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Featured CED VideoDisc No. 26 - Fall 2002

This CED Feature focuses on the three versions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol  available on CED, but in a break with tradition, I'm expanding the scope of the feature to cover all the visual performances of the Dickens' tale about which information is still available. The elementary school I attended had a tradition of showing a different Christmas Carol  each year during the holidays, so I grew up believing an endless variety of movies existed. This is not too far from the truth, as the table further down this page has over 70 entries for movie, television, and video releases of the classic Dickens' tale, and nearly every year since CED's first year of 1981 has seen the release of one or more new versions. Everyone from the Flintstones to the Jetsons has taken a crack at this timeless tale. With all the corporate corruption that has been revealed in the past year, I wouldn't be surprised to see a "CEO Christmas Carol" sometime soon.

I've always enjoyed comparing the various traditional versions of A Christmas Carol  with one another, which can be difficult without watching them back-to-back, so this page also contains a large table comparing 40 key scenes in Dickens' original novel among the various versions available on video. The images in the table may also be viewed in slide show fashion, complete with quotes from the novel, by clicking on any thumbnail image. As I write this in Fall 2002, the three CED releases have been completed, and I plan to add about one a week in the days leading up to Christmas. So there will be about 15 rows in the table by January 5, 2003. Eventually I'd like to have every traditional Christmas Carol  still available covered in the table and slide show. Traditional means versions that revolve around a central character named Scrooge living in mid-19th century England, with fairly close adherence to Dickens' original novel. There have been many non-traditional versions of this tale made, which share a common theme of a humbug central character who gets enlightened after some visitations, but they set the action in a different time or place, often with a substantially different supporting cast.

The three versions available on CED happen to all be traditional by my definition, even though two are animated and one is a musical. Mickey's Christmas Carol  might use Disney characters, but it still follows the names from the novel and is set in 19th century England. Likewise the musical Scrooge  has the same setting and cast of characters, it's just that some of the action is performed to the accompaniment of song and dance. Here are brief summaries of each of the CED releases:

• Scrooge (1970) - This production stars a young Albert Finney though he's made to look old in most of his scenes in the movie. A musical Christmas Carol  may sound like a hokey idea, but this production comes off surprisingly well. And the special effects were not bad for 1970. I particularly like Scrooge's vision of the phantom hearse, a rare inclusion for any Christmas Carol  production. And the scene of the tormented spirits floating through the air is well done. This production also includes a visit by Scrooge to hell that is not part of the original novel. This scene is usually cut from television broadcasts, but it is present on the CED. An interesting technical side note on this disc is that it also contains the original four minute overture for the movie at the start of Side 1. This is accompanied by four minutes of plain black video, so this disc can be used as a cheap blackburst generator if you happen to need only a few minutes of black video.

• A Christmas Carol (1982) - This Australian animated production is remarkably true to Dickens' novel - there is very little left out, and nothing is included that was not in the book. This release even has a scene devoted to Scrooge's childhood vision of Ali Baba, a character I haven't seen positively identified in any other production.

• Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) - This version is only 25 minutes long and would be a good introduction to the tale for small children. The brevity means many scenes from the novel had to be cut out, but the basic elements are still there. Familiar Disney characters play the original Dickens' roles, so Scrooge is played by Scrooge McDuck, nephew Fred is played by Donald Duck, and Bob Cratchit is played by Mickey Mouse. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come are played by Jiminy Cricket, Willie the Giant, and long-time Disney villain Pete. This disc also contains a "making of" documentary, a common-place inclusion on modern DVD's, but rare back in the CED days.

I'd like to conclude with brief summaries of some of the classic Christmas Carol  productions not available on CED, although most of these are readily available on other video formats:

• A Christmas Carol (1999) - This production starring Patrick Stewart is the first to incorporate computer-generated graphics. These are used most effectively in the scene where the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge on a whirlwind visit to a lighthouse, a ship at sea, and a group of miners.

• A Christmas Carol (1984) - This version starring George C. Scott gets my vote as the best production originally recorded in color.

• The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) - This animated, musical version is a Rankin/Bass production. Around the same time, this animation team also produced The Hobbit and The Return of the King which were Featured CED's in Fall 2001.

• A Christmas Carol (1971) - This animated production is less than 30 minutes long, but it does a remarkably good job of telling the story with cool animation. The voices Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern correspond to their same characters in the 1951 live-action movie.

• A Christmas Carol (1954) - This version starring Fredric March as Scrooge and Basil Rathbone as Marley's ghost was broadcast in color in 1954. This is significant as RCA introduced the first color television, the CT-100 that very year. Though filmed in color, this production appears to only survive in Black & White prints.

• Scrooge (1951) - This version starring Alastair Sim is my all-time favorite production. I like it for its very believable transformation of Scrooge from skinflint to enlightenment. Just like the novel, Scrooge is still struggling with his transformation up to the point he's outside nephew Fred's holiday gathering. Some productions have Scrooge do an instant transformation to total merriment, which is not as believable. This version is available in both the original Black & White as well as a colorized version. Watch for the authentic and rare period mechanical toys in the store window at the start of the movie.

• A Christmas Carol (1938) - An MGM Hollywood production starring Reginald Owen as Scrooge. An interesting aspect is the Bob Cratchit family being partly composed of the real-life Lockhart family, including an uncredited June Lockhart as one of the daughters. This version contains my favorite interpretations of the characters of Bob Cratchit and nephew Fred. This production also exists in a colorized version.

• Scrooge (1935) - This version starring Seymour Hicks is a British production and provides an interesting contrast to the 1951 release. Special effects are very limited in this production, so Marley and the tormented spirits are invisible to the movie audience, while the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Yet To Come are represented by a bright outline and a pointing hand. Sir Hicks also appeared in a once-thought-lost silent version of A Christmas Carol  from 1913.

• A Christmas Carol (1910) - This brief 17 minute silent version is part of a DVD titled Christmas Past. It does a surprising good job of encapsulating the tale in that short time span. Some of the other silent versions of A Christmas Carol  are thought to no longer exist.

Bah! Humbug! Scrooge

Bob Cratchit

Nephew Fred

Two Solicitors

Haunted Knocker

Phantom Hearse

Marley's Ghost

Tormented Spirits

Ghost of Christmas Past

Child Scrooge

Ali Baba

Sister Fan

Schoolmaster

Mr. Fezziwig

Apprentice Scrooge

Dick Wilkins

Mrs. Fezziwig

Greedy Scrooge

Fiance Belle

Comely Matron

Ghost of Christmas Present

Torch Sprinklings

Mrs. Cratchit

Cratchit Children

Tiny Tim

Christmas Pudding

Caroling Miners

Lighthouse

Ship at Sea

Shadow Niece

Mr. Topper

Ignorance & Want

Christmas Yet To Come

Notable Businessmen

Old Joe

Opportunists

Shrouded Corpse

Caroline

Tiny Tim No More

Scrooge's Grave

Redeemed Scrooge

Turkey Fetcher

Nephew's Maid

Niece's Dinner

Cratchit's Raise

A Christmas Carol (1999)

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

A Christmas Carol (1984)

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

A Christmas Carol (1982)

The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)

A Christmas Carol (1971)

Scrooge (1970)

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)

A Christmas Carol (1954)

Scrooge (1951)

The Christmas Carol (1949)

A Christmas Carol (1938)

Scrooge (1935)

A Christmas Carol (1923)

A Christmas Carol aka Old Scrooge (1913)

After download, unzip the Windows file (the Mac file is ready to install as is), and use the handheld computer install program to prepare it for transfer. During the next sync operation the carol.prc file will be placed on your Palm OS, Pocket PC, or Windows CE handheld, and the complete 1843 Charles Dickens book may be read on the device using a reader application like iSilo.

• Scrooge in the Internet Movie Database

• 1982 Christmas Carol in the Internet Movie Database

• Mickey's Christmas Carol in the Internet Movie Database

• A Christmas Carol Complete Text

• Project Gutenberg Etext Web Site

• A Christmas Carol Film Web Site

• Magic Lanterns - A Dickens Era Obsolete Technology

• Christmas Pudding Recipes - Mrs. Cratchit's Dinner Finale

• Smoking Bishop Recipe - A Scrooge Favorite

• Purchase Christmas Carol and Scrooge DVD's at Amazon.com

• Free Electronic Holiday Greeting Cards

• Previous Featured CED

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• Main Featured CED's Page

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