Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol (1979)

On Christmas Eve, an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner, Jacob Marley. The deceased partner was in his lifetime as mean and miserly as Scrooge ... See full summary »

Director:

Marc Daniels

Writers:

Charles Dickens (story "A Christmas Carol"), Mel Mandel (book)

Stars:

Hoyt Axton, Lynn Anderson, Larry Gatlin

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hoyt Axton	...	Cyrus Flint
Lynn Anderson	...	Laura Pritchet
Larry Gatlin	...	Roger
Julie Gregg	...	Joan
Tom T. Hall	...	Ghost of Jacob Burley
Barbara Mandrell	...	Emmy
Martha Raye	...	Ghost of Christmas Past
The Statler Brothers	...	The Flint City Four
Mel Tillis	...	Dennis Pritchett
Dottie West	...	Annabelle Williams
Steven Lutz	...	T.J.
Byron Webster	...	Mr. Abbey
Carol Swarbrick	...	Mrs. Abbey
Jean Howell	...	Sarah
Dave Madden	...	Stanley Gershen

Storyline

On Christmas Eve, an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner, Jacob Marley. The deceased partner was in his lifetime as mean and miserly as Scrooge is now and he warns him to change his ways or face the consequences in the afterlife. Scrooge dismisses the apparition but the first of the three ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past, visits as promised. Scrooge sees those events in his past life, both happy and sad, that forged his character. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows him how many currently celebrate Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him how he will be remembered once he is gone. To his delight, the spirits complete their visits in one night giving him the opportunity to mend his ways.

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Plot Keywords:

greed | group | parody | kitchen | contest | 

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Genres:

Family | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1979 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of The Right to Be Happy (1916)

User Reviews

odd spin on A Christmas Carol

It's hard to think of a story in English literature that has inspired as many filmatic adaptations as A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Dickens' sentimental statement on Victorian social ills. Setting aside the more than numerous animated versions, we still have countless live-action versions, with many more undoubtably to come. One of the strangest is this, a seemingly forgotten TV effort that, to my knowledge, only aired once during the 1979 Christmas season. It was the basic story, with the kicker being that the setting was transposed from Victorian London to present day Tennessee, and the cast was populated by Country/Western singers! Really. Hoyt Axton as Scrooge, Mel Tillis and Lynn Anderson as the Cratchits, Tom T. Hall as Marley, and I believe Barbara Mandrell as the girl Scrooge left behind. I'm sure there were more, but can't think of them. Since I'm a fan of the story(and love tracking down all the film versions and variations), this one sprang to mind while I was watching scenes from the George C. Scott version(truly the best version in the past 20 years). With the rise in cable availability it seems like this forgotten version would rise to the surface(given all the channels vying for holiday programming), but that hasn't been the case yet. Maybe someday TNN or CMT will show it again.