Scrooged (1988)

A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Mitch Glazer, Michael O'Donoghue

Stars:

Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	Frank Cross
Karen Allen	...	Claire Phillips
John Forsythe	...	Lew Hayward
John Glover	...	Brice Cummings
Bobcat Goldthwait	...	Eliot Loudermilk
David Johansen	...	Ghost of Christmas Past
Carol Kane	...	Ghost of Christmas Present
Robert Mitchum	...	Preston Rhinelander
Nicholas Phillips	...	Calvin Cooley
Michael J. Pollard	...	Herman
Alfre Woodard	...	Grace Cooley
Mabel King	...	Gramma
John Murray	...	James Cross
Jamie Farr	...	Jacob Marley
Robert Goulet	...	Robert Goulet

Storyline

Francis Xavier Cross is a cynical, mean spirited television executive, he treats his loyal assistant with contempt. He just sacked a member of staff on Christmas Eve for simply disagreeing with him, and he's alienated himself from his brother who still insists on inviting Frank to Christmas dinner despite him refusing to go every year. However, Frank is forced to learn the true meaning of Christmas when he's visited by three ghosts.

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Plot Keywords:

compassion | ghost | redemption | greed | tv show | 

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Taglines:

The spirits will move you in odd and hysterical ways.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

Filming Locations:

Woodside, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$60,328,558

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Mirage Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Sanborn: As a street musician.

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Goofs

The telephone which auto-dials moves a bit around so you can clearly see that someone pulls strings from under the telephone.

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Quotes

Frank Cross: The Jews taught me this great word: Schmuck. I was a schmuck, and now I'm not a schmuck!

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Crazy Credits

About a third of the way through the closing credits, Bill Murray appears with the word "Scrooged" across the screen in front of him. He looks down and brushes the front of his jacket a few times, with each brush a couple of the letters in the title chase off the screen as if he's brushing them off his jacket.

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Alternate Versions

Following the September 11 attacks, the footage of an airplane blowing up in mid-air in reference to terrorism seen in Frank's violent "Scrooge" promo was edited out of television broadcasts. The entire violent promo is now edited out of television broadcasts.

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Connections

Version of Fredric March Presents Tales from Dickens: A Christmas Carol (1959)

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Soundtracks

Christmas Must Be Tonight
Written by Robbie Robertson
Performed by Robbie Robertson
Produced by Robbie Robertson
Courtesy of Geffen Records

User Reviews

I get it now!

I just finished watching this film (on TNT) for the countless time. What a fine seasonal offering. It's so much better than a lot of the pulp and smarmy c*** that passes for Christmas classics.

Bill Murray exclaims at the end of the movie, "I get it now!" Apparently, some folks watched this flick and didn't get it. The movie is essentially a star turn for Murray, who's in almost every frame - and that's fine with me because he can carry a film. Trivial quibbles over the movie's name and reference to the original work, the lack of faithfulness to the book and other complaints miss the point of the project. While staging a production of 'A Christmas Carol,' a TV executive experiences the very same circumstances as one of the characters in the novel. That alone makes it work. A few reviews question the overall harsh tone of the movie, or more specifically, Murray's role. Frankly, I would not have minded had it been even a little darker. There's a lot of water to carry in that bucket of trying to measure the callous and thoughtless manner in which some folks act on all but the most treasured of holidays. Murray's demeanour boils it down into one strong mean spirit and evaporates it with a truly positive and well-wishing finale.

Scrooged is, along with Groundhog Day, among his best work.