A Christmas Carol (1951)

An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when he is haunted by three ghosts on Christmas Eve...

Director:

Brian Desmond Hurst (as Brian Desmond-Hurst)

Writers:

Charles Dickens (adapted from "A Christmas Carol"), Noel Langley (adaptation)

Stars:

Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alastair Sim	...	Ebenezer Scrooge
Kathleen Harrison	...	Mrs. Dilber
Mervyn Johns	...	Bob Cratchit
Hermione Baddeley	...	Mrs. Cratchit
Michael Hordern	...	Jacob Marley
George Cole	...	Young Ebenezer Scrooge
John Charlesworth	...	Peter Cratchit
Francis De Wolff	...	Spirit of Christmas Present (as Francis de Wolff)
Rona Anderson	...	Alice
Carol Marsh	...	Fan Scrooge
Brian Worth	...	Fred
Miles Malleson	...	Old Joe
Ernest Thesiger	...	The Undertaker
Glyn Dearman	...	Tiny Tim
Michael Dolan	...	Spirit of Christmas Past

Storyline

Stingy businessman Ebenezer Scrooge is known as the meanest miser in Victorian London. He overworks and underpays his humble clerk, Bob Cratchit, whose little son, Tiny Tim, is crippled and may soon die. He also has nothing to do with his nephew, Fred, because his birth cost the life of his beloved sister. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge has a haunting nightmare from being visited by the ghost of his business partner, Jacob Marley. He is visited by three ghosts and is given one last chance to change his ways and save himself from the grim fate that befell Marley.

---

Plot Keywords:

christmas | ghost | scrooge | christmas eve | miser | 

---

Taglines:

One of the world's most loved character actors, Alastair Sim, in a masterful portrayal of one of the world's best loved characters, Scrooge!

---

Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Christmas Carol

Filming Locations:

8 Scandrett Street, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

George Minter Productions, Renown Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 74 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The video versions of the colorized film include introduction and closing segments filmed by actor Patrick Macnee in which he extols its virtues and claims it as a favorite of his. An odd fact is that he doesn't mention that he played the role of the young Jacob Marley in this film. However, there is an explanation for this. When the colorized version was broadcast on TV, there were other Macnee segments that were used at commercial breaks, and in one of them he did mention his role in the film. Naturally there was no reason to include these segments on video.

---

Goofs

When Scrooge gives his housekeeper a Christmas Bonus and increases her wages to ten shillings a week, she runs down the stairs exclaiming in joy "Bob's your uncle!" This phrase commemorates British Prime Minister Robert Cecil's appointment of his unqualified nephew, Arthur Balfour, as the Chief Secretary of Ireland, in 1887, 17 years after Charles Dickens had died.

---

Quotes

Ebenezer: Who are you?
Jacob Marley: Ask me who I was.
Ebenezer: All right, all right, who WERE you then?
Jacob Marley: In life, I was your partner, Jacob Marley.
Ebenezer: Well, in that case, CAN you sit down?
Jacob Marley: I can.

---

Connections

Featured in The Ref (1994)

---

Soundtracks

Barbara Allen
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played as background music during film and sung by guests at Fred's Christmas party

User Reviews

Not a perfect film but still the most enduring version.

This film is one I will watch year after year and surpasses the other versions I've seen in so many ways ... even if Noel Langley's screenplay liberties with Dickens' novel led to an inescapable character error.

In Langley's screenplay, we're led to believe that Scrooge's father blames him for his wife's death during childbirth ... which later leads Scrooge to blame his nephew for the death of his younger sister (Fan) under the same circumstances. The flaw? The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to his boarding school. Fan comes to take Scrooge home, saying that their father has repented and become kinder. Scrooge remarks how much Fan looks like their mother ... and Fan replies, saying it might be the reason why he's become kinder. But, if Fan was Scrooge's younger sister and if their mother died during Scrooge's childbirth, Fan couldn't exist ... because their mother was already dead and buried by the time she would have been born.

In Dickens' novel, the death of Scrooge's mother is only implied. And Fan's death is only mentioned as happening when she was an adult. Death during childbirth was not associated with either the mother or Fan ... implying that the "distancing" between Scrooge's father and Scrooge, as well as between Scrooge and Fred, was merely because both had become miserly and unfeeling men of business. And in the novel, Dickens referred to Fan as being, quote, "much younger than the boy" (referring to Ebenezer). If Langley referred to Fan as being "older" than Ebenezer, it could have been seen as merely a screenplay writer taking "license" to revise the novel. But Langley didn't make such a reference ... which probably left Dickens readers scratching their heads.

That error aside, the film was completely enjoyable and will certainly be enjoyed by future generations as much as my generation has enjoyed it.

P.S. Trivial tidbit. While death during childbirth was common in Dickens time, it wasn't as common as death by consumption (today called tuberculosis). Dickens own younger sister died from the disease ... and her name was Fan.