"Shower of Stars" A Christmas Carol (1954)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Ralph Levy

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (adaptation)
Maxwell Anderson (teleplay "A Christmas Carol")

TV Series:

"Shower of Stars" (1954)

Original Air Date:

23 December 1954 (Season 1, Episode 4)

Genre:

Family | Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Scrooge | Miser | Compassion | Christmas

Cast

William Lundigan	...	Host
Mary Costa	...	Co-host (spoken credit)
Fredric March	...	Ebenezer Scrooge
Basil Rathbone	...	Marley's ghost
Bob Sweeney	...	Bob Cratchit
Christopher Cook	...	Tiny Tim
Craig Hill	...	Young Scrooge
Queenie Leonard	...	Mrs. Cratchit
Rex Evans	...	Solicitor
William Griffiths	...	The Book Buyer
Peter Miles	...	Peter Cratchit
Janine Perreau	...	Belinda Cratchit
Bonnie Franklin	...	Susan Cratchit
Judy Franklin	...	Martha Cratchit
Juney Ellis	...	The Housekeeper

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (surviving kinescope prints) | Color (original broadcast)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

CBS Television Network

Trivia:

Bonnie Franklin's TV debut.

At least it's free.

This show is on DVD, it's a bonus feature on the Bing Crosby and Kate Smith Christmas DVD. I was excited to watch this, never knowing that March played Scrooge before, and always up for seeing a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol. What a huge disappointment! This is borderline garbage. March doesn't deliver and the rest of the actors, except for Rathbone of course, are lousy. The songs aren't memorable, nor even mediocre enough to sit through, and the choice of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is unbelievably ridiculous. The only consolation is that the Bing Christmas show is the main feature and worth paying the $8 for, so you're not really paying for this version of A Christmas Carol (unless you watch it).