Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean old miser who wants nothing to do with Christmas. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, taking him on a journey int... Read allEbenezer Scrooge is a mean old miser who wants nothing to do with Christmas. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, taking him on a journey into the very spirit and magic of Christmas itself.Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean old miser who wants nothing to do with Christmas. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, taking him on a journey into the very spirit and magic of Christmas itself.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
- Ebenezer Scrooge
- (as Sir Seymour Hicks)
- Fred's Wife
- (as Eve Grey)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSeymour Hicks first played Scrooge onstage in 1901 and it became his most popular role. Throughout his career he played it over a thousand times, often at fund-raising benefits.
- GoofsAs Cratchit enters a room to see his dead son Tiny Tim, a crew member's middle finger can be seen slowly closing the door behind him.
- Quotes
Lord Mayor's Secretary: [at a huge Christmas Eve dinner being held for polite society] My Lord, shall we proceed with your speech, or shall we let the ladies and gentlemen continue to enjoy themselves?
- Crazy creditsOpening credits at the commencement of the story in the book: "I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an Idea which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, and each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it."
Their faithful Friend and Servant, CHARLES DICKENS December, 1843
- Alternate versionsA colorized version was produced and released in 2007.
- ConnectionsFeatured in A Hollywood Christmas (1996)
- SoundtracksHark! the Herald Angels Sing
(uncredited)
Written by Charles Wesley and Felix Mendelssohn
Heard behind the opening credits, sung later by Philip Frost and sung in the church at the end
The Sim Scrooge is utterly plausible much of the time, but then he will be as giddy as a schoolboy, for example, giving an interpretation that an incorrigible naysayer could choose to quibble about. My reaction to Seymour Hicks was similar but, strangely, in alternation with Sim -- oh, he's better than Sim here, worse than Sim here, more realistic here, less realistic here. Any given scene with Hicks could be better, worse, or just plain different from the corresponding scene with Sim. This is partly what made seeing this version so enjoyable; you really couldn't second-guess the next scene.
There are significant differences in the portrayal of the ghosts. I think we are all familiar with Michael Hordern's eerie and frightening ghost of Jacob Marley, shrouded in chains, from 1951. In this version, Marley's ghost is invisible!! You hear the chains but you see nothing whatsoever. The Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future are also quite non-corporeal. Only the Ghost of Christmas Present is someone we recognize from Sim.
Tiny Tim is quite different. We expect Tiny Tim to be an eternal optimist, irrepressibly cheerful. But the Sim Tim (boy, I loved typing that) seems to overdo it a little. He appears to be "on something", to use the vernacular. In this version, Tim is toned down. In some ways, it's an improvement. In the Sim version, to its credit, there is a special balance however, namely, the repentant Scrooge has an exuberance which matches Tim's precisely, and they appear together in the final shot, as we all know. A perfect ending. Back to that later. A key difference in Hicks: at the tragic moment, we do not see the lonely crutch we're used to; oh no, we see Tiny Tim lying dead!!
This version has some scenes which are not in Sim. This version in general has more singing, and one of the extra scenes involves the Lord Mayor of London giving his Christmas toast to Victoria followed by the singing of God Save The Queen.
In Sim, Scrooge comes to his senses on Christmas Day and there is a warm and funny scene with Mrs. Dilber, the housekeeper. Not here. Here there is an extended scene of Scrooge and the prize turkey! Scrooge goes to the butcher shop which is closed, snow falls on Scrooge, Scrooge throws snow, snow hits butcher. Butcher opens up, Scrooge orders turkey, Scrooge goes home. Scrooge gets dressed, boy brings butcher, Scrooge still dressing, butcher tries to leave with huge turkey, Scrooge answers door. Scrooge then pays the butcher, pays the boy, and gives the boy extra money so the boy can take the turkey to Bob Cratchit's house in a cab! Scrooge then leaves the house whereupon he meets the two gentlemen who were soliciting for the poor earlier in the film and volunteers to give them 100 pounds!
So, how does the film end? There's nothing about rushing right out to buy a new coal scuttle. No mention of scuttles in this film. It's Boxing Day and Scrooge gives Bob the day off. Then Scrooge joins Cratchit in church (!) for the singing of Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The End, with Tiny Tim not to be seen anywhere. So perhaps it's the warm emphasis on Tim that really clinches the 1951 version.
There are many moments of surprise and enjoyment here if the opportunity should ever present itself.
- Varlaam
- Dec 20, 1998
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Скрудж
- Filming locations
- Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK(studio: produced at Twickenham Film Studios)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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