Scrooge (1951 film)

Scrooge

UK quad poster
Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
Produced by Brian Desmond Hurst
Written by Noel Langley
Based on A Christmas Carol 
by Charles Dickens
Starring Alastair Sim
Mervyn Johns
Hermione Baddeley
Jack Warner
Kathleen Harrison
Michael Hordern
George Cole
Music by Richard Addinsell
Cinematography C.M. Pennington-Richards
Edited by Clive Donner
Distributed by Renown Pictures
Release dates
 31 October 1951
Running time
 86 minutes
Country United Kingdom

Scrooge is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It was released as A Christmas Carol in the United States.

The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an acclaimed turn as Mrs. Dilber, Scrooge's charwoman. George Cole stars as the younger version of Scrooge, Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Cratchit, Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit, Clifford Mollison as Samuel Wilkins, a debtor, Jack Warner as Mr. Jorkin, a role created for the film, Ernest Thesiger as Marley's undertaker and Patrick Macnee as young Jacob Marley. Michael Hordern plays Marley's ghost, as well as old Marley. Peter Bull serves as narrator, by reading portions of Dickens' words at the beginning and end of the film; he also appears on-screen as one of the businessmen cynically discussing Scrooge's funeral.

Plot

Ebenezer Scrooge (Alistair Sim) is seen leaving the London Exchange on his way to his counting house on Christmas Eve, 1843. Scrooge tells two other men of business that he has no intention of celebrating Christmas. He refuses leniency to a debtor who owes Scrooge money. Back at his place of business, Scrooge refuses a donation to two men collecting for the poor, suggesting that prisons and workhouses are sufficient for maintaining the poor, and that those who won't go would be better off dead. Scrooge's nephew, Fred (Brian Worth), invites Scrooge to dinner the next day, but Scrooge refuses, disparaging Fred for having gotten married. Scrooge reluctantly gives his poor clerk Bob Cratchit (Mervyn Johns) the day off with pay, but expects him back all the earlier the day after.

After Scrooge dines alone in a seedy restaurant (where he refuses more bread when told he has to pay a halfpenny more for it), he goes home for the night. Scrooge sees the door-knocker turn into the face of his seven-years-dead partner, Jacob Marley (Michael Hordern). Scrooge's supper of gruel is interrupted by the ringing of bells before Marley appears as a ghost. Scrooge believes he is hallucinating until Marley howls in anguish and frustration. Marley warns Scrooge that he must repent or suffer Marley's unbearable fate: condemned to walk the earth forever, bound in the chains he "forged in life" by his greedy ways. He warns Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits; the first will arrive when the bell tolls one. Marley leaves to join other ghosts suffering the same torment. Frightened by the sight of the damned, Scrooge takes refuge in his bed.

At one in the morning, the Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael Dolan) arrives to show Scrooge scenes from his past. A young Scrooge (George Cole) is alone at school, unwanted by his father. His sister Fan (Carol Marsh) arrives to take him home, claiming their father has changed. Next, the Ghost shows Scrooge the annual Christmas party thrown by his fondly remembered employer, old Fezziwig (Roddy Hughes). Scrooge witnesses his proposal to his girlfriend, Alice (Rona Anderson). He is reminded that the lure of money from the sarcastic Mr. Jorkin (Jack Warner) seduced him to abandon his loyalty to Fezziwig. Scrooge relives the death of Fan; as she lay dying, he angrily walked away and refused to look after her son, Fred. The older Scrooge is overcome, and begs for her forgiveness. In partnership with Jorkin, young Scrooge befriends a young Jacob Marley (Patrick Macnee). Scrooge and Marley buy out Fezziwig's business and turn his warehouse into a counting house. Alice breaks off her engagement to Scrooge, feeling that love of money has replaced his love for her. Years later, Scrooge and Marley offer to rescue Jorkin's company after Jorkin embezzles the company's funds; they take control of the business and add it to their own. On Christmas Eve, 1836, Marley lay dying, but Scrooge will not visit his only friend during business hours. When Scrooge finally arrives, Marley, aware he will face eternal punishment for his avarice, tries to warn Scrooge before he dies. The Ghost reproaches Scrooge for taking Marley's money and house.

The gigantic Ghost of Christmas Present (Francis de Wolff) shows Scrooge how others celebrate Christmas. Scrooge sees how poor the Cratchits really are. The family can only afford a small Christmas dinner. Their youngest child, Tiny Tim (Glyn Dearman), is lame and will die of his illness unless the future changes. Scrooge is shown the dinner party hosted by Fred and his wife. Finally, the Ghost shows Scrooge two sickly, scrawny children: Ignorance and Want. The Ghost reminds Scrooge of his support for prisons and workhouses.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Czeslaw Kornaski) shows Scrooge what lies in store in the future if he does not change. Scrooge sees the Cratchits mourning the loss of Tiny Tim. Scrooge is then shown the aftermath of his own death, which is celebrated by many people who will not mourn him. His charwoman, Mrs. Dilber (Kathleen Harrison), and two colleagues take advantage of his death by robbing his house of its fixtures. Scrooge promises to mend his ways.

Scrooge awakens in the present. His joyful exuberance frightens Mrs. Dilber. He gives her a guinea to buy a present for herself and increases her wages fivefold, to ten shillings weekly. Scrooge orders a prize turkey be delivered to the Cratchits [to replace their small goose],[1][2][3] and dines with Fred and his wife, much to their delight. The next day Scrooge gives Bob a raise and promises to help his family. The narrator recounts that Ebeneezer Scrooge became "as good a man as the old city ever knew", and a stepfather to Tiny Tim, who did not perish after all, but learned to walk on his right leg without a crutch. Scrooge and Tim walk off together between the buildings, into the distance.

Comparison with the source material

In the film, Mrs Dilber is the name of the charwoman, whereas in the book the woman was unnamed and the laundress was named Mrs Dilber. The charwoman's role is greatly expanded in the film, to the point that she receives second billing in the list of characters.

The film also expands on the story by detailing Scrooge's rise as a prominent businessman who was corrupted by a greedy new mentor, Mr. Jorkin (played by Jack Warner, a popular British actor in his time) who had lured him away from the benevolent Mr. Fezziwig. When Jorkin, who does not appear at all in Dickens's original story, is discovered to be an embezzler, the opportunistic Scrooge and Marley offer to compensate the company's losses on the condition that they receive control of the company for which they work - and so, Scrooge and Marley is born.

During the Ghost of Christmas Present sequence, Scrooge's former fiancee, Alice, works with the homeless and sick (the character is named "Belle" in the book, and her employment is not described).

The film also posits that Ebenezer's sister died while giving birth to his nephew, Fred, thus engendering Scrooge's estrangement from him. We are also told that Ebenezer's mother died while giving birth to him, causing his father to resent him just as Ebenezer resents his nephew. In the book, Fan is much younger than Ebenezer, and the cause of her death is not mentioned.

Reception

The film was released in Great Britain under its original title, Scrooge. United Artists handled the US release under the title A Christmas Carol and the film was originally slated to be shown at New York's Radio City Music Hall as part of their Christmas attraction. However, the theatre management thought the film was too grim and sombre and did not possess enough family entertainment value to warrant an engagement at the Music Hall, in contrast to the 1938 A Christmas Carol, which did premiere at Radio City. Instead, the 1951 film premiered at the Guild Theatre (near the Music Hall, and not to be confused with the Guild Theatre which showcased plays) on Halloween night, 1951. The U.S. reviews were mixed and the film was a box office disappointment. However it was one of the most popular films in Britain in 1952.[4]

The film received a favourable notice from The New York Times when it opened in 1951,[5] and a mixed review in Time magazine[6] criticising the direction while praising the performances, but otherwise had not caused much of a stir. In the years since, it has attained classic status in the U.S. and become a favourite of the viewing public. Sim's characterisation of Scrooge receives particular praise.

According to critic A. O. Scott of The New York Times, this film is the best one ever made of the Dickens classic.[7]

A colorised version of the film was released in 1989, and many of the DVD issues include it as an extra.

Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern reprised their roles two decades later, lending their voices to Richard Williams's 1971 animated version of the tale.

The film was released on Blu-ray in 2009 by VCI, in a package that also included a DVD copy of the film, cropped into a faux widescreen format. This package only contained minimal bonus features. It was issued again on Blu-ray in 2011 with a remastered transfer, and many bonus features that did not appear in the first Blu-ray version.

Featured cast

Music

Richard Addinsell wrote several pieces for the film's underscore, ranging from dark and moody to light and joyous. One of the more notable tunes is a polka, used in the two different versions of Fred's dinner party: the one Scrooge observes while with the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the other with Scrooge attending the party after atoning for his past coldness to Fred and his wife. The tune is similar to a traditional Slovenian polka called "Stoparjeva" ("hitchhiker") or just "Stopar".

The film also contains excerpts from some traditional Christmas carols and other tunes. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is sung over part of the opening credits, and by the miners when Scrooge is with the Ghost of Christmas Present. An instrumental version of "I Saw Three Ships" is played when Scrooge gives a coin to Mrs. Dilber, and again just before the end of the film. "Silent Night" is played and sung at various times, including over the last part of the final scene and "The End".

The tragic folk song "Barbara Allen" is played as an instrumental when young Scrooge is talking with his sister Fan, and sung by a duet at Fred's Christmas party. Scrooge turns up just as they are about to sing the line "Young man, I think you're dying."

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Scrooge at the Internet Movie Database incorrectly refers to "Boy Buying Goose", but the boy is actually sent to buy a prize turkey. See plot summary at A Christmas Carol or Scrooge at the American Film Institute Catalog.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 lisala (20 December 2010). "Dickens' A Christmas Carol and the Question of Turkey or Goose". Real Book. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Baker, Russell (11 January 1986). "Observer: For The Love Of Error". New York Times.
  4. ↑ "Robert Beatty in boxing picture.". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 31 January 1953. p. 3 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  5. ↑ The Screen In Review; Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol,' With Alastair Sim Playing Scrooge, Unveiled Here, Bosley Crowther, The New York Times, November 29, 1951
  6. ↑ TIME review, December 3, 1951.
  7. ↑ "Critics' Picks: 'A Christmas Carol' - Video". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  8. ↑ "Dickensblog: Meet the maid: An interview with Theresa Derrington Cozens-Hardy". Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=86754

External links