General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMy favorite movie adaptation of "A Christmas Carol"
is the one with Albert Finney as Scrooge made in 1970, this scene in particular:
How about you?
Here's a list of them:
A Christmas Carol, 1908 Essanay Studios in Chicago produced this 15-minute silent film, which starred Tom Ricketts as Ebenezer Scrooge. Ricketts is said to have directed the first motion picture ever in Hollywood, in 1909, titled Justified.
A Christmas Carol, 1910 J. Searle Dawley directed this 17-minute silent film. It featured Australian-born American actor Marc McDermott as Scrooge and Charles S. Ogle as Bob Cratchit.
Old Scrooge, 1926 This was the rerelease of a film by Pathe made in England in 1913 starring Seymour Hicks. This print is on DVD.
Scrooge, 1935 This was the first sound version and feature-length film of Dickens story. Seymour Hicks played Scrooge, a role he had played thousands of times onstage. Most of the ghosts, including that of Jacob Marley, are not actually shown on-screen, although their voices are heard.
A Christmas Carol, 1938 Made by MGM, this was Americas first film adaptation of the story. Lionel Barrymore, who played Scrooge annually on radio, was forced to drop out of the film because of arthritis. Reginald Owen took on the role of Scrooge, and the husband-and-wife team of Gene and Kathleen Lockhart played the Cratchits. It opened in December 1938 at New York Citys Radio City Music Hall, where it did moderately well. In England, it failed dismally at the box office.
Scrooge, 1951 Probably the best interpretation ever of the Dickens story. It was released as A Christmas Carol in the U.S. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. Of all his 60 films, this is probably Scottish actors most celebrated performance. It received marvelous acclaim in Great Britain but had mixed reviews in the U.S. and was a box-office disappointment.
Scrooge, 1970 Starring Albert Finney, this lavish musical film adaptation of the Dickens story was filmed in London. Mr. Finney earned the title role even though he was only 34 years old at the time. Alec Guinness played Jacob Marleys ghost. it got good reviews, earning Mr. Finney a Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy. The film also notched four Oscar nominations. The musical score was composed by Leslie Bricusse, who wrote the Sammy Davis Jr. hit The Candy Man.
A Christmas Carol, 1971 Famed actor Alastair Sim, from the 1951 film, revisited the Scrooge character in this Academy Award-winning animated film version of the story, made for ABC television. Michael Hordern also reprised his 1951 performance as the voice of Marleys Ghost. It was directed by Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) whose 4-year-old son, Alexander, provided the voice for Tiny Tim.
Mickeys Christmas Carol, 1983 This 24-minute Walt Disney animated film featured Scrooge McDuck as a Scottish Scrooge (Alan Young) and Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit. It was the first new Mickey Mouse cartoon made in the 30 years since The Simple Things. It was nominated for an Academy Award as best animated short subject of 1983.
A Christmas Carol, 1984 George C. Scott starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in this made-for-television version. The film was directed by Clive Donner (Whats New Pussycat) who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge. Susannah York played Mrs. Cratchit. The film was well-received and is considered one of the best adaptations of the classic tale.
Scrooged, 1988 Bill Murray plays Frank Cross as a cynically selfish TV executive in this modernization of the Dickens classic. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner. It grossed $62 million on a $32 million budget. The film also starred Karen Allen and Robert Mitchum, along with Robert Goulet, Lee Majors, Mary Lou Retton and John Houseman as themselves.
A Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992 This musical comedy starred Michael Caine as Scrooge and Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit. It was the first Muppet film after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson and was directed by Hensons son Brian. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and had moderate box-office success, earning $27 million domestically.
A Christmas Carol, 1999 Star Trek: The Next Generation star Patrick Stewart played Ebenezer Scrooge, and Richard E. Grant (Withnail and I) starred as Bob Cratchit in this made-for-TV film. Mr. Stewart previously had performed a series of successful theatrical readings of A Christmas Carol on Broadway and in London.
A Christmas Carol: The Movie, 2001 British actor Simon Callow (A Room With a View) is the voice of Scrooge in this animated film. Kate Winslet (Titanic) voiced the character Belle and sang the films theme, What if, which was a top-10 hit in Austria, Belgium and Ireland and hit No. 6 on the U.K. Singles Chart. Nicolas Cage performed the voice of Jacob Marley.
A Christmas Carol: The Musical, 2004 This $17 million television film was based on a 1994 stage musical of the same name, with songs written by Alan Menken (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics). Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier) played Scrooge. Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) starred as Jacob Marley and sang a number called Link by Link. In a departure from the Dickens story, this version introduces us to Scrooges father, who is sentenced to debtors prison while his horrified family looks on.
Barbie in a Christmas Carol, 2008 This computer-animated version from Kidtoon Films went direct to DVD. Eden Starling, a glamorous singing diva in Victorian England, is the Scrooge in this version.
A Christmas Carol, 2009 Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) wrote and directed this 3-D film starring Jim Carrey in a multitude of roles. The film was produced through the process of performance capture, a technique Mr. Zemeckis had used in his films The Polar Express (2004) and Beowulf (2007). Mr. Carrey played Ebenezer Scrooge as a young, middle-aged and old man and also played the three ghosts who haunt Scrooge. The film was a box-office success, taking in almost $318.5 million worldwide so far.
Doctor Who Christmas Special 2010: A Christmas Carol Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way the Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser, Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon), the richest man in Sardicktown. This version premiers on BBC America on Christmas Day.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/18/list-many-faces-scrooge/#ixzz3MZPBnHQh
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Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)My favorite onstage Carol, Patrick Stewart's one man version. He was great as Tiny Tim.
boston bean
(36,218 posts)I bet it would be a hit.
Journeyman
(15,024 posts)This was the first version I saw. I was about 8 years old. I've associated Scrooge with Mr Magoo every since.
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)We watch it every Christmas Eve after dinner.
hlthe2b
(102,119 posts)was the Mr. Magoo animated show that came on each year--much like the Peanuts Christmas special. 'Haven't seen it in some time, but imagine it is still around. The late, great Jim Backus (Gillegan's Island fame) voiced Magoo..
But, yes, there is something really special about the Albert Finney version.
boston bean
(36,218 posts)when I was a child.
It wasn't on the Washington Post list, but probably should have been.
YarnAddict
(1,850 posts)We've got the George C. Scott version.
"Scrooged" is a family favorite that we watch every year.
boston bean
(36,218 posts)My second favorite would be the Alistair Sim version made in 1951.
YarnAddict
(1,850 posts)LOVE Christmas movies, especially love "A Christmas Carol." We saw the performance at the Pabst Theatre in Milwauke many, many years ago. Very, very special memory!
boston bean
(36,218 posts)going on 200 years... being first published in 1843.
I've never seen it on stage, but should be something I make a point to do one day.
el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)Micky's Christmas Carol is good as well .
Bryant
ChazInAz
(2,559 posts)I believe Mr. Ogle also played Frankenstein's Monster that year, in the Edison version of Mary Shelley's story.
Amusingly, I'm playing Scrooge, myself, this year. For gits and shiggles, I'm using Boris Karloff's voice for the part.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)boston bean
(36,218 posts)stage left
(2,961 posts)I love the reprise of this number. It brings me to tears everytime.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Lots of references to "trailer trash" and typical lazy-poor-people jokes. If you have Netflix (or maybe it was Hulu) give it a look, in the same way you might rubberneck a car crash. I am amazed this movie ever got made, although it is "true" to the basic Christmas Carol story.
Paladin
(28,243 posts)It's not Christmas until I get to see Alastair Sim do his thing. Brilliant work.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)boston bean
(36,218 posts)Paladin
(28,243 posts)That's the very best part of a very great holiday movie.
Brigid
(17,621 posts)Which reminds me: time to pull it out to watch on DVD. 'Scrooged" is hilarious m, but I don't have that one.
R B Garr
(16,950 posts)from sometime in the early 80's, if I remember, and I watched it every year on that tape for many years. I just love the music. It made me sad when I realized I had lost track of the tape, which wouldn't matter anyway since there aren't VHS machines anymore.
I don't see the Finney version played on TV much anymore. Maybe I've missed the showings. I do remember watching it one year with my SO, but he's not too fond of musicals. Last night we watched the George C. Scott version, and I would have to say that is my favorite right now. He is such a magnificent actor and presence and a tough act to follow. Edit: The Albert Finney version still has the best Marley, imo.
Another version we love a lot is the 2009 version with Jim Carrey. We watched in 3D when the picture came out and were thrilled with that! So that is one of our favorites now.
Thanks for reminding me about this Albert Finney version. I do intend to own a restored version of this as it's been a sentimental favorite for decades now. Great thread!
a little off topic: I also want to find a DVD of The Nutcracker version with Mikhail Baryshnikov, but it's out of print the last time I checked.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0136439/
You can't beat these classics!
IDemo
(16,926 posts)aikoaiko
(34,162 posts)But I also loved Scrooged with Bill Murray. It was a believable modern retelling.
Frank Cross: Did you try staples?
hatrack
(59,574 posts)Haven't yet seen any other version that comes close to capturing the Victorian gloom that permeates so much of Dickens, especially this story.
Siwsan
(26,249 posts)And Leo G Carroll as Marley. Possibly because this is the first version of the film I ever viewed, but Owen's version of Scrooge is just wonderful.
krawhitham
(4,638 posts)dhill926
(16,314 posts)grew up with this one. 1951 with Alastair Sim a close second....
TorchTheWitch
(11,065 posts)Though I've only seen a few different ones. I actually didn't like the one with George C. Scott very much, but I haven't seen it in so many decades I don't even remember why that is anymore.
I think tonight I'll watch the Albert Finney one again. I've not seen it in years and years.
reddread
(6,896 posts)that is my favorite. have to drag out the VCR to watch my copy every year.
the fellow who wrote the songs did not write music. they had an unsual arrangement of folks
working out the arrangements, as I understand it.
very well done.
Alec Guinness killed.
boston bean
(36,218 posts)One of my fav's... what is this... I've never had it before (says scrooge)... of course you haven't (says the ghost of Christmas present) it's the milk of human kindness.