Scrooge (1951)

Director:

Brian Desmond Hurst

Writers:

Charles Dickens (story)
Noel Langley (adaptation)

Release Date:

31 October 1951 (UK)

Genre:

Fantasy | Drama

Tagline:

Now! The story that has brought joy to millions! A new screen triumph!

Plot:

An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when he is haunted by ghosts on Christmas Eve.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Ghost | Scrooge | Miser | Redemption

Cast

Alastair Sim	...	Ebenezer Scrooge
Kathleen Harrison	...	Mrs. Dilber
Mervyn Johns	...	Bob Cratchit
Hermione Baddeley	...	Mrs. Cratchit
Michael Hordern	...	Jacob Marley / Marley's Ghost
George Cole	...	Young Ebenezer Scrooge
John Charlesworth	...	Peter Cratchit
Francis De Wolff	...	Spirit of Christmas Present (as Francis de Wolff)
Rona Anderson	...	Alice
Carol Marsh	...	Fan Scrooge
Brian Worth	...	Fred
Miles Malleson	...	Old Joe
Ernest Thesiger	...	The Undertaker
Glyn Dearman	...	Tiny Tim
Michael Dolan	...	Spirit of Christmas Past

Also Known As:

A Christmas Carol (USA)

Runtime:

86 min | Germany:74 min (video version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15238) | Finland:K-8 | UK:U | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

George Minter Productions

Trivia:

The word "humbug" is misunderstood by many people, which is a pity since the word provides a key insight into Scrooge's hatred of Christmas. The word "humbug" describes deceitful efforts to fool people by pretending to a fake loftiness or false sincerity. So when Scrooge calls Christmas a humbug, he is claiming that people only pretend to charity and kindness in an scoundrel effort to delude him, each other, and themselves. In Scrooge's eyes, he is the one man honest enough to admit that no one really cares about anyone else, so for him, every wish for a Merry Christmas is one more deceitful effort to fool him and take advantage of him. This is a man who has turned to profit because he honestly believes everyone else will someday betray him or abandon him the moment he trusts them.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Scrooge gives his housekeeper a Christmas Bonus and increases her wages to ten shillings a week, she runs down the stairs exclaiming in joy "Bob's your uncle!" No one would have ever used that term during the time the story takes place, in 1843. The phrase is used to describe British Prime Minister Robert Cecil's appointment of his unqualified nephew, Arthur Balfour, as the Chief Secretary of Ireland, in 1887. Dickens' characters would have to wait another 44 years to use the phrase which describes good fortune out of nothing, or the exclamation of happiness from simplicity.

Quotes:

Ebenezer: [Giggling] No. Mrs. Dilber - I'm not mad.
[He ruffles his hair so that it looks wild]
Ebenezer: Even if I look it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Charles Dickens & the Invention of Christmas (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Barbara Allen

the classic version

I have not seen Albert Finney's nor George C. Scott's portrayal of Scrooge, so I cannot say definitively that Alastair Sim 'owns' this role, but I sure have trouble imagining anyone topping him; he is superb, the nitpicking comments of TinMan-5 notwithstanding. This version will always have a special place in my affections, and I am glad to see I'm not alone in holding this opinion.