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A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol (1938) More at IMDbPro »

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A Christmas Carol (1938) -- The timeworn Dickens' story about the old merchant Scrooge and how his own disappointments in life shape his view that both life and men are not worthy of his notice or concern...

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   1,483 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 20% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Edwin L. Marin
Writers:
Charles Dickens (short story)
Hugo Butler (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for A Christmas Carol on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 December 1938 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Fantasy more
Tagline:
Greater than "David Copperfield" !
Plot:
The timeworn Dickens' story about the old merchant Scrooge and how his own disappointments in life shape... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
A Cozy Carol more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (USA) (complete title)
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Runtime:
69 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #4884)
Company:
Loew's more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
John Seitz temporarily replaced cameraman Sidney Wagner during production when Wagner was ill with a bad case of flu, and Marvin Stuart replaced assistant director Dolph Zimmer when Zimmer had a cold. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: Young Scrooge and Dick Wilkins talk to each other while closing up Fezziwig's warehouse, yet their lips do not move. more
Quotes:
Ebenezer Scrooge: [to Marley's ghost] We'll soon see how real you are.
[Calling out the window]
Ebenezer Scrooge: Watch! There's an intruder in my room!
Leader of watch: Right up, sir - law and order!
Jacob Marley's ghost: It was for your welfare that I made this visit, Ebenezer Scrooge.
[He disappears]
Leader of watch: [unable to find him] Your intruder seems to have extruded, if I may say so, sir.
Ebenezer Scrooge: He was here! He was a spirit!
Leader of watch: [laughing] Of course, sir! A fine night for spirits - of one form or another, sir!
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Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "The Simpsons: Burns' Heir (#5.18)" (1994) more
Soundtrack:
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen more

FAQ

Is it possible to read Dickens' story online?
How is Fred related to Ebenezer Scrooge?
Is that a very young June Lockhart I see playing one of Bob Cratchit's daughters?
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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful:-
A Cozy Carol, 23 December 2002
9/10
Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

This Hollywood version of the Dickens Christmas classic is overshadowed by a later British version featuring Alastair Sim. The British film is more realistic, and captures in its incidentals more of Dickens' radical spirit than this more stately American film, which as directed by the able Edward Martin, is done on a more modest scale. I find the American film cozier and warmer.

Reginald Owen is a less flamboyant Scrooge than Sim, which tends to make one concentrate more on the story. The movie was made on a medium budget, and it shows. However, this is not a bad thing, for while the later version gives has a dank, drafty Victorian mood,--one can almost feel the winter wind,--this one benefits enormously from its hearth-like intimacy. It's a very fine movie in its own right, with a mood all its own.

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