Thrice (or much more) Told Tales: A Christmas Carol (Who’s Your Favorite Scrooge?)

Usually in Thrice Told Tales, we try to look at stories that have been adapted three times, but Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been adapted dozens of times to the big screen and television. Many characters have been adapted for the story: from Felix and Oscar in The Odd Couple to Mr. McGoo, The Muppets, Mickey Mouse and Company, and so many others. For now, though, I will limit myself to three of the more classic, straight adaptations of the story, starting with one of the first studio, big-budget adaptations.

Adaptation 1: A Christmas Carol (1938)

What’s your favorite scene in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol?

Is it when Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, has an ice sliding competition with Bob Cratchit’s son, Peter?

Or is it when Bob Cratchit throws a snowball, knocking the top hat off his boss, Scrooge, so Bob is sacked?

Or when Scrooge makes his nephew, Fred, a partner in his firm so he’ll be able to marry his love, Bess?

What’s that? You don’t remember any of these scenes? Well, then you haven’t seen MGM’s 1938 version of the tale. Though only 69 minutes long, Hugo Butler, the screenwriter, felt he didn’t need to follow the details of Dickens’ tale since the story would be so improved by his changes and additions.

Some of those changes have a thematic impact on the story. For instance, in the novel, Fred has been married for years before the time of the story. The reason Scrooge had a break with his nephew is because he married for love rather than money. Fred in this film has put off his marriage for financial considerations. It is not until Scrooge provides for Fred financially at the end of the film that he marries. Small changes, but harmful ones.

The film was made at the MGM studios and though some English actors are used, there are also American accents. A mix of accents and dialects can be heard by the sensitive ear. The film is telling a story set in Dickens’ London, and anything that distracts from that is detrimental.

But the worst thing about the film is Reginald Owen’s performance as Scrooge. He’s just a slightly cranky man, not a man broken by poor decisions and greed. It doesn’t take much to change him.

This story is so familiar to many of us that the smallest changes can be annoying. Why is there a plot contrivance of Scrooge firing Cratchit at the beginning of the film? Because of this, Cratchit celebrates Christmas with the burden of knowing he is jobless (which might have struck a chord during the depression, but still…) At the Christmas dinner, Mrs. Cratchit rather than Bob proposes a toast to Scrooge. This goes against the character of Bob and his wife.

The film ends with Scrooge bringing a goose and presents to the Cratchit household, rather than Scrooge pulling a prank on Bob the day after Christmas—one of the best conclusions in literature. (In one of our films, a similar change is made, but with more success.)

In 1938, MGM demonstrated that A Christmas Carol is not indestructible. It’s possible to fail while telling the tale.

Adaptation 2: Scrooge (1951)

In my opinion the best telling of A Christmas Carol was made in England in 1951. What makes Scrooge the best version of the story is that it has the very best Ebenezer Scrooge as he’s portrayed by Alastair Sim.

Admittedly, one of the things that makes Sim a good Scrooge is that it is the first role I recall seeing him play (though I have seen him in other things since). When I see George C. Scott or Patrick Stewart in the role, I think “Isn’t Patton (or Picard) doing a good Scrooge?” When I see Sim, I think, “Oh, there’s old Scrooge again.”

Sim does really seem like a rotter before his transformation by ghosts. His Scrooge is clever, but not as clever as he thinks he is. He thinks his “more of the gravy than the grave” remark is an absolute banger. But when he says that “Christmas is a humbug,” he is quite serious. He is an absolute narcissist who needs to be taught, and is taught, to care for others.

There is a charming supporting cast from top to bottom. It’s very important to cast Bob Cratchit and nephew Fred correctly, and Mervyn Johns and Brian Worth, respectively, bring proper Christmas cheer to their roles. Both seem to love Scrooge with all of his faults and one can’t help but wonder if their defense of Scrooge is a large factor in bringing the miser to salvation. And Tiny Tim has the right blend of optimism and strength through pain.

The film faithfully uses the dialogue and structure of the novel.

I’m always curious to see how adaptors choose to end the story. In the book, Scrooge initially delivers the large Christmas bird anonymously to the Cratchits, so when Bob goes to work on December 26th, he expects to meet the same tyrannical boss; but Scrooge delights in foiling the expectations of his employee by telling him he is going to… Raise his salary!

This version also has quite a bit of spiritual, even Biblical, content. The Ghost of Christmas Present says, “The Child born in Bethlehem does not live in men’s hearts one day, but 365 days a year. You have chosen not to seek him in your heart. So we will seek men who do.”

Tiny Tim says he doesn’t mind people staring at him in church because it might “draw them to think of the One who made lame men walk and blind men see.”

In this version, Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present visit Scrooge’s former fiance, Alice, who is serving the poor on Christmas Eve and there is a preacher in that place reading I Corinthians 13.

When Scrooge visits the Cratchits with the Ghost of Christmas Future, the family is in mourning and son Peter is comforting others by reading Psalm 91.

Scrooge’s transformation is a spiritual one. “And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us.” The film captures the spirit of Dickens as well as it has ever been done.

Adaptation 3: Scrooge (1970)

Didn’t I just say that the quality of a Christmas Carol adaptation is based on the quality of the performance as Scrooge and how closely it sticks to the original work? Well, 1970’s Scrooge adds a whole lot to the original novel, and Albert Finney’s performance as Scrooge has a number of weaknesses, but… I still like it a lot.

By its very nature as a musical adaptation, there is much added with the songs and dances, but some of the songs are rather wonderful (while a couple of them drag).

As for the problems with Finney… Usually an old actor is cast as Scrooge and other actors are cast to play Scrooge for different periods of his life during the visit of the Ghost of Christmas Past. But Finney was a relatively young 34 when he played the role, so he plays young Scrooge and old Scrooge in old age make-up. The make-up isn’t always convincing and he’s at times a caricature of an old man.

But the other roles are cast well, such as the crucial parts mentioned before, Fred, Cratchit and Tim. And Alec Guinness as the ghost of Jacob Marley is very funny. A very different casting choice was made for the Ghost of Christmas Past: an older woman (Dame Edith Evans), and it works very well.

The film makes great use of special effects, bringing the ghosts to life (death?). Especially effective is the spectral hearse that tramps through Scrooge’s home. There also is a very funny scene: the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come sending Scrooge to Hell where he is given a tour by Jacob Marley. (When the film was shown on television, they often cut the Hell out of it.)

And the film has a very different ending than the novel. On Christmas Day, Scrooge goes very public with his conversion, going so far as dressing up as Father Christmas and distributing presents to the Cratchit children. A wonderful thing about this different ending is Scrooge forgiving the debts of all of his clients, celebrated with the song, “Thank You Very Much.” It brings to my mind the Biblical tradition of Jubilee, when all debts are canceled. As we see Scrooge tearing the debts out of the book, we see that Scrooge is truly the one set free.

So what’s your favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol? Who in your opinion did the best job playing Scrooge?

Previous Trice Told Tales:

Yojimbo, ,The Maltese Falcon, Emma, The Body Snatchers, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)