background extras.
What is the most remarkable thing about this adaptation?
The most remarkable thing about this adaptation is, perhaps, that it features the ghost of a St. Bernard.
What bonus material is included on the tape or DVD?
N/A
Test your knowledge of this adaptation by taking these quizzes:
Quiz 2 of 2
Review and quizzes by William Mortensen Vaughan
