The Stingiest Man in Town: Review by William Mortensen Vaughan

 Title(s):  The Stingiest Man in Town

Adaptation:  Featuring the voices of Walter Matthau as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Tom Bosley as B.A.H. Humbug

Dates and Places of Earliest Release:  

SAT, 23 DEC 1978 U.S.A.

 

My Rating:  ****(Recommended)

Format Reviewed:  animated film, on DVD

 

Runtime:  1 hour 

 

Availability:  

As of December 11, 2021, copies of this film, on VHS, are available, online, for approximately $20 U.S. Dollars.

Does this adaptation include the phrase "God bless us...?" 

Yes, Tiny Tim says, "God bless us, everyone!"

Is this adaptation reverent? 

Yes, it includes a song dedicated to Baby Jesus.

Does this adaptation mention "God" or "Christ"?

Yes (see above).

What does my wife think of this adaptation?
She likes it, but thinks B.A.H. Humbug is kind of creepy.

Where and when does this adaptation take place?

Victorian England.

 
What language and/or dialects are used?  

Plain English.

How closely does this adaptation follow the original novel, by Charles Dickens?

This adaptation follows the original novel fairly well.  It is narrated by a tiny man (tinier than Tim) with antennae on his forehead, named B.A.H. Humbug (voice of Tom Bosley).  It shows Scrooge (Walter Matthau) being stingy with Bob Cratchit (Sonny Melendrez), and the coal he uses.  
 
Fred visits him at his office, and invites him to Christmas Dinner at his house the next day.  In this adaptation, Fred gives Scrooge a bouquet of poinsettias and a giftwrapped necktie.  Scrooge opens the present and angrily throws the tie at Bob.

On Scrooge's way home, B.A.H. Humbug sings about Scrooge being so stingy he uses lightning bugs rather than buying matches from a matchstick girl (borrowed, apparently, from the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen).

Jacob Marley appears to Scrooge, and shows him other spirits with chains, outside Scrooge's window.

Then the Ghost of Christmas Past appears, as an old man in a white tunic with gold trim, and shows Scrooge Mr. Fezziwig's Christmas Ball, where a younger Scrooge dances with Belle, and then the scene in which Belle breaks off their engagement to be married.  The scenes with Scrooge as a boy in school are skipped.

Then the Ghost of Christmas Present appears in a green robe with white trim, as in the novel.  He shows Scrooge the homes of Bob and Fred.  Tiny Tim asks his big sister, Martha, if there is a Santa Claus.  She sings to him a song about Santa Claus, in which the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe is transformed into a red suit with white trim.  

There is also a song about Baby Jesus.

After Scrooge sings a song about Tiny Tim to the Ghost of Christmas Present, this ghost disappears, and is replaced by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows Scrooge a woman at old Joe's Pawn shop.  She shows Joe items she stole from a dead man, but neither she nor Joe specify which items those are.

Then the Ghost shows Ebenezer his tombstone, which transforms itself into a red demon, as Scrooge promises to change.

Then Scrooge finds himself in his room on Christmas morning, and sends a boy to buy the biggest turkey at the butcher shop, and trusts him to deliver it to Bob Cratchit himself, rather than bringing the poulterer back, and giving the poulterer money for the turkey and a cab.

Then Scrooge goes Christmas shopping, and the boy with the turkey arrives at Bob's with the turkey in his arms, and an entourage of people with presents.  Scrooge has dinner with Fred and his wife, and the people at their Christmas Dinner Party.

The next day, Scrooge catches Bob coming to work late, but raises his pay, and visits him at his house.

Is this adaptation a prequel or a sequel?  

No.

Is this adaptation supernatural? 

Yes, this film features ghosts, time travel, and talking animals.

Is this adaptation "framed"?  

Yes, this adaptation is framed by the narration of B.A.H. Humbug, a bug-sized little man with antennae.

Is this adaptation a musical?  

Yes.

 

What songs and/or dances are included?  

Music by Fred Spielman... This adaptation is a musical comedy, including songs by virtually every character, including songs about Santa Claus and Baby Jesus. As stated above, Tiny Tim asks his big sister, Martha, if there is a Santa Claus.  She sings to him a song about Santa Claus, in which the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe is transformed into a red suit with white trim.  

There is also a song about Baby Jesus.

How attractive and effective is the visual art?  

The art is 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 entertaining, with scenes of flights over London.

 

What aerial and/or nap-of-the-earth footage is included?  

(See above.)   

 

What use is made of background extras?  

N/A

What is the most remarkable thing about this adaptation? 

The most remarkable thing about this adaptation is, perhaps, the narration by B.A.H. Humbug, a tiny man with antennae.  It is also unique in that it includes original songs about Scrooge, Baby Jesus, Santa Claus, and Christmas.
 
What bonus material is included on the tape or DVD? 

My copy of this film on DVD, has optional subtitles in English.  It comes on Disc 1 of 4 in a set titled Classic Christmas Favorites.  

 

Disc 1 includes Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold, and Pinocchio's Christmas, as well as The Stingiest Man in Town.  It also includes four featurettes:  "Making Animation and Bringing It to Life," "Dr. Seuss and the Grinch:  From Whoville to Hollywood," "Songs in the Key of Grinch," and a "Making-of Featurette and Pencil Test," as well as an audio commentary with Animator Phil Roman, and the voice of Cindy Lou, June Foray.

Disc 2 includes The Year Without a Santa Claus (Deluxe Edition), Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.  It also includes two featurettes:  "We Are Santa's Elves," and "Stop Motion 101."

Disc 3 includes Frosty's Winter Wonderland and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Disc 4 includes Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.

Test your knowledge of this adaptation by taking these quizzes:

Quiz  1 of T.B.D.

Quiz  2 of T.B.D.

 

Quiz  3 of T.B.D.

 

Quiz  4 of T.B.D.

    

Review and quizzes by William Mortensen Vaughan

A Christmas Carol, Featuring the Voice of Tim Curry: Review by William Mortensen Vaughan

 

Title(s):  A Christmas Carol

Adaptation:  Featuring the voice of Tim Curry as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Whoopi Goldberg as The Spirit of Christmas Present

Dates and Places of Earliest Release:  

SAT, 20 DEC 1997 U.S.A.

 

My Rating:  **(Substandard)

Format Reviewed:  animated film, on DVD

 

Runtime:  1 hours 12 minutes 

 

Availability:  

As of December 10, 2021, copies of this film, on DVD and VHS, are available, online, for approximately $10 U.S. Dollars.

Does this adaptation include the phrase "God bless us...?" 

Yes. Scrooge and Tiny Tim say, in unison, "God bless us, everyone!"

Is this adaptation reverent? 

Yes.

Does this adaptation mention "God" or "Christ"?

Yes (see above).

What does my wife think of this adaptation?
She doesn't "think it's very memorable."

Where and when does this adaptation take place?

Victorian England

 
What language and/or dialects are used?  

Plain English

How closely does this adaptation follow the original novel, by Charles Dickens?

This adaptation follows the original novel fairly well, but gives old Scrooge a dog, named Debit.
 
A child begs at the door of Scrooge's counting house before Fred arrives, without singing "God Rest You Merry Gentleman" as described by Dickens.  Instead of threatening the child with a ruler, as Dickens describes, Scrooge throws coal at him, then sends Cratchit to retrieve the coal, which Cratchit hands him after Fred has left, while the gentlemen collecting donations are still in the counting house.  Scrooge places the lumps of coal in the bucket, and locks the bucket in a safe.

This adaptation includes the scene at a place Dickens describes as Scrooge's "usual, melancholy tavern," which some versions exclude.  Although Dickens mentions Scrooge having dinner at his "usual melancholy tavern," reading "all the newspapers" and "[beguiling] the rest of the evening with his banker's-book,"
Dickens does not mention anyone else being at the tavern.  Dickens leaves it to the reader's imagination to create a waiter or waitress, and/or any other customers.  This adaptation shows a tavern full of people, with a redheaded waitress who performs a song and dance routine.

Young Scrooge has a cat in this version.  He sees Robinson Crusoe, as mentioned in the novel, but, instead of Ali Baba and the other characters Dickens mentions, Scrooge, in this adaptation, sees himself as a matador, and as King Arthur, removing the sword from the stone.

In this adaptation, in the scene where young Scrooge is older, but still in the boarding school, his sister comes and removes him from the school without their father's permission, unlike in Dickens' original novel, in which Fan tells Scrooge that their father sent her to bring him home in a carriage.

Although many film adaptations show Scrooge with Belle at Fezziwig's Christmas Ball, Dickens makes no mention of Belle until he describes the scene in which she breaks off her engagement to marry Scrooge.  In this adaptation, Belle does not appear at Fezziwig's Christmas Ball, but only appears later, when she releases Scrooge from his promise to marry her.

The Ghost of Christmas Present in this version is a black woman, who refers to her sisters, instead of her brothers, unlike Dickens' white, male Ghost of Christmas Present, who refers to more than eighteen hundred of his brothers.

On Christmas morning, the new Scrooge has Fred and his wife meet him at Cratchit's for dinner, to which he unexpectedly invites himself, instead of waiting for the day after Christmas to tell Cratchit about raising his salary.  This is unlike the original novel, in which Dickens has Scrooge anonymously send the Cratchits a turkey on Christmas Day, going later to Fred's for Christmas Dinner, and not seeing Bob Cratchit again until the day after Christmas, when Bob arrives late, and Scrooge rewards his tardiness with a pay raise.

Is this adaptation a prequel or a sequel?  

No.

Is this adaptation supernatural? 

Yes, this film features ghosts and time travel.

Is this adaptation "framed"?  

Yes, this adaptation is framed by a narrator.

Is this adaptation a musical?  

No.

 

What songs and/or dances are included?  

Music by John Campbell... Several musical numbers are included, such as the song and dance routine in the tavern, which does not seem the least bit melancholy, contrary to Dickens' description.

How attractive and effective is the visual art?  

The art and animation 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?  

N/A

What is the most remarkable thing about this adaptation? 

The addition of Debit the dog is, perhaps, the most remarkable thing about this adaptation.
 
What bonus material is included on the tape or DVD? 

There are no extras on this DVD.  This film plays automatically, and I can't even find a menu or splash screen for it.

Test your knowledge of this adaptation by taking these quizzes:

Quiz  1 of T.B.D.

Quiz  2 of T.B.D.

 

Quiz  3 of T.B.D.

 

Quiz  4 of T.B.D.

    

Review and quizzes by William Mortensen Vaughan