Scrooge (1970)

A musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale.

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Charles Dickens (story), Leslie Bricusse (screenplay)

Stars:

Albert Finney, Edith Evans, Kenneth More

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Albert Finney	...	Ebenezer Scrooge
Edith Evans	...	Ghost of Christmas Past
Kenneth More	...	Ghost of Christmas Present
Laurence Naismith	...	Mr. Fezziwig
Michael Medwin	...	Nephew Fred
David Collings	...	Bob Cratchit
Anton Rodgers	...	Tom Jenkins
Suzanne Neve	...	Isabel Fezziwig
Frances Cuka	...	Ethel Cratchit
Derek Francis	...	1st Gentleman of Charity
Gordon Jackson	...	Tom - Friend of Harry's
Roy Kinnear	...	2nd Gentleman of Charity
Mary Peach	...	Fred's Wife
Paddy Stone	...	Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Kay Walsh	...	Mrs. Fezziwig

Storyline

In 1860, the stingy and cranky Ebenezer Scrooge that hates Christmas; loathes people and defends the decrease of the surplus of poor population runs his bank exploiting his employee Bob Cratchit and clients, giving a bitter treatment to his own nephew and acquaintances. However, in the Christmas Eve, he is visited by the doomed ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley that tells him that three spirits would visit him that night. The first one, the spirit of past Christmas, recalls his miserable youth when he lost his only love due to his greed; the spirit of the present Christmas shows him the poor situation of Bob's family and how joyful life may be; and the spirit of future Christmas shows his fate. Scrooge finds that life is good and time is too short and suddenly you are not there anymore, changing his behavior toward Christmas, Bob, his nephew and people in general.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | spirit | nephew | 1860s | ghost | 

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Taglines:

What the DICKENS have they done to Scrooge?

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Genres:

Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Et juleeventyr

Filming Locations:

Black Park Lake, Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Center Films, Waterbury Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scrooge (played by then 34-year old Albert Finney) is actually younger than his nephew Fred (played by then 46-year old Michael Medwin).

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Goofs

During the reprise of "Thank You very Much" at the end of the movie, the crowd sings and dances their way past the booth of the Punch and Judy man and the camera stops to focus on him. If you look just to the left of his booth, you can see the actors stopping and turning back since they are now "off-camera." But, the next shot after the Punch and Judy man shows them continuing down the street.

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Quotes

Ebenezer Scrooge: Why do you walk the earth? Why'd you come to persecute me? And what is that great chain you wear?
the Ghost of Jacob Marley: I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it, link by link and yard by yard, while on Earth, and now I will never be rid of it, any more than you will ever be rid of yours!
Ebenezer Scrooge: [shocked] Mine?
the Ghost of Jacob Marley: It was as heavy and long as this seven Christmases ago. It's a terrible, ponderous chain you are making, Scrooge!
Ebenezer Scrooge: Tell me more, Marley, but speak comforts to me!
the Ghost of Jacob Marley: I have none to give.
Ebenezer Scrooge: None?
the Ghost of Jacob Marley: Comfort comes from other...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The phrase "Merry Christmas" appears at the end of the movie.

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Connections

Version of A Christmas Carol (2009)

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Soundtracks

"See the Phantoms"
Music by Leslie Bricusse
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Performed by Alec Guinness

User Reviews

A Dickens of a Good Time

There have been so many versions of this literary masterpiece filmed that it is high praise indeed from me when I say this is easily my favourite version and one of the best. Albert Finney gives a tour-de-force performance as Ebeneezer Scrooge. He is barely middle-age when making the film yet gives one of the best cranky, curmudgeonly old man performances seen in film. Finney gives such life to lines that have become tainted by overuse over the years. All the performers do excellent jobs with some old English stalwarts lending a hand. Dame Edith Evans plays one of the most charming and pithy Ghosts of Christmas Pasts I have seen. Kenneth More, an under-appreciated actor, adds so much life as the Ghost of Christmas Present. And let's not forget Alec Guinness as the Ghost of Jacob Marley. In some moments he is a clown and others a very scary spirit. The scene where Scrooge sees his fate as being a co-worker of Marley's in Hell is one of the most innovative plot additions I have seen to this classic, timeless tale. Guinness hams it up; watch how he walks with those chains all over him. The actors playing Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Nephew Fred, Mr. Fezziwig, and so on are all very believable and give genuine performances. I love the music. I know some people are not musical people, but each song is catchy and some like "I Hate People," "I Like Life," "December the 25th," and the best "Thank You Very Much" will possibly remain in your head days after having seen the film. Because of its status as a tale of redemption and forgiveness and the possibility each of us have in changing our lives, A Christmas Carol(Scrooge) gets little recognition for being one of the greatest ghost stories ever written. I cannot say enough good about this film. What more can you ask for than good, solid acting, mellifluous tunes, authentic Victorian settings, and one heck of a good ghost story with a moral that each of us can relate to. If you don't like musicals, you will be put off by people combusting into song. As for me, Scrooge is the one version that my family and I make a point of seeing every holiday season. It just isn't Christmas here without it!