A Christmas Carol (1950)

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 »

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel), Eric Fawcett (adaptation)

Stars:

Bransby Williams, John Ruddock, John Bentley

Cast

Credited cast:
Bransby Williams	...	Ebenezer Scrooge
John Ruddock	...	Bob Cratchit
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Bentley	...	Young Scrooge / Night Watchman
Pamela Cameron	...	Martha Cratchit
Robert Cawdron	...	Mr. Fred
The Cecil Sharp Folk Dance Society	...	Dancers
Julian D'Albie	...	Ghost of Christmas Present / Portly Gentleman
Howard Douglas	...	Gentleman of the Stock Exchange
Michael Edmonds	...	Boy Waif / Carol Singer
Adrian Evans	...	Boy Cratchit / Carol Singer
Pat Fryer	...	Fanny / Girl Waif (as Patricia Fryer)
Arthur Hambling	...	Ghost of Christmas Past / Gentleman of the Stock Exchange
MacDonald Hobley	...	Narrator
W.E. Holloway	...	Marley's Ghost / Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Shirley Hose	...	Belinda Cratchit

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:

christmas | based on play | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Did You Know?

Connections

Version of An American Christmas Carol (1979)

User Reviews

it's hard to review something lost for 61 years

I'm writing this "review" in order to point out the basic error in the previous reviewers remarks. I believe the previous reviewer is actually thinking of the Alistair Sim 1951 version of the story and not the live TV broadcast on the BBC from 1950–which he is extremely unlikely to have seen since it's lost - unless he lived in London at the time and saw the original broadcast - doubtful.

Of course one can always hope that a copy of this will turn up at the BFI, along with Bransby Williams previous appearance in the 1928 Phonofilm short. He can be seen in an excerpt from Bleak House filmed in 1926, in which she plays the part of an old miser not unlike Scrooge.

Let's hope that will turn up some day.

(Generally I get quite annoyed when people review things they couldn't possibly have seen, bur in this case I'm fairly certain it was an innocent mistake.) But folks, please check that you really are reviewing the film you think you're reviewing.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 1950 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White