This British production was titled Scrooge. To add further confusion, my DVD case is titled A Christmas Carol but the disc itself is titled Scrooge. As with most things Hollywood, this is due to a cost-saving measure. The 1951 American release was advertised everywhere as A Christmas Carol, but the prints all came from the original negative retaining the Scrooge title card. So, if it’s any consolation, American moviegoers at that time were similarly confused. Regardless, the easiest way for all of us to be on the same page as to which version we’re talking about is to simply call this one The Best One, because that’s a universal understanding and no small feat considering the competition.
This is the seventh version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to place in my Top 25, making it the Die Hard of Christmas Stories. Just as there was Die Hard on a plane, boat, and train, we have any number of adaptations of this timeless tale that works again and again thanks to universal themes of redemption and forgiveness that perfectly captures the essence of what Christmas is truly about.
We love this story so much that we’re always eager to see what a particular actor or director will do with it. Each variation that made my list brings something unique, some special area of focus to the source material, and The Best One brings two. First and foremost, from first frame to last, this is a ghost story. A creaky, creepy, cobwebby, shadow and light ghost story, and at times a truly frightening one.
The cinematography is astounding. Of all the insane decisions Ted Turner made, other than marrying Jane Fonda, colorizing this was certainly one of his worst. Awash in garish computerized colors, the entire mood was lost in what in black and white is a meticulously photographed production where the use of shadow and contrast is as painstakingly deliberate as any of the Universal horror classics. As a matter of fact, the look and feel of this classic would fit perfectly with the best of those. However, it would still distinguish itself thanks to a gorgeously produced sound design. Never has Marley’s scream sounded so tortured.
The second standout is where this version diverges more than most from the original source material to offer a fascinating glimpse into Scrooge’s evolution as a predatory businessman and his relationship with his partner Jacob Marley. The script both respects the original material and seamlessly adds to it, making this adaptation the closest to being a pure character study of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Much credit must also go to Alistair Sim whose interpretation of Scrooge is a wonder to behold. The theatricality found in other characterizations is stripped away by Sim, making all those very familiar lines of dialogue sound brand new through a natural, human delivery. This is especially noticable in the first act where Sim’s treatment of his nephew loses the tone of playful banter we’ve become accustomed to and instead sounds downright cruel. This is not only a unique approach to this scene, it’s crucial to setting up what, in my opinion, is the single most powerful moment of all the Christmas Carol adaptations.
Scrooge the apparition hears what Scrooge the man did not; his beloved sister’s dying wish that he look after her newborn — his nephew Fred. This is the knock-out blow which begins the unraveling of the old man, and you can see in his eyes as the past unspools and reruns itself with the devastating realization that his was a life spent betraying the last wish of the person who loved him most.
The combined powers of director Brian Desmond Hurst, screenwriter Noel Langley and cinematographer C.M. Pennington Richards (with no small amount of help from Mr. Dickens) delivers a masterpiece of a masterpiece all wrapped in a stunning score by Richard Adinsell. And my, how the story flies by — and so much story and character packed into a mere 86 minutes. Give much of that credit to editor Clive Donner who, thirty-three years later, would direct this gem.
Read the full countdown here.
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