The Many Ghosts Of Ebenezer Scooge

Two years ago for Christmas I wrote an article covering all the surviving versions of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" so this year as a somewhat belated follow up I decided to review all the black and white sound versions, at least the ones I could find or are currently available. The previous article can be found here so there's no reason to do a recap.

BRANSBY WILLIAMS;

The first sound production of "A Christmas Carol" would come as early as 1926, before sound films would even become standard releases. In fact this version was merely a short film done as a demonstration of some of the new sound film technology. The sound in this case was played on a phonograph that would be synched up to the screen, a cumbersome process that would not catch on and this film would become lost although a sound recording of what appears to be the soundtrack or at least a recreation of it does survive. Scrooge is played by Bransby Williams, a popular star of stage and radio who had played the role before. However here he is not so much playing the role as reciting the basic plot and doing a couple voices. There are no other cast members. The entire disc is only about ten minutes which is far too short and instead of presenting the various Spirits Williams merely describes them and moves on to the end. While of some historical interest this can hardly be considered a proper portrayal. Williams would later play a proper version on the BBC in 1950 which like most British TV is lost or not currently available.

BRANSBY WILLIAMS AS SCROOGE (1926);


It's appropriate that the first proper sound version should come from Britain and would star possibly the most qualified actor to ever take on the role and who had already played the role on film. Sir Seymour Hicks (1871-1949) had been a major star of the London stage for years including working with stars Sir Henry Irving and Charles Frohman, when he began playing the role of Scrooge with a script he wrote, starting in 1901 playing the role hundreds of times with great success allowing him to set up his own company and build his own theatres, the Aldwych and Hicks Theatres. His company included family members including his wife, Elaline Terriss and brother-in-law Tom whose father William Terriss was a well known actor in his own right who Hicks had worked with until Terriss was murdered in 1901. Hicks was the best known Scrooge of the Edwardian stage so his moving the role to film was a natural. Like most stage actors of the 1900's Hicks showed little interest in the crude film vignettes of the early era, however by the 1910's film as a medium had advanced in its ability to tell a proper story lasting longer than a single reel. Hicks would star in an 1913 version which included his wife and other notable figures of the Edwardian stage which is still extant and which I already discussed in my previous article. Hicks would continue to play Scrooge and other characters on stage along with making some movies into the sound era which would lead to the first sound remake in 1932.

SIR SEYMOUR HICKS;



"SCROOGE" (1935);


Directed by Henry Edwards
Cast;
Sir Seymor Hicks ~ Ebenezer Scrooge
Donald Calthrop ~ Bob Cratchit
Robert Cochran ~ Nephew Fred Holliwell
Mary Glynne ~  Belle
Barbara Everest ~ Mrs. Cratchit
Eve Gray ~ Janet Holliwell
Philip Frost ~ Tiny Tim
Claude Rains ~ Jacob Marley (voice only)
Marie Ney ~ Spirit of Christmas Past (voice only)
Oscar Asche ~ Spirit Of Christmas Present
C. V. France ~ Spirit of Christmas Future
Athene Seyler ~ Charwoman
Margaret Yarde as Scrooge's Laundress
D.J Williams ~ Undertaker
Robert Morley as Rich Man (uncredited)

All of the silent versions, including the previous 1913 Hicks version, suffered from making shortcuts to the plot, sometimes eliminating entire important characters with most also taking a fairly perfunctory attitude towards the actual filming which tended to show a lack of any real sense of style. This time however we have a proper film treatment and it's this film that sets the template for every subsequent Scrooge film. It's fortunate that Hicks waited a couple years after the first introduction of sound and filming techniques caught up with the need to record so we do get a camera that is mobile enough to avoid seeming overly stage-bound. Twice we get a sweeping view of how London celebrates Christmas and the camera soars over a miniature of the city and then to a rain and windswept lighthouse and a storm lashed ship at sea with sailors shouting their season's greetings through the maelstrom. This evocative sequence, which would later be reproduced almost identically for an animated version in the nineteen sixties, resembles a similar sweeping vista in the 1926 FW Murnau version of "Faust". Other more obvious influences from German film comes in the sequence with the Ghost Of Christmas Future which is the highlight of the film. Previously the film has been shot with gritty realism but now we switch to classic Expressionist shadowplay with Scrooge being shot as a shadow silhouette or even a disembodied head superimposed onto it's own shadow while the Ghost's skeletal hand points over him. While these scenes have a nightmarish quality they are essentially dreamlike compared to the even darker scenes where the Undertaker, Mrs Dilber the Charwoman and the Laundress haggle with Old Joe the Fence over Scrooge's stolen possessions. Here we get a London underworld with characters shot as disembodied learing faces and grasping goblin-like hands fondling their ill-gotten coins. The later classic 1951 Alistar Sim version would do it's own take on this scene with some fine acting but even that excellent version doesn't match the Stygian gloom of this version. While there are some Expressionist flourishes here as well the main influences here were likely closer at home. In 1872 the French illustrator Gustave Dore did a series of iconic views of London including its underground in the age of Jack the Ripper showing London in its seedy, grimy glory and it's Dore's London we see here.  


GUSTAVE DORE'S LONDON UNDERWORLD

The sets and costumes here are vividly Dickensian; dark, cold and gloomy with none of the ornate decoration of some later versions. The building interiors are sparse, spartan and unadorned although the streets are busy and vibrant. This is a harsh London with none of the usual romantic escapism of other portrayals of the Victorian Era with the entire main cast seeming to be cold, hungry and worn down, an effect accented by their often threadbare clothes. Instead of the glamour that the Victorian Era is usually shown with here we get the dreary, desperate city of the muckraking photographers like Jacob Riis showed in his contemporary series of photos of New York. It's probably not a coincidence that this film was shot during the depths of the Great Depression and in Britain. America had spent the previous Roaring Twenties in an extended economic boom, however illusionary, as had Weimar Germany. By contrast in Britain the twenties had already experienced an extended recession and political instability by the time the actual Depression hit Britain. In American and German film the thirties were a time of lavish escapism but there is none of that in this version which can truly be called Dickensian. As evidence that this was a conscious artistic decision and not due to budget constraints we have the scenes of Christmas for the Upper Crust at the Lord Mayor's Ball which is indeed lush and ornate.    

  This version is not without its flaws. Chief amongst them was the bizarre decision to not show Jacob Marley but to instead have him as a disembodied voice thus depriving the film of one of its most iconic images. As by 1932 film techniques were fully capable of shooting a double exposure ghostly image the decision to not do so here is frankly inexplicable. As Hicks was known for having played the role on stage for over twenty years it's possible that this was how the character was done on stage but it shows a lack of film technique that the film does display elsewhere. Similarly the Ghost of Christmas Past is only shown one once as a ghostly silhouette and then only briefly cutting the visit to Scrooge's past too abrupt to have much impact. Unlike most later versions we also do not really see a young Scrooge presumably because again this was not done on stage and Hicks, being in his sixties by this point, was too old to pull off the youthfulScrooge and didn't want to share the role with another younger actor. Shortening these scenes also makes Scrooge's rehabilitation too abrupt. Unlike some other versions Scrooge's where transformation takes time as he slowly realizes how his past life shaped him and what it has cost but by rushing through things we miss the whole point of this transformation as Scrooge caves almost instantly. As is common with many films of the era the musical soundtrack can be a bit overpowering at times.



As Scrooge, Hicks is an ill-tempered, glowering presence. Stocky and florid with wild hair, bushy caterpillar eyebrows and a lumbering, bullish walk. For a stage actor he is not especially histrionic and avoids going over-the-top in his portrayal. Setting aside the relative absence of Jacob Marley and the ghost of Christmas Past the supporting characters set the template for most of the succeeding decades. As Cratchit Donald Calthrop is appropriately frail, stooped, servile and weather-beaten. The trio of greedy Charwoman, Laundress, Undertaker and the Fence are vividly decadent and debased. The actor playing Tiny Tim is not as cloying as others would be in this maudlin role.


DONALD CATHROP AS CRATCHIT

Sir Seymour Hicks was born in 1871 and had appeared on the stage from the time he was a teen and would continue acting almost up to his death in 1949 aged 78. Director Henry Edwards (1882-1952) had a long career as an actor and director dating back to 1915. Donald Calthrop (1888-1940) also had a career starting in the silent ear and would later include five of Alfred Hitchcock's UK productions. The voice of Jacob Marley was played by Claude Raines in one of his early roles which was ironic as he would later become famous as the Invisible Man. Another actor making an appearance in an early role was Robert Morley as one of the gentlemen asking Scrooge for alms for the poor. 

REGINALD OWEN; The Hicks film was successful enough to inspire an American version just a few years later giving the story the patented Hollywood treatment.

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1938);


Directed by Edwin Marin
Cast;
Reginald Owen ~ Ebaneezer Scrooge
Gene Lockhart ~ Bob Cratchit
Kathleen Lockhart ~ Mrs Cratchit
Terry Kilburn ~ Tiny Tim
Barry MacKay ~ Nephew Fred Holliwell
Lynne Carver ~ Bess (Fred's Fiancee)
Leo G Carroll ~ Jacob Marley
Ann Rutherford ~ Ghost Of Christmas Past
Lionel Braham ~ Ghost Of Christmas Present
Ronald Sinclair ~ Young Scrooge
Elvira Stevens ~ Fann Scrooge
Olaf Hytten ~ School Master

After the grime and gloom of the British Hicks version this American shows the kind of flair of most Depression era Hollywood with lush detailed sets, elegant costumes and a soundtrack of swirling strings. Even the house and clothes of the Cratchits are comfortably bourgeois and cozy especially compared to the spartan and beleaguered ones in the Hicks version. Similarly Scrooge's home is richly furnished and not the chilly tomb of Hicks' version. The same is true of the exteriors which don't really look like Victorian London and could be any major city. This is all pretty to look at but it can hardly be called Dickensian. It does however reflect the escapist tastes of American Depression era audiences (the same trend can be seen in German films of the era) at least in major studio productions and this film was an immediate hit. This film does have some improvements over the Hicks version starting with having an actual visible Jacob Marley and Ghost of Christmas Past instead of a disembodied voice. Marley was played by veteran character actor Leo G Carroll and his portrayal has been the standard ever since with its chains and lock boxes, spectacles askew and jaw held in place by a bandage. Similarly while in the Hicks version the Ghost of Christmas Past was a vague (and presumably male) ghostly presence with a menacing echoing voice here she is a beautiful blonde (Ann Rutherford) who speaks and interacts as any mortal would thus allowing for more meaningful dialogue. This allows for the film to spend more time on Scrooge's backstory that has also become standard in all subsequent versions.


REGINALD OWEN & ANNE RUTHERFORD AS THE GHOST OF XMAS PAST

This version also clearly looks better than the Hicks version with it's bright and clear cinematography. There are however also some weaknesses compared to the Hicks version. As a tradeoff for spending more time with Scrooge's past we spend less time on the Christmas present and we do not get any version of the sweeping panorama of the city. It's possible that this may not have been a creative decision but may be that shooting on existing Hollywood studio sets they simply did not have the appropriate sets and miniatures to recreate Dickensian London handy and decided to dispense with them. It's noticeable that the exteriors we do see could basically represent any Victorian city and were probably already in place. There is also nothing to compare to the nightmarish scene selling Scrooge's last effects at the Old Joe the Fence's darkened lair.


GUSTAVE DORE'S LONDON UNDERWORLD

Reginald Owen as Scrooge is solid but unremarkable, lacking the brooding glower of Hicks or the self-loathing menace of the later Alister Sim and coming off as merely a crotchety old coot. Owen in some other roles had been a rather stolid and stocky presence even as he played Sherlock Holmes but here he is unrecognizable seeming to have lost weight and with an odd scuttling gait that would later be copied by Albert Finney in his 1970 musical adaptation. The Cratchits were played by actual married couple Gene and June Lockhart and they do have a natural familiarity and ease however Gene looks far too well fed and comfortable compared to Donald Calthrop's careworn, stoop shouldered version. Cathrop was believably meek and servile while Lockhart was so oppressively upbeat as to seem almost imbecilic and even getting fired (which doesn't happen in most versions) can't dampen his good cheer for long. The Cratchit's middle daughter was also played by their daughter June who would later go on to star in the 1950's and 60's on TV shows "Lassie", "Petticoat Junction" and "Lost In Space" and as of this writing she is still alive. We also spend more time with Scrooge's nephew Fred and his fiancee Bess who are a typical blandly attractive and wholesome Hollywood couple. One exception is Tiny Tim as played by Terry Kilburn who is sickly cloying even by the standards of the day. Kilburn would appear in "The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes" (1939), "The Swiss Family Robinson" (1940), "Black Beauty" (1946) and some Andy Hardy and Bulldog Drummond films. As of this writing he is also still living.


REGINALD OWEN & GENE LOCKHART AS CRACHIT

Reginald Owen (born 1887) was British actor who had a long film career as far back as 1911 in Britain before moving to Hollywood which had already included appearing in early two sound Sherlock Holmes films including appearing as both Dr Watson (opposite Clive Brook in 1932) and Holmes himself in 1933 giving him the odd and somewhat unenviable distinction of playing not one but three classic characters of Victorian fiction (Scrooge, Holmes and Watson) only to see them taken over and personified by other actors (Alistar Sim, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) in his own lifetime. Owen was not actually the first choice to be Scrooge with the role originally planned for Lionel Barrymore who had played the role on radio and was a bigger star but he was not available, they did get him for the trailer. Owen would have long life and career into the TV era usually in supporting roles in such films as the notorious epic bomb "Hotel Imperial" (1939), an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped" (1938), the 1962 adaptation of Jules Verne's "Five Weeks In A Balloon" and on TV in "Bewitched" and the supernatural anthology series "One Step Beyond" before dying in 1972.


REGINALD OWEN
The Owens version was an immediate hit and would become the standard version for (at least in North America) until the classic 1951 Alistar Sim version and even today there are some Americans who list this as their favorite version but frankly that's a hard argument to see. It's attractive and its acting and direction are perfectly competent and I can understand preferring it to the more downbeat Hicks version but it's basically bland and lacks the personality, atmosphere and depth of the Hicks Scrooge let alone the masterful 1951 version with Alistar Sim.

ALISTAIR SIM;



The Hicks and Owens films became the standard versions that would be rereleased every Christmas season with the Hicks version in the UK and Owens version in North America for the next twenty years with no other film production until a British production would become the iconic portrayal.

"SCROOGE" (1951);


Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
Cast;
Alistair Sim ~ Ebaneezer Scrooge
Mervyn Johns ~ Bob Cratchit
Hermione Bradley ~ Mrs Cratchit
Michael Hordern ~ Jacob Marley
Michael Dolan ~ Ghost Of Christmas Past
Francis De Wolf ~ Ghost Of Christmas Present
Kathleen Harrison ~ Mrs Dilber the Charwoman
Louise Hampton ~ The Laundress
Miles Malleson ~ Old Joe the Fence
Glyn Dearman ~ Tiny Tim
Carol Marsh ~ Fanny Scrooge
Rona Anderson ~ Alice
George Cole ~ Young Scrooge
Patrick Macnee ~ Young Marley  

By the time this version was made over a decade had passed since the previous versions and the lush and syrupy  escapism of the Owen version was quaintly old fashioned in the age of stylish Film Noir and gritty Realism and this version has elements of both. It's a return to the dark and gloomy Dickensian world of the Hicks version but done with a better budget. Scrooge's mansion and office are dusty tombs with cobwebs and tattered drapes, Cratchit's home is spartan and London looks cold and lonely except in the scenes from Scrooge's past and again at the end when everything seems more lively meaning this was a creative decision rather than a budgetary restraint as may have been partially the case in the Hicks version. The costumes are however not as threadbare as those in the Hicks version. Everything looks authentic and lived-in as only an English production could have pulled off. There are also better special effects particularly in the scene where Marley's Ghost visits and shows Scrooge the street scene where the massed spirits ineffectively try to aid a homeless mother and child in the snow below. The music is used more sparingly than in the 1938 version but it has more impact.

For the first time this version narrative structure gives plenty of time to vividly establish Scrooge's miserly character as well as spending enough time with each of the Spirits to justify his redemption which unlike in the previous versions happened more slowly rather than abruptly as the realization dawns on him making his final redemption scene more satisfying.



While the whole film is well made and true to the source in it's writing the focal point and the thing everybody remembers is always Alistair Sim's Scrooge. Sim brought a depth and complexity to the role. His Scrooge wasn't just crotchy, rude and cheap, he was cruel, cynical, arrogant and full of sheer disgust and revulsion for his fellow man, a true misanthrope. In the scene where he is seen signing Marley's death notice and inheriting his miserable estate has no actual dialogue or action other than the sneer on his face as the Spirit describes him as a miserable, grasping, covetous old miser but the sneer indeed tells us all we need to know about Scrooge's character. At the same time Sim manages to convey something else about Scrooge that wasn't made clear before. That he is also a frightened old man full of self-loathing. His Scrooge is self aware, he knows he is a bad person however much he may justify it, and so watching him learn (or relearn) how he got that way and what the consequences are make his redemption arc feel earned in a way previous efforts had not. The famous scene where at the end where Scrooge wakes up and is overjoyed at getting a second chance was criticized by some as being overly broad and indeed he does seem to be almost having a nervous breakdown but given the real depth of Sim's performance and after watching the film spend enough time to develop his Scrooge it does feel like an organic reaction. Perhaps more revealing and far more subtle is the scene where he arrives at his nephew's house for dinner and hesitates at the door, shoulders hunched with a look of his fear of rejection before being wordlessly encouraged by the maid. The entire scene is in fact worldless but has more emotional power beyond what may have been in the script.  



Besides Sim the rest of the cast was solid with Mervyn Jones also being the best Cratchit so far, certainly more believable than Gene Lockhart and with more depth than Donald Calthrop. Michael Hordern's Marley is more ghostly and anguished than Leo J Carroll in the 1938 version although he is helped by better special effects. One notable change from the Owen version is switching the Ghost of Christmas from a beautiful woman to a wizened old man. This is a lateral move but perhaps it ultimately better served the story to have the spirit be a remote figure rather than the lovely Ann Rutherford. Another change is the increased prominence given to Kathleen Harrison as Mrs Dilber the Charwoman. The role had existed in the Owen version but here she is given much more dialogue and Harrison plays off Sim well in his classic morning after scene. She is also excellent in the scene with Old Joe the Fence as is the rest of her partners in crime although this scene isn't as creepy and nightmarish as in the Dore influenced Hicks version it is more realistic. As a final note modern audiences will spot as young Marley Patrick Mcnee who would later go on to become John Steed in the classic 1960's spy series "The Avengers".      



Sim was a Scottish actor who was previously best known as a comic actor but he seems to have been the filmmaker's first choice and this role would become his legacy. He would take much of the decade off as he was apparently somewhat typecast and seen as being something of a relic as tastes changed in modern British cinema. Sim was a private man who gave few interviews so if he had become somewhat resentful of being overshadowed by his creation as basil Rathbone had been about his Sherlock Holmes he never said so. In fact he would later reprise the role in an animated version in 1971 but that will have to wait for another year. He died in 1976.



The Alistair Sim performance became instantly definitive in Britain but while it took longer for Americans to catch up once they did the 1951 production would become an annual Christmas tradition effectively discouraging any more large screen productions until 1970's musical production with Albert Finney and Alec Guinness. Instead for the rest of the 50's and 60's productions would be limited to TV.

TAYLOR HOLMES (1949);



Most of the various TV productions do not survive and included a 1947 starring John Carradine and his young son David and an even younger Eva Marie Saint as Cratchit children. Other versions were made as early as 1943 but like most if not all early TV shows they were done live and no copies were preserved with the oldest surviving version coming from 1949 in a short half hour version narrated by Vincent Price.

"THE CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1949);


Cast;
Narrator ~ Vincent Price
Taylor Holmes ~ Ebaneezer Scrooge
Pat White ~ Bob Cratchit
Nelson Leigh ~ Jacob Marley
Queenie Leonard ~ Mrs Cratchit
Jill St John ~ Bessie Cratchit

At only a half hour this version obviously skimps on the details and races through the story although unlike some longer versions it actually does include all the major characters. The cast of mostly no-names (aside from Price obviously) was probably obscure even then and would remain so. Taylor Holmes is the least intimidating Scrooge yet seeming merely cranky and the rest of the cast are similarly competent but bland and it's a shame they didn't just get Price to play Scrooge or at least Marley which would have added an interesting touch. The sets are also bland and lack character. This version could best be described as perfunctory. Aside from Price the best known actor here was Queenie Leonard who played Mrs Crachit, she was a veteran stage and cabaret star from Britain before moving to America and a long career in TV and doing voice work for Disney. She died in 2002. One of the Cratchit daughters was played by a young Jill St John, future starlet and Bond Girl then only nine and still under her real name of Jill Oppenheim, as of this writing she is still alive. Taylor Holmes died in 1959.


TAYLOR HOLMES & NELSON LIEGH


FREDRICK MARCH (1954);



Directed by Ralph Levy
Cast;
Fredrick March ~ Ebaneezer Scrooge
Basil Rathbone ~ Jacob Marley
Bob Sweeney ~ Bob Cratchit
Fred Middleton ~ Nephew Fred Holliwell and the Ghost of Christmas Present
Sally Fraser ~ Belle and the Ghost of Christmas Past
Queenie Leonard ~ Mrs Cratchit
Bonnie Franklin ~ Susan Cratchit

Part of an anthology series called "Shower Of Stars" which featured treatments of stories from a variety of sources ranging from contemporary melodramas to ghost stories and works of classical literature usually featuring a couple of stars from the big screen. It was originally broadcast in both black & white and colour versions but only the B&W version has survived. Unlike other TV treatments of the era it took a full hour and had a more suitable budget for sets allowing for a more cinematic look. This is partially a musical with several musical numbers mostly in the first half, these tend to the maudlin and overwrought and slow the proceedings down and affect the erratic pacing. At times there are scenes with more dialogue than other adaptations while others race along too abruptly particularly towards the end as if the filmmakers suddenly remembered they needed to wrap things up. There is not even a Ghost of Christmas Future instead having Scrooge visit a graveyard accompanied only by a cackling raven as he finds his own grave. The graveyard does have a spooky b-movie look and the other sets look authentic enough although without either the lushness of the Reginald Owen Hollywood production or the seedy grandeur of the Sim or Hicks versions. Fredrick March was by this point an established Hollywood star since the beginning of the sound era including appearing in "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde" (1931), "Death Takes A Holiday" (1934), "Les Miserables" (1935), "Anna Kerenina" (1935) and "A Star Is Born" (1937) and was certainly capable of playing a cantankerous old bastard and he effortlessly does so here although he doesn't have the larger-than-life quality of Alistar Sim. Perhaps to make the rather square jawed March look more like the classic image of Scrooge he is given a distractingly large fake nose.


FREDRICK MARCH

Marley is played by Basil Rathbone, then even more famous from the iconic Sherlock Holmes series whose ghost is even more desparing than usual and also gets more dialogue. Given that this is at least partially a musical much of the rest of the cast were chosen for being singers rather than actors and are merely competent. This is true of the other Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present who also appear as Scrooge's past fiancee Belle and nephew Fred. Having some characters doing double duty as ghosts was unusual if not unique but has occasionally been done since notably in the 1979 American/Canadian TV adaptation by Henry Winkler, a 2004 TV musical starring Kelsey Grammer and a "WKRP" special episode with mixed results.


BASIL RATHBONE AS MARLEY

Another difference from most other but versions (with the notable exception of the Reginald Owen Hollywood version) the Ghost of Christmas past is played by a beautiful woman, here the tall blonde Sally Fraser, a TV actress better known from various B-Horror movies like "It Conquered The World" (1956), "Giant From The Unknown" (1958), "War Of The Colossal Beast" (1958) and "Earth Versus The Spider" (1958) and the TV anthology series "One Step Beyond". She retired by 1970 and lived until 2019. Mrs Cratchit was played again by Queenie Leonard returning from playing the same role in the 1949 Taylor Holmes version. Once again one of the Crachit daughters was played by a future star in Bonnie Franklin who would later star in the popular 1980's sitcom "One Day At A Time".


SALLY FRASER

BASIL RATHBONE (1956 & 1959);

Already an established star for his iconic portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in a series of films in the forties would play Scrooge twice becoming the second actor to play both Holmes and Scrooge after Reginald Owen. This first being a musical version.

"THE STINGIEST MAN IN TOWN" (1956);


Cast;
Basil Rathbone ~ Ebaneezer Scrooge
Martyn Green ~ Bob Cratchit
Robert Weede ~ Jacob Marley
Johnny Desmond ~ Nephew Fred
Ian Martin ~ Ghost of Christmas Past
Vic Damone ~ Young Scrooge
Patrice Munsel ~ Belle
Robert Wright ~ Ghost of Christmas Present
The Four Lads ~ Carolers

This is a musical version which is twice as long as previous TV versions, longer in fact than the film versions and a fairly major production by the standards of 1950's TV. Most of the cast are not surprisingly singers rather than actors with Vic Damone, Johnny Desmond and the Four Lads being Pop stars (but most definitely not Rock & Roll or Jazz) of the era. And then there's Basil Rathbone. Best known as the iconic version of Sherlock Holmes in the previous decade on both film and radio although by this time his career was in decline having been somewhat typecast as Holmes on the big screen he had retreated to TV and B-horror movies. He was still a respected figure and had previously played Marley so his casting made sense and he does indeed provide whatever heft this version has. It needs it too. The sings can be generously described as slight and forgettable ranging from sappy to histrionic styles that were already old hat and they often drag out the pace. Most of the performances are merely adequate aside from Rathbone who is too skilled an actor to simply phone it in. With his cadaverous face, fright wig hair and harsh, creaking voice he is the image of Dickens' Scrooge and he does a credible job although he can not match the depth of Alistair Sim. On the other hand while a skilled actor he clearly can not sing so it's fortunate that he is given few chances to do so.


BASIL RATHBONE AS SCROOGE

Given the restrictions of TV productions of the era this does a reasonably good job of working with the stagebound sets which are more detailed than previous TV versions. As for the story, although this version is twice the length of previous TV versions since most of that time is spent on extended musical numbers this does not mean that we really spend much greater time on the character's development. This can be seen in the scenes from Scrooge's past which are done as syrupy and over-wrought song and dance routines which lack the bitter-sweet mood the scene requires for Scrooge's future redemption to have real impact. The final scene at the graveyard with the Ghost Of Christmas Future discards the treacle ballads for an interpretive dance number which is rather spooky leading to Rathbone's emotional breakdown. Among the rest of the cast besides the singers sharp-eyed viewers will notice one of the Gentlemen from the beginning seeking a donation for charity is John McIver who would later show up in "Twilight Zone".  

    After the musical version Rathbone would finally get to play Scrooge again in a non-musical version, albeit another brief one.

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1959);


Cast;
Fredrick March ~ Host & Narrator
Basil Rathbone ~ Ebaneezer Scrooge
Wilfred Fletcher ~ Jacob Marley
Bob Townley ~ Bob Cratchit
Walter Hudd ~ Ghost Of Christmas Past
Alexander Gauge ~ Ghost Of Christmas Present
Brian McDermont ~ Nephew Fred

This was part of an anthology series hosted by Fredrick March who played Scrooge in the 1954 version and narrates here as Vincent Price had done previously. Once again this is another version that is too short and perfunctory to do more than a basic if credible job of telling the story, in fact it appears to basically be a restaging of the Taylor Holmes version from a decade earlier along with some scenes being lifted word-for-word from non-musical Rathbone version albeit with better sets and direction and a stronger cast. The Ghost of Christmas Future scene does show some more artistic directorial choices but given the abbreviated nature of this version it is too short to make much of an impression. Rathbone, whon had played Marley opposite March in 1954 is fine and could have easily done an effective Scrooge in a proper version as it is; he still ranks near the top in our survey of black and white Scrooges behind only Alistar Sim. Rathbone died in 1967 having been reduced to mostly playing in low budget drive-in theatre horror fare like "Tales Of Terror" (1962), "Voyage To A Prehistoric Planet" (1965), "The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini" (1966) and "Hillbillies In A Haunted House" (1967). Fredrich March had better luck, appearing in prestige films like "Inherit The Wind" (1960) and "Twelve Days In May" (1964) dying in 1975.


BASIL RATHBONE

STERLING HAYDEN (1969);

The last major black & white Scrooge production would come from some high powered names including Joseph Mankiewicz and Rod Serling and star an impressive cast.

"A MODERN CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1965);


Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz Cast;
Sterling Hayden  ~  Daniel Grudge
Ben Gazzara ~ Nephew Fred
Steve Lawrence  ~  Ghost Of Christmas Past
Pat Hingle  ~  Ghost Of Christmas Present
Robert Shaw  ~  Ghost Of Christmas Future
Peter Sellers ~ The Imperial Me
Percy Rodriquez ~ Charles the Butler
Eva Marie Saint ~ Navy Nurse Lt Gibson
James Shigeta ~ Doctor
Britt Ekland ~ Mother
Peter Fonda ~ Marley Grudge

Written by Rod Serling this version updates the Dickens story into a modern America to present a different political story focusing on anti-war. Serling was of course an innovative and thoughtful writer however he could be overly wordy and at times preachy. In the context of the half hour "Twilight Zone" episodes these urges were usually kept in check but given ninety minutes to play with (that's actually longer than any previous version) and under the direction of the the equally intense Mankiewicz he is allowed to let his typewriter work overtime and the results are more like a dour and angry sermon than even Dickens himself allowed.

In this version Scrooge, renamed as Dan Grudge and played by Sterling Hayden, is a millionaire who is grieving the loss of his son in war and has turned his back on humanity becoming a belligerent Cold War isolationism motivated more by fear and bitterness rather than Scrooge's greed. The various Ghosts show Scrooge, I mean Grudge, the results of war and isolationism and lecture him on his selfishness. And I do mean lecture. Each visit is an extended hectoring monologue which drag on without any of the quirky touches Serling was known for. There are a few scenes creatively shot but the whole show is dour and slow moving. There is an impressive cast including Ben Gazzara as Grudge's nephew, Robert Shaw as the Ghost of Christmas Future, Pat Hingle (best known from Clint Eastwood movies) at the Ghost of Christmas Present, Steve Lawrence (best known as a singer) as the Ghost of Christmas Past along with Eva Marie Saint ("The Manchurian Candidate"), James Shigeta ("The Flower Drum Song" and a later Christmas classic, "Die Hard") Peter Sellers and a cameo from Sellers then wife Britt Eckland. Unlike most versions this is very talky and so Shaw's Ghost gets to make his own speeches with which his cold, clipped, accent gives added bite.


STERLING HAYDEN AS GRUDGE & ROBERT SHAW AS THE GHOST OF XMAS FUTURE

Hayden is fine as Grudge although lacking the depth of Sim's Scrooge or even Owen. Hayden and Sellers were fresh off appearing together in "Dr Stangeglove" and while Hayden is more understated than his character in that film Sellers is typically over-the-top in a scenery chewing which has no comparable character in the traditional story, or any other. While this version is longer than previous versions and far more dialogue heavy it is shallower as we don't actually see any of Grudge's past or evolution and the characters lack depth being instead stock archetypes who declaim somber lectures so there is no real connection with the viewer. Even the ending is thoughtful and understated rather than joyous so Hayden does not get a version of Sim's giddy Christmas Day speech. Long as this is it was originally even longer as Grudge's son was played by Peter Fonda but he was cut out of most of the finished product and so only appears as a ghostly image and in a large painting. Other actors reportedly cast but dropped or cut out were Christopher Plummer and Richard Harris. Sterling Hayden had already starred in Stanley Kubrick's first important film "The Killing" (1956) and would later appear in "The Godfather". He died in 1986. Eva Marie Saint had made her debut in the lost 1947 TV version with John Carradine and as of this writing is still living (at 99 years old!) as is Britt Eckland.


STERLING HAYDEN & EVA MARIE SAINT

This is typically stagebound but unlike the earlier TV entries there is some creative camera work and innovative set design. There is also a solid musical soundtrack from Henry Manicini including a guest appearance from the Andrews Sisters. In future years there would be other attempts to update the Scrooge story including versions starring Henry Winkler, Bill Murray and the cast of WKRP all of which, whatever their shortcomings, are more watchable and certainly more entertaining than this dour, hectoring sermon which however sincere and well meaning does not show Rod Serling at his best and lacks the sense of humour he was certainly capable of instead replacing Dickens' more maudlin excesses with his own. This version was in fact originally planned as a political broadside during the 1964 Presidential election promoting the work of the United Nations and taking pointed swipes at the Vietnam War, segregation and GOP candidate Barry Goldwater for his isolationism and sabre rattling rhetoric in the however reportedly the ABC censors insisted on making cuts and toning down some of the dialogue for fear of offending the GOP. The entire cast felt strongly enough about the project that they each took substantial pay cuts to appear (including the prickly Sellers who was also coming off a serious heart attack) however the show received poor reviews and after airing was shelved for the next fifty years when it was rediscovered and aired again on TCM and released on DVD.  


ROD SERLING


THE FOUR LADS

Scrooge On The Silent Screen

Charles Dickens is the most popular novelist in the English language and "A Christmas Carol" easily his most iconic story so it's not surprising that it would be a subject for early film. In fact there was a British adaptation as early as 1901, making it one of the earliest examples of a narrative story being told in film. Film as a medium had been around for about a decade but these early films were usually short (only a couple minutes) showing a slap-stick gag or some footage of an actual or staged scene (ie. lots of train rides) with no context. This earliest known Dickens' adaptation does however tell a proper story with a real plot and characters however truncated.

"SCROOGE, OR, MARLEY'S GHOST" (1901);


Directed by Walter Booth
Cast;
Daniel Smith  ~  Scrooge
(rest of cast unknown)

The film is listed as being about five or six minutes long, which was standard for films of the era, however the only surviving print is only three and a half that and is clearly missing the last minute or so, however that doesn't ruin the story especially since we already know it off by heart anyway. This was common with the earliest films, directors chose story audiences were already familiar with (plenty of Dickens, Shakespere, Fairy Tales and Bible stories) knowing they could tell them with only a few scenes and a small cast in a couple minutes without dialogue. Taken as such this film was quite ambitious for it's time using some innovative special effects including double exposures to portray the ghost and visions of the past in a way that no doubt impressed audiences of the day. That said the sets are minimal stage backdrops which include bookcases and dish hutches which appear painted on. Also typical of the era the camera is completely stationary. The acting is typically stagebound but does not engage in the same amount of obvious mugging for the crowd of other films from the era. The story is obviously bare-bones but does run through the basics; Scrooge is a miser, he gets visited by Marley's ghost who shows him visions of his past, present and future and Scrooge then repents, the end. The story would obviously not have the impact for an audience who were not already intimately familiar with the story but the film-makers knew they would not have that problem. Note that this story dispenses with the three ghosts of the story and saves time by just having Marley's Ghost do the job. Apparently this was an approach taken in some stage versions of the time which this film borrowed from.

JC BUCKSTONE


The script indeed is credited to JC Buckstone, an English actor who had played the role on stage Scrooge but here Scrooge is played by one Daniel Smith who was presumably also a lesser known stage actor who has no other known film credits. This does not mean he did not make other films in that era, only that there is no record of them, in fact we know nothing about him at all including when he died. He seems perfectly at ease so he must have had some experience but there is no record of it. A check of the Adelphi Theatre, a major London theatre of the Victorian/Edwardian eras does not list him even once, although he could have easily appeared elsewhere. At this date film was seen as a cheap novelty and beneath the dignity of a successful actor like Buckstone although he would later change his mind as we shall she. As for Smith he is adequate for the role, holding the screen without resorting to the histrionics and mugging of others of the era. The rest of the cast is unknown but director Walter Booth (1869 - 1938) was an important, if largely forgotten English film-maker of the era known for his early use of special effects. Like his contemporary he was also previously a stage magician (and artist) and it's possible he also appears in the film. Booth made several films including some early sci-fi films which still survive. He closed out his film career with another Christmas film with "Santa Claus" in 1912 (one of the earliest film Santas) and retired from film moving into advertising.

After this film there would be an American adaptation in 1908 which is now lost followed by another better known effort made by Edison Studios in 1910 using some of the same cast and crew from the version of "Frankenstein" which had come out earlier that year.

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1910);


Directed by J Searle Dawley
Cast;
Marc McDermott  ~ Ebenezer Scrooge
Charles Ogle  ~  Bob Cratchit
William Betchel  ~ Christmas Ghost (?)
Viola Dana ~ Cratchit's Daughter (13 yr old)
Shirley Mason  ~ Cratchit's Daughter (10 year old)

The second American version of the tale was literally four times longer than the 1901 British version which gave them more time to tell a more complete, if still rushed, version. They also have better sets featuring proper looking rooms with actual furniture instead of painted backdrops. That said the shooting schedule for films of this era was very short (especially at Edison) and only a few sets are used with even the outdoor scenes clearly being shot indoors which is again typical of Edison. In fact most of the action takes place in Scrooge's bedroom as the ghosts show him various scenes as he reacts. Some of this drags a bit and it would have been better if the ghosts had taken Scrooge outside for this. The ghosts are shot using the same double exposure f/x as the 1901 film with a couple ghosts seeming to be looking off-center as the actors can not actually interact with the other players. Playing Scrooge is Marc McDermott who is an improvement over the 1901 version. He is tall with scowling, craggy features and stooped shoulders suggesting a tired, crotchety old coot, but still imposing enough to be intimidating. McDermott (1871- 1929) was an Australian actor with an established stage career when he was recruited by Edison Studios where he would appear in a version of "Les Miserables" (1909) and Jules Verne's "Micheal Strogoff" before "Christmas Carol". He would continue acting throughout the silent era appearing, usually as the heavy, in some of the first film serials along with crime dramas "Eugene Aram" (1915), "While New York Sleeps" (1920), the Lon Chaney classic "He Who Gets Slapped" (1924) and the WW1 drama "Under The Black Eagle" (1928). Evidently a hard drinker he died of liver cirrhosis aged only 57 just before the sound era.
Better known to modern audiences is Charles Ogle (1865 - 1940) who gained immortality as the first screen Frankenstein's Monster earlier that year. Given he had played the hulking monster one might have thought he would play Scrooge but instead he plays the mousey Bob Cratchit with much servile eye-rolling. Given how Ogle lurked over everybody in the earlier film (even assuming he was wearing elevated shoes he is listed as being 6.2) McDermott must have been quite tall as he towers over even Ogle. Like McDermott he was also a stage actor who had appeared on Broadway with "Frankenstein" being his fifth film. He had also appeared with McDermott in "Micheal Strogoff", and the two would later appear in the same crime serials. Among his very long list of credits was as Long John Silver in "Treasure Island" (opposite Lon Chaney) and an appearance in Cecil B DeMille's "The Ten Commandments". He retired from the screen aged only 50 before sound came in 1926 and died aged 75.



Also listed in the credits is William Betchel (1867-1930) who presumably plays one of the Christmas Ghosts or one of the Charity Fundraisers who visits Scrooge as it appears one of the actors may be playing a dual role. Betchel was a German actor who by 1910 was both too old and too heavyset to be the actor playing Scrooge's Nephew. This was Betchel's first film although it's probably safe to assume that like McDermott and Ogle he had a previous stage career. He would end up having an even longer, if lower profile career than either which included "The Jazz Age" (1929) with Douglas Fairbanks acting up to his death in 1930 aged 63.



Also notable are two girls playing Cratchit's Daughters, Viola Dana (1897-1987) and Shirley Mason (1900-1979) were actually sisters (real name; Flugrath) with this being their film debut although they had already appeared on stage along with a third sister, Edna Flugarth. They would go on to successful careers in the silent era with Mason appearing in "Treasure Island" (with Charles Ogle and Lon Chaney) and "Flame Of Youth" (1920, written by Barbara LaMarr) while Dana would appear in director Frank Capra's first film "That Certain Thing" (1928). The sisters would appear as sisters a few times although oddly one of Viola's last films was "Two Sisters'' (1929) with Boris Karloff, an early sound film where Viola plays the dual role of two sisters. This film is now lost. As an added irony both Viola and Shirley would marry film directors who would die young with Viola's husband , director John Collins, dying in the 1918 Pandemic while Shirley's husband actor/director Bernard Dunning (who married when she was 16 and he was 24) dying of typhoid in 1923. With the coming of sound the sisters (who remarried) retired from film and lived long and apparently happy lives.

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"SCROOGE" (1913)


Directed by Leedham Bantock
Cast;
Seymour Hicks  ~  Ebanezer Scrooge
William Lugg  ~  Jacob Marley
JC Buckstone  ~ Bob Cratchit (?)
Leedham Bantock  ~  Charity Man
Adela Measor  ~  Mrs Cratchit
Ellaline Terriss  ~  Helen  
Dorothy Buckstone  ~  Fann (?)
Leonard Calvert  ~  Fred Scrooge (?)
Osborne Adair  ~  Charles Dickens (?)
Betty Hicks  ~  Cratchit's Daughter (?)

The film opens with a scene of Charles Dickens writing the novella which dissolves into an image of Hicks as Scrooge. Finally here we have a Scrooge with appropriate menace. Hair askew, eyebrows like caterpillars, ragged clothes and flushed complexion which the intertitles helpfully blame on his cold, cold heart. Although Hicks was in his forties he looks much older and like McDermott he walks with a crooked stagger. He looks more like a homeless wino than a millionaire which may be taking being a miser a bit far. Instantly the audience knows he is a miserable old bastard who in the opening smacks around one of a group of urchins taunting him (to be fair they do seem pretty annoying). Since this version is literally twice as long as the Edison version from only three years previous it can spend more time on it's story. Whether it spends that time well is another matter. Half the film is spent on setting up the story, introducing Scrooge and establishing that he is a miserly bastard. There is nothing wrong with this, Hicks does a fine job and he is the first proper Scrooge on film helped by the fact that he had already established the role on stage for years. However this means that there is not enough time to tell the story of Trump's visitations and redemption, in fact the film compresses four ghosts into one by making Jacob Marley be the only ghost and dispensing with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. This is a glaring omission that even the much shorter 1910 Edison version did not do. Like the Edison film this version does not leave Scrooge's bedroom for the visitations with Marley simply showing Scrooge visions that he passively observes and reacts to. This is odd as the opening scenes do in fact change sets five times and made good use of outdoor sets which, unlike the Edison films, were actually shot outdoors. The sets, especially the outdoor sets, are actually a strong point here, they looked lived-in and appropriately cold, grimy and..well..Dickensian. As do the rather threadbare costumes. This London does indeed seem harsh and miserable. The cast here is clearly superior to the previous films, Hicks was a well respected actor with years of experience in the role and most of the cast here were also well known London stage actors and while they had little film experience they had had time to observe the medium and look comfortable in it. Besides Hicks, Marley's Ghost stands out as being particularly cadaverous. So it's clearly a better film than the 1910 Edison version, however it could have easily been made better. Forty minutes was considered a standard length for a feature film but longer films were not unheard of and another twenty minute reel could have easily been added, especially for a film with a recognized story and stars that could be expected to find an audience and be exported to North America and Australia as this one would be. This would have allowed the film to spend the kind of attention on the rest of the film that it spent on the set-up. Additional time could have been had by simply dispensing with the opening framing device of showing Dickens at work which looks fine but adds nothing to the story and was already pretty creaky as a narrative device even in 1913.



Seymour Hicks (1871 - 1949) had been a major star of the London stage for years including working with Sir Henry Irving and Charles Frohman, when he began playing the role of Scrooge with a script he wrote, starting in 1901 playing the role thousands of times with great success allowing him to set up his own company and build his own theatres, the Aldwych and Hicks Theatres. His company included family members including his wife, Ellaline Terriss and brother-in-law Tom whose father William Terriss was a well known actor in his own right who Hicks had worked with until he was murdered in 1901. Hicks was the best known Scrooge of the Edwardian stage so his moving the role to film was a natural. Like most stage actors of the 1900's Hicks showed little interest in the crude film vignettes of the early era, however by 1913 film media had advanced in its ability to tell a proper story lasting longer than a single reel. Seymour Hicks would continue to play Scrooge and other characters on stage along with making some movies into the sound era which would lead to the first sound remake in 1932 which we shall visit later. He was knighted in 1935. As for the rest of the cast; unlike the previous films we do have a cast list, albeit without listing who played what roles. However since much of the cast were prominent players at least some of whom played in the stage version so we can make some educated guesses. Hick's wife Ellaline Terriss appears to play Scrooge's girlfriend from Christmas Past. Besides resembling photos of Terriss, it's effectively the only female role with any decent lines so it's likely Hicks would give the role to Ellaline. William Lugg was an actor and singer who had appeared with Hicks and Terriss and given that he was a singer known for his booming bass voice it seems likely he would have played Marley's Ghost on stage and here although his deathly white makeup makes it hard to tell. Oddly JC Buckstone was an actor who had also played Scrooge in yet another stage version years earlier and he appears to be Bob Cratchit, the only other substantial role here and it's hard to see him taking a lesser role. The existing photo of Buckstone seems to confirm this. The wonderfully named Leedham Bantock, who actually sounds like a Dickens character, is listed here as both an actor and director of this film, and he had a Christmas film history of his own having played the first known film Santa Claus in a 1912 film directed by the same Walter Booth who directed the 1901 "Scrooge". The heavyset Bantock obviously plays the Charity Man who visits Scrooge seeking a donation. Leonard Calvert and the also wonderfully named Osborne Adiar round out the male cast and we know almost nothing about them. They each have only one more film credit (oddly in the same film) and there are no photos to be found. We do have their birth dates however so we know they were in their early fifties at the time of filming so they can only be playing either Scrooge's nephew Fred and Charles Dickens as the only other male roles are Tiny Tim and the lad who Scrooges sends out to buy the turkey on Christmas Day. They are completely unknown but it was not unusual for child actors to go unbilled in that era. As for the rest of the female cast; Adela Measor was the wife of JC Buckstone and she appears to be playing Bob Cratchit's wife. Dorothy Buckstone was apparently JC Buckstone's daughter (he did have an actress sister but she was named Lucy). She would appear to be playing Scrooge's sister Fann who appears in a Christmas Past vision as it's the only other female role aside from Cratchit's daughters, but they have no lines or scenes of their own. Dorothy had no other film credits but may have been a stage performer. As an additional note Hicks and Terriss had a daughter named Betty who would later become an actress as well so it's possible she played one of the Cratchit daughters. She was aged about ten at the time. The cast all do a solid job without too much of the histrionics and mugging of the era. This version of the story became the standard version for many years, probably due to the fame of it's cast, especially Hicks, and would be exported internationally (at least to North America, Australia, New Zealand etc) and shown through out the silent era even though it's static staging became distinctly old fashioned within just a few years and Hicks himself would reprise the role in the first sound version in 1932. But that's another story.   

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"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1914);


Directed by Harold Shaw Cast;
Charles Rock ~ Scrooge
George Bellamy ~ Bob Cratchit
Edna Flugarth ~ Belle
Franklyn Bellamy ~ Fred
Mary Brough ~ Mrs Cratchit
Edward O'Neill ~ Jacob Marley
Arthur Cullin ~ Ghost Of Christmas Past
Wyndham Guise ~ Ghost Of Christmas Present
H Ashton Tonge ~ Ghost Of Christmas Future

The 1913 Seymour Hicks film may have gotten the most attention but that didn't stop another British studio from firing off their own version a year later with a mostly obscure cast. This version is in many ways a superior film, there are four ghosts instead of one, the ghosts take Scrooge from his room instead of having the entire story take place in Scrooge's bedroom, the sets look lived in, the camera is a bit less static, scenes are shorter and thought has been given as to how to tell a story with editing scenes rather than simply relying in the intertitles to do the job.The double exposure special effects are much better done than previous films. In short while the Hicks film was made by theatre people who had not given much thought to film as a separate medium, this one was made by actual film makers, second string journeymen mind you, but professionals.
The one short-coming is Charles Rock as Scrooge. He does not have Hick's seedy, snarling presence and the film is not as gritty and grimy. Rock seems like merely a crotchety old coot and lacks Hick's hostility. On the other hand the Ghosts are more animated than previous with finally a proper Marley dragging his chains and lock boxes. The three spirits have their proper look with Christmas Past as a white bearded Druidic old man, Christmas Present as a younger version (albeit scrawnier than later versions would be with an oddly large fake nose) while Christmas Future is a stark figure in a dark robe, however unlike later versions he does have a face rather than a shadowy void and appears to speak to Scrooge, in fact he looks like Dante from "L'Inferno" (1910). George Bellamy as Bob Cratchit doesn't look as down-at-heel as Buckstone's version, indeed the entire cast is better dressed than previous versions. Franklyn Bellamy is a more dashing figure as Scrooge's nephew. His wife is played by perky and wide-eyed Edna Flugarth who was actually the elder sister of Viola Dana and Shirley Mason from the 1910 Edison version. She isn't given much to do but she does have a personality. Similarly Cratchit's wife is a cheery, roly-poly figure who looks rather more well fed than she should be but she has a jovial personality.    

EDNA FLUGARTH


The cast as not as well known as the Hicks 1913 version but Charles Rock (1866-1919) had been making films since 1910 making him an early figure to move from the stage (where he had appeared in both London and New York and had also served as a playwright) into film. Among many other films his other credits included a version of "Trilby" (AKA "Svengali", 1914) with the famous British stage actor Sir Herbert Beerbolm-Tree. His career would not last long however as he died in 1919 aged only 53, perhaps in the Spanish Flu pandemic. George Bellamy (1966-1944) also had film experience going back to 1910 including working with Rock in a short 1912 biopic of "David Garrick" (they both played supporting roles), the two would also appear in a version of "The Prisoner Of Zenda" (1915) again as supporting players. Later he would also appear in one of Eille Norwood's Sherlock Holmes films in 1922 and would continue acting into the sound era retiring in 1933 and dying a decade later. Franklyn Bellamy (1886-1961) might be George's son, there does appear to be a resemblance, however he is listed as having been born in Malaysia and George was not. Don't know if George ever lived there so their names might be a coincidence. If so another coincidence is that he would also appear in a Sherlock Holmes film, albeit in a 1931 sound version with Raymond Massey. He would continue his career well into the sound era even appearing in one of the very first TV dramas, "Telecrime" in 1939. Sadly like all early BBC programming no copies were saved. After which he seems to have married and retired (from film at least) and moved to Cornwall where he would die decades later. Edna Flugarth (1892-1966) was the one cast member who had some public fame as one of the three acting sisters, although she would be lesser known than her sister Viola Dana. They were Americans but she spent some time in Britain where she would marry and where this film was made (she also had a role in "Trilby") before returning and after making a movie, "The Social Code", in 1923 with her sister Viola, she would retire long before the advent of sound. She would open a beauty salon in California and live a long life away from the public eye. Mary Brough (1863-1934), as Cratchit's wife was another stage veteran from a theatre family with a long career in supporting roles, mostly in comedies, working right up to her death. ===========================================================

"A Christmas Carol" (1923)


Directed by George Wynn
Cast;
Henry V Esmond ~ Scrooge
(Rest of cast unknown);

With a decade passing between the next adaptation we see a significant advancement in filmmaking techniques. Now we have proper close-ups, shorter scenes and quicker editing, still no tracking shots but it finally looks like a proper film. This version is supposedly missing several minutes but while it's short it's not cut off in the way damaged films often are, with the beginning or end obviously missing. Instead it looks like at some point somebody may have fixed this surviving print by re-editing to cover missing parts. For example the film goes from the Ghosts of Christmas Past to Present without introducing the latter while Christmas Past did get an intro and the Ghost of Christmas Present does hand Scrooge off to the Ghost Of Christmas Future, so that may be a missing scene. Then there is the ending, the film simply fades out after Scrooge tells Cratchit he will be turning over a new leaf and giving him a raise, then the film fades out. This means that we never actually see Cratchit's family nor do we even meet Tiny Tim. Even so this version does tell the basic story, albeit in the same rushed manner of the earlier versions. This film is also short by 1923 standards, when feature length films of over an hour long were standard, however comedy shorts were still commonly used as part of double bills and it's likely this film was meant to be used the same way during the festive season.



Scrooge is played here by Henry Esmond who does a good job, looking like previous Scrooge Charles Rock. He was in fact a prominent Broadway stage actor known for musical comedies who was expected to have an equally successful film career which was however, also like Charles Rock, cut short by his sudden death of pneumonia in 1922 aged only 52. The rest of the cast is unknown which is a shame because this Bob Cratchit is one of the better ones with the gangly actor bearing an odd resemblance to David Warner who would play the role sixty years later opposite George C Scott in the 1985 version. Marley's Ghost starts of with a promising closeup of his ghostly feet trudging across the floor dragging his chains and lock boxes. But once we see his face he looks more like a nagging clerk than a frightening spirit and once again the actor his a silly fake nose for some reason along with a stiffened hair pig-tail which would have been anachronistic in the 1840's. The other ghosts look fine and some good use is made of double exposures. This time Scrooge does leave his bedroom unlike most previous versions but this one is too short to do much with the story. The film is competently done and would have benefitted from having another reel to tell its story.

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"SCROOGE" (1923)


Directed by Edwin Greenwood
Russell Thorndike ~ Ebenezer Scrooge
Forbes Dawson ~ Fred
Nina Vanna ~ Fred's Wife
Jack Denton ~ Jacob Marley

Yet another British effort, this one is longer, at almost a half hour, but once again it doesn't make the best use of this time. The poor quality of this surviving print is obviously a problem but this version would be fairly mediocre anyway. Scrooge here is played by Russell Thorndyke who looks like some of the previous Scrooges, but although this film gives more time to establish the character he doesn't leave much of an impression. He is mostly just a cranky old coot except for one scene in which he charges outside to literally assault a caroling street urchin with a heavy bound ledger which is a tad extreme even for Scrooge. The rest of the cast is only partially listed leaving out, for some inexplicable reason, the actor playing Bob Cratchit, who is the most emaciated and servile clerk yet. The rest of the cast are serviceable enough but leave little impression except for the odd choice to have the Ghost Of Christmas Past be shown as a midget. Or is he supposed to be a child? This Marley doesn't get a dramatic entrance but at least he doesn't have the fake nose, although he does still have the stiffened pigtail. The other various spirits rush by quickly with The Ghost Of Christmas Present (a suitably giant Father Christmas) merely telling Scrooge that Cratchit and Nephew Fred will be having a merry christmas with their families and he won't before then exiting. The Ghost Of Christmas Future is the only one to actually take Scrooge outside, to his grave. Once again, as with the previous version we don't even see Cratchit's version and there is no Tiny Tim. In fact we spend more time with Nephew Fred & his wife than we do with Cratchit which seems off. 



One change from previous versions is the heavy use of  inter-titles and dialogue cards, in fact by the standards of silent film this one is downright chatty. Although the dialogue between Scrooge and Marley is somewhat out of sequence adding to the rushed feel of this film. The direction is pedestrian even compared to the earlier version (there are no closeups) and the sets minimal as well.  Russell Thorndyke (1885-1972) was a British actor from a theatrical family along with his sister Dame Sybil, with a long stage career including playing Shakesperian roles as well as being a successful novelist. On film he had already played "MacBeth" opposite Sybil, and would later go on to act opposite Laurence Olivier in sound film versions of "Hamlet" and "Richard III". He spent much of his career on the stage however. Nina Vanna (1899-1953) as Fred's Wife is apparently the only other cast member of any note (she is billed up front and thus twice along with Thorndyke) and did in fact have several films to her credit including playing the lies of Lucreazia Borgia and Lady Jane Grey, although she is given little to do here. Vanna was actually a Russian stage actress named Nina Yasikova who fled the 1917 Revolution and ended up in Britain who was discovered by actor Ivor Novello who convinced her to try films and to change her name. She would make more than twenty films in Britain, France and Germany but retired with the coming of sound so perhaps her command of English may have been a little shaky. She died in Britain aged only 54. 

Besides these surviving silent Scrooges there are lost versions including a 1908 version made by Essanay Studios starring Charles Ricketts and a big budget full length American version entitled "The Right To Be Happy" made by Universal Studios starring future film director Rupert Julian as Scrooge.