A Christmas Carol/Scrooge (1951)

Christmas Movie #11 (Merry Belated Christmas, and Happy Boxing Day!) Please click the links to read my reviews of It’s a Wonderful Life, Die Hard, Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34^th Street, and The Family Man. Oh – and here’s some news. My review of Hulk Hogan’s stinkeroo, Santa With Muscles has received a grand total of 135 pageviews – that’s a record for this blog!

Synopsis: Hard-working, job-creating captain of industry undergoes home invasion and forced indoctrination by otherworldly Bolsheviks.

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Old Ebeneezer Scrooge, the meanest miser in London, overworks and underpays his humble clerk, Bob Cratchit, whose little son, Tiny Tim, is crippled and may soon die. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge has a dreadful nightmare. He is visited by three ghosts who change his life forever.”

What Did I Learn?: If you don’t want your sketchy housekeeper to sell your bed curtains after you croak, itemize your possessions and leave a will.

You Might Like This Movie If: You know that “Christmas” and “Carol” go together like rum and eggnog.

Really?: 1) The turkey that Scrooge sends to the Cratchits isn’t nearly as big as we’re led to believe. 2) I have no idea what the Victorian job market was like, but did Bob Cratchit ever consider leaving Scrooge’s employ to work for somebody else? 3) Is it just me, or do the Cratchits seem psychotically happy on Christmas Day?

Rating: The 1951 version of A Christmas Carol is the gold standard for retellings of the Dickens classic. Alastair Sim provides a masterful performance as the grumpy old miser with a heart of gold – and you can’t help yourself from smiling as he finally discovers the joy he’s been missing for so many years. A Christmas Carol is a bit hokey in places, and the special effects are now a bit dated, but it’s well worth watching on Christmas Eve. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars.  

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/