Tonight on the Disney channel they had a special episode of Girl Meets World that reunited my favorite TV show characters Boy Meets World . Girl Meets World is a spinoff with Cory and Topanga and their 2 kids. They’ve done such a good job with the spin off and I look forward to it every week. Tonight Shawn Hunter and the parents were back.
Anyway, here is a blog I did on my favorite Boy Meets World episodes.
Scrooge 17: Christmas Carol 1938 Reginald Owen
Other than Alistair Sim this version with Reginald Owen of Christmas Carol is probably the most well known traditional retelling. It’s a fine version but not one of my favorites mostly for a few odd choices it makes.
You guys know I am pretty open minded when it comes to interpretations of this story. It’s a novella so every filmmaker is going to make it their own but in this case I feel the changes slow down the picture and even though it is only an hour and 9 minutes it feels long.
Trailer: (Introduction by Lionel Barrymore who was famous for his Scrooge on Broadway and originally offered the part )
Cast:
| Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge | ||||
| Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit | ||||
| Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit | ||||
| Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim Cratchit | ||||
| Barry MacKay as Fred (Scrooge’s Nephew) | ||||
| Lynne Carver as Bess (Fred’s fiance) | ||||
| Bunny Beatty as Martha Cratchit (uncredited) | ||||
| June Lockhart as Belinda Cratchit (uncredited) | ||||
| John O’Day as Peter Cratchit (uncredited) | ||||
| Leo G. Carroll as Marley’s Ghost | ||||
| Ann Rutherford as Spirit of Christmas Past | ||||
| Lionel Braham as Spirit of Christmas Present | ||||
| D’Arcy Corrigan as Spirit of Christmas Future | ||||
Scrooge- Reginald Owen is fine as Scrooge. He is kind of like the Scott version, a bit softer than the best versions in my opinion but perfectly fine performance.
Differences: (There are a lot in this one)
It takes a long time to get to the spirits. Again it’s only 69 minutes and it takes almost 30 to get to Past.
Big difference is Scrooge fires Cratchit because of a snowball fight and his wanting the day off. Cratchit then spends the rest of the movie overcompensating to his family and lying about it. I wonder if this was a Depression era influence? Losing your job may have seemed like a tougher thing than having a terrible one?
We also learn that Fred and his girl Bess are not married because of financial worries. They hope Scrooge will help them to be married. This doesn’t really make sense as he is the only child and surely some money from Scrooge’s father would have gone to Fan? Given Bess is a simple girl with no dowry I don’t see why marriage would have been a problem. It seems a strange problem to create for the story.
Another difference is when Marley comes he waves at 3 men to come and get the intruder. Again this just stalls the story and hurts the momentum.
Past takes Scrooge to see his childhood self, a part which can be skipped on occasion. And we actually see Scrooge crying for a long bit, which I found moving (it’s only like 5 seconds but it feels long and heart wrenching).
Then we get to Fezziwig’s and Scrooge is still a young lad so there is no Belle romance, no betrayal. Again a strange choice. In this film Scrooge’s betrayal is to Fred and Bess not to a love of his life. Not quite as compelling.
Present comes and instead of going to Cratchit’s or Fred’s right away we go to church. I normally like when the religious elements of the story are highlighted but this scene doesn’t really add anything but for Scrooge to see that Bess and Fred really are in love and to get some pretty music (a great boys choir sings).
Then we have Fred and boys skating outside the church and more with Fred and Bess.
And Present takes him to the Cratchit’s where we get a long sequence of them getting the goose, cooking, eating, talking. Cratchit tells Martha he has been sacked. It just feels slow.
The last major difference is after Present instead of immediately meeting Future Scrooge is back in his bed smiling and there is a montage of his daydreams about Christmas and how wonderful it is.
This feels too soon and makes the final victory at the cemetery less convincing because he already seemed converted a few minutes earlier. If he has already decided to change and embrace Christmas than why make him go to the cemetery?
Strengths- I don’t want to be too hard on it because it’s not unwatchable by any means. The acting is good, it is shot well and the restoration is clear and crisp in the version I saw.
The music is fine, all the sets look good and it has a pleasant feel about it. I enjoyed watching it but it just isn’t my favorite.
The Tiny Tim is excellent and has a beautiful singing voice and there is really only one song ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ sung at the church and I enjoyed the number.
Reginald Owens pours his heart into the role and he is fine as Scrooge.
Weaknesses- I said most of them. They just added the wrong things which make it feel slow even though it is not a long movie. Losing Belle in favor of Bess and Fred doesn’t work and makes the conversion feel less personal to Scrooge.
Like I said you can tell it is a lovingly produced film. They took some chances and I respect that but for me most of them didn’t quite work. Still, if you end up watching it you won’t be miserable. You’ll enjoy it just fine.
Orson Welles as a very young Scrooge, on radio
Fun review of the Orson Welles radio version of Christmas Carol.
Scrooge 16: Scrooged
I always say with comedies you either think something is funny and laugh or you don’t. Comedy is so subjective and I’ve had too many experiences to count where I thought something was hilarious and shown it to a friend and get only an awkward courtesy laugh from them in response. You’d think what is humorous would be more universal but I have found that to be almost never the case.
So here we have the most comedic take on Christmas Carol, the anti-Carol, you might say- 1988’s Scrooged staring Bill Murray. I think it is a very funny movie. It lags in a few spots but it keeps me laughing consistently for a hearty recommendation. If you don’t find it funny there isn’t much else to recommend about the film.
Trailer:
Cast:
This movie has some of the most hilarious cameos of any movie I’ve seen. Some of the best laughs are people not on the official cast list.
| Bill Murray as Francis Xavier “Frank” Cross | |||||
| Karen Allen as Claire Phillips | |||||
| John Forsythe as Lew Hayward | |||||
| John Glover as Brice Cummings | |||||
| Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk | |||||
| David Johansen as the Ghost of Christmas Past | |||||
| Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present | |||||
| Robert Mitchum as Preston Rhinelander | |||||
| Nicholas Phillips as Calvin Cooley | |||||
| Michael J. Pollard as Herman | |||||
| Alfre Woodard as Grace Cooley | |||||
| Mabel King as Gramma | |||||
| John Murray as James Cross | |||||
| Wendie Malick as Wendie Cross | |||||
| Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Cross, Frank and James’s father | |||||
| Joel Murray as Guest | |||||
Scrooge: Bill Murray plays Scrooge who goes by the name of Frank Cross in this and he is great as always. He pulls off the grumpy corporate executive probably better than the more tender scenes but his deadpan delivery is very funny.
Differences- This is definitely a lose adaptation designed to get laughs but there is 3 spirits, a Marley figure, a grumpy Scrooge character and a beleaguered assistant, so some elements remain in the story.
John Forsythe is actually pretty creepy as Lew Hayward with some decent special effects. They use the elevator very cleverly in the movie and Murray is filming a telecast of Christmas Carol while his own version is occurring, which brought some good laughs. My personal favorite scene is when the censor objects to a wardrobe in the telecast. Then there is a running gag where she gets hit in the head by various items and as someone who finds Hollywood’s attempt to censor itself with the MPAA to be a total joke I found it very funny.
Christmas Past is a cab driver played by David Johansen and he is nuts but in a humorous way.
Christmas Present is my favorite played by Carol Kane and she finds ways of injuring Scrooge both on purpose and by accident. Haven’t we all wanted to slap Scrooge in the face in one version or another? And it’s always funny when someone who sounds sweet and looks cute actually has a temper. She talks all sweet and then slaps him as hard as she can and that’s just funny.
Karen Allen from Raiders of the Lost Arc plays the Belle character who wants to serve others while Frank only thinks of himself. They had good chemistry together and I bought them as a couple.
Christmas Future isn’t an actor but a prop from the production going on that ends up in the elevator. He has Ignorance and Want inside his belly in a creative way.
In this version Fred is actually Frank’s Brother John and Alfre Woodard (who I always like) is the Cratchit character named Grace Cooley. She has a son who is a mute and refuses to talk to anyone.
But my favorite performance is Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk. He is fired by Frank after offering some timid criticism of his rather grisly Scrooge promo. He comes back to get vengeance on Frank and it is hilarious. It feels like a rif on Die Hard but that came out the same year so I guess it is just making fun of all the over-the-top action movies of the 80s.
Strengths- As I said the interweaving stories of the production and Frank’s visitations are very clever. Most of the gags made me laugh so I guess that means it’s a successful comedy!
Eliot Loudermilk, Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, David Johansen and John Forsythe are all great fun.
Murray is a funny as always and it’s all directed competently by Richard Donner of Superman fame.
Weakness- I guess a weakness is it doesn’t really give much to enjoy if you don’t find it funny but not all movies can be everything. It’s definitely non-traditional and a few of the jokes are more designed for an 80s audience and are perhaps a bit dated.
Other than that I really enjoyed it. So bah humbug and have some good laughs!
Scrooge 15: Flintstones Christmas Carol
We’ve done 4 more serious Scrooge versions in a row so let’s take a quick minute to talk about a silly one- Flintstones Christmas Carol.
It’s not good per say but I didn’t think it was awful either. I think if someone said ‘you are in charge of making a Flintstones Christmas Carol’ I don’t think I could have come up with something this good and there is something to be said for that.
Scrooge- The gimmick behind this version is that Bedrock Community Players is putting on a play and the whole town is involved including Fred who is has let his lead role go to his head .
You kind of have to go with the world of Flintstones and assume that Christmas would exist (and there is a line about Jesus) even though Jesus clearly would not have lived in caveman times. Just go with it.
So Fred is obsessed with the play and forgets Wilma and Pebbles . At the same time we see the actual play and it is a pretty faithful narration and the animation isn’t terrible.
Mr Slate plays Marley and then when others get sick Wilma ends up playing Past and Belle making Fred realize what a Scrooge he is being.
Differences- Like I said we are in Flintstone world and there is a play of Christmas Carol within the movie.
Strengths- It does contain a fair amount of content from the story. The voicework is pretty good. The animation is bright and colorful. This isn’t that bad. Is it good? No but I’ve seen worse. (Better than Smurfs and All Dogs but worse than Disney or Mickey).
Weakneses- The world is just too goofy for Christmas Carol. It probably shouldn’t have even been attempted and it is strange that they still tried to the sets Victorian for the play. This is caveman. how would they know what that all looked like? I know overthinking it but it is sort of strange.
My advice is put on Mickey or Muppets instead but this isn’t terrible if your kids end up watching it. I haven’t seen much Flintsones. Is it worth watching?
Scrooge 13 and 14: Basil Rathbone in 2 Films
Time to talk about 2 more obscure versions of Christmas Carol that are honestly not great but they have their appeal.
It’s interesting I would review both of these films tonight because they were both made for TV musicals with the Stingiest Man in Town filmed live and tonight is a continuation of that tradition with Peter Pan Live. Some things have improved in 50+ years. Other things are basically the same.
They were only made 2 years apart so let’s take a look.
1954 A Christmas Carol
Scrooge- Fredric March is our Scrooge and they took the description seriously down to the pointed nose, which doesn’t look great but he is fine as Scrooge.
Differences-
This version is only an hour and the songs take up a lot of the time so we don’t get some iconic scenes like door knocker with Marley (in fact Scrooge seems to live in some kind of apartment).
We also miss on Scrooge as a boy and go right to Fezziwig. This seems to be the popular choice for most abbreviated.
The other big difference is Past is played by the same woman who is Belle and it is acknowledged by Scrooge they are the same.
And then Present is played by nephew Fred.
Strengths- The score is one of the best by Bernard Hermann of Psycho fame. It is not overpowering but subtle using chanting and some of the best carolers in any version I’ve seen. The original songs aren’t anything to write home about but the score is great.
Another interesting touch is that Scrooge can hear the music and that is often scarier to him than any image. He see’s Basil Rathbone as Marley and is mildly scared but then after he leaves the music remains and Scrooge can barely get off the floor. I thought that was interesting.
Marley also shows Scrooge the ledger from their counting house and it terrifies him. When he leaves the ledger remains so he cannot deny what happened.
Weaknesses- The original songs are very generic like one between Belle and Scrooge ‘What Shall I Give My Love at Christmas’. The singing is good and like I said the choral music by the Roger Wagner Chorale is fabulous, so it’s a mixed bag.
March is good but it is a little distracting that he is missing a tooth in his top teeth. It looked strange and it is a ‘stay away and let me do my business version of Scrooge’. The religious conversion elements are minimal.
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Stingiest Man in Town
This version is very similar to the 1954 version and has Basil Rathbone this time as Scrooge himself instead of Marley.
Scrooge- He is fine as Scrooge . It is again the ‘keep to my own business’ workaholic version of Scrooge and little is made of the religious loneliness.
It is a little longer than the 54 version but the music is similar although the score is not as strong. It’s kind of neat because they included the old title cards from the TV production and the Alcoa Aluminum ads, which are fun to see.
This version was also filmed live which is interesting and we get a wave from the cast when they are finished. 
Considering they are a play the production qualities aren’t too bad. The 4 Lads provide narration in kind of a barbershop style.
Strengths- The cast is all good with good singing voices throughout. The dance sequences feel a bit out of place but they are well staged. In the final cemetery scene Scrooge even argues with a figure dressed like the devil, which was a new take on it.
The sets are also pretty good for a live TV filming in the 50s.
Weaknesses- Oddly Santa Claus is a big element of this version. Tiny Tim is worried Santa isn’t real and Martha sings him a song called “I Believe in Santa Claus” It felt out of place for the story.
At the end Scrooge kind of becomes Santa Claus bringing gifts that are perfect for each of the Cratchit’s.
Tiny Tim has a beautiful boy soprano voice and his song One Little Boy is a nice song.
They aren’t ‘good’ movies but they aren’t rip your hair out awful either. I’m glad I saw them.
My laptop wouldn’t play either DVDs so I don’t have a ton of photos but hopefully that gives you a feel for them.
Scrooge 11 and 12: Silent Movie Scrooge’s
When I started Scrooge Month I knew I would have to do the Alistair Sim, Muppets, Mickey’s and Scotts and I looked forward to them, but I also wanted to dig deeper and find more obscure versions of Christmas Carol. Today’s entry probably takes the cake in that department. I was able to dig up 2 silent movie versions of Christmas Carol and they were both fascinating. I make no claim to being a silent movie aficionado so I can’t really judge the movies for quality as I’ve seen probably 5 in my life. If you live in Utah we do have an awesome movie-going experience in Salt Lake with an original Giant Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ at Edison Street Events. I have been there twice, once to see The Kid, and then Phantom of the Opera and the silent movie with the organ the surrounds the entire room is amazing. And it costs $6!
I wish sometime they would do these Christmas Carol versions there because the new recorded music on the DVD I had were weak at best. In the second film I muted the sound and just watched (something that is a unique feature of silent movies I suppose!).
The first version is from 1923 and it is only 23 minutes long. The quality is not great but I suppose it is all part of the charm. It only lists 4 people in the cast although more than that appear.
Scrooge is played by Russell Thorndike and Forbes Dawson plays Marley.
To show how mean Scrooge is they do something you’d never see in a million years in movies today (rightfully so) Scrooge wallops the kid singing Christmas carols outside his office with a heavy book.
Fred is the emphasis here and Cratchit is briefly seen. We even get a random proposal to Mrs Fred’s Sister (that’s her name on the title cards)
The Marley looks pretty good considering the quality of the rest of the movie.
Instead of taking Scrooge to see his past, present, future it is projected onto the wall (both films).
We do not look in on Cratchit family but only briefly at Fred, Mrs Fred and Mrs Fred’s Sister.
What’s interesting is that Scrooge is already pleading with Present for redemption, just when Present announces he will visit Cratchit and Fred tomorrow.
Evidently the thought of Present visiting is enough to scare Scrooge! We do get a brief visit from Future.
It’s just so different it’s hard to really judge it as bad or good, and I don’t know enough about silent films to judge it for its day. It was fascinating to watch; however, and I enjoyed it. Hopefully you enjoyed getting a little taste of it.
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Silent Film #2
Old Scrooge 1913 (released in 1926 to US)
This version is a longer 46 minutes but it makes some choices that are so different from what we are used to in modern versions.
It stars Seymour Hicks who I will review again in the 1935 talkie version. He is good but it is clear this era saw Scrooge as a Frankenstein character. He is even called an ogre in the title cards.
He dresses like a bum which I have never seen in a version. It’s so strange because he’s still rich and a businessman but he dresses like a tramp? Maybe some of you know more about this era and can elaborate as to why this might be? 1913 was well before a depression era America so that’s not it.
Scrooge also refuses an actual poor person and the benefactors which I have never seen before.
It is also the only version I have seen where the office and house are in the same room and where Jacob Marley plays the part of all 3 ghosts.
We get the projections on the wall like we did in the previous picture but this time we see a few more scenes (and no strange proposal).
He comes to a pretty speedy penitence in this one as well and then it is the strangest thing. Instead of going to Cratchit’s or Fred’s he imagines it. It’s like he is still the monster and can’t really celebrate with the people.
Isn’t that so odd?
And that’s the end of the movie with his imaginary feasting.
I would say these films are more of a fascination than anything else. The choices they make, the way films worked, the silent movie acting are all very interesting.
If you aren’t a film buff than probably not for you. They aren’t like Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin which will entertain in any era. Definitely more challenging but I’m glad I saw them and if you can hunt them down give them a watch!
Merry Christmas from Me!
Every year I work with a friend of mine at Bitsy Creations to make a custom Christmas card and Valentine. This is what I came up with this year and I just wanted to share it with all of you. Thanks for giving this girl from Utah with a hurt knee something to work for. I hope you all enjoy Scrooge Month and have a Merry Christmas or a happy time no matter what you celebrate.
Scrooge 10: A Christmas Carol (1984)
After being completely silly in my last entry let’s get to a legitimate version of Christmas Carol. Made in 1984 for television, A Christmas Carol, stars George C Scott as Scrooge surrounded by an excellent cast all around:
| George C. Scott – Ebenezer Scrooge | ||
| Frank Finlay – Marley’s Ghost | ||
| Angela Pleasence – Ghost of Christmas Past | ||
| Edward Woodward – Ghost of Christmas Present | ||
| Michael Carter – Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come | ||
| David Warner – Bob Cratchit | ||
| Susannah York – Mrs. Cratchit | ||
| Anthony Walters – Tiny Tim Crachit | ||
| Roger Rees – Fred Hollywell | ||
| Caroline Langrishe – Janet Hollywell | ||
| Lucy Gutteridge – Belle (Scrooge’s unappreciated fiancée) | ||
| Nigel Davenport – Silas Scrooge (Ebenezer’s and Fan’s cruel father) | ||
| Mark Strickson – Young Ebenezer Scrooge | ||
| Joanne Whalley – Fan Scrooge (Ebenezer’s beloved sister and Fred’s mother) | ||
| Timothy Bateson – Mr. Fezziwig |
Trailer: I couldn’t find a trailer probably because this was made for TV but this is a highlight reel:
Differences- This version is very good but it doesn’t take any risk. It keeps it pretty close to the book with no backstory or delving more into Scrooge’s choices and why he became the way he was (aside from the normal past stuff in the book). As I like the book I don’t have a problem with that. I’m fine either way.
The biggest difference is Scott is a very light hearted Scrooge. He laughs a lot more than other Scrooge’s I’ve seen. This is not in the book. As I shared in my Disney review Dickens describes Scrooge in very harsh terms:
” Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.”
I mean he has thin lips and rooms get colder when he enters them. The laughter is certainly mocking in tone so it is still wicked but in a lighter more subtle way than other versions. Here’s a screencap I took of the beginning of the movie when he is talking to Fred.
Looks like quite a jolly bloke. I realize he was smiling about the wrong things but it does seem to weaken his repentance at the end when he isn’t as bad to begin with. But I don’t mind it. It’s just different.
Strengths- All the performances are good. David Warner is great and warm as Cratchit and Frank Finlay is very scary and effective as Marley.
The other major strength is the sets. It feels like England. Every detail from the turkeys and geese that go as high as the building at the poulters to the street lamps and carolers. This attention to detail is particularly impressive considering it was made for TV (we saw in my last post the quality of made for TV nowdays…).
It is also very strict to the book as far as the plot. So if you are a purist you will enjoy it. I like traditional telling’s and more creative so this is great with me. And like I said with such likable performances it is easy to be engaged throughout.
Past, Present, and Future don’t really do anything new or take any risks with the story but it’s a great story so it isn’t needed.
The scenes with the Cratchit’s are particularly good and warm. It feels like an actual family and Mrs Cratchit and Tiny Tim are wonderful.
Scott is very good in the ending, both the penitence and the Crazy Scrooge segments. When Present leaves him he justifies his behavior for a few lines and then realizes he has been left alone and it seems to be the first time he has recognized his loneliness and it frightens him.
This is a Scrooge that is more misapplying his energy than a covetous sinner who is frightened by poverty. I always saw Scrooge as being more motivated by that fear but in this one it is more a love of business, being smarter than everyone else, and a lack of courage (he says that to Fred) that leads him to his unhappy lot. It’s a different and interesting take on the story.
Weaknesses- Well, there are two big weaknesses. Even though Scott is very good he is a very American Scrooge. He makes no attempt at a British accent and sounds like he should be leading Americans to war as Patton not giving orders at the stock exchange in London. Everyone around him is British including his young self so it is very distracting. He must have just not been able to do a convincing British accent.
It’s a little puzzling when they had any number of British actors they could have selected. They could have even had Laurence Olivier do it.
The other weakness is the music. It is very annoying and distracting with a sharp electronic sound to it (I’m talking about the score not the sections of carols). At certain scenes especially with Marley it is so loud and shrill I had to turn down the volume on my TV. It belongs in a thriller not an 19th century period piece. I realize Christmas Carol is a ghost story but it just didn’t work for me at all.
But those are two relatively minor quibbles to a very strong film. It is definitely in my top 5 versions and one I reach for every year when I just want the traditional version, no strings attached. I am sure you and your family will enjoy it too.