Scrooge

****1/2 (out of 5)

Most people have a favorite film version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The 1938 version with Reginald Owen, the underrated Mr. Magoo, the 1970 musical with Albert Finney, the Muppets with Michael Caine, the 80’s-tastic Bill Murray version, or the recent Jim Carrey in the Uncanny Valley rendition. And more.

I enjoy aspects of each of the above films, excepting the Jim Carrey abomination. A favorite Marley here, a favorite Ghost of Christmas Past there. But overall, the 1951 version with Alastair Sim as Scrooge is my favorite. His Scrooge is tall and gaunt, drooping of shoulder and sunken of eye. He is effectively cold and grumpy as well as warm and joyful as the story requires.

The living Jacob Marley is played with a smug self-satisfaction while his dying self and ghost are somber, sad, and insistent. His ghost’s scream is truly startling, and his voice nearly breaks with desperation as he wails that mankind was his business. The build-up to his appearance isn’t as effective here as in other versions, not as spooky, but he is a proper Marley nonetheless.

The three Ghosts of Christmas are played with authoritative dignity. Any humor comes from the situation or from Scrooge himself. The Ghost of Christmas Past is older and reminds one of a holy man. The Ghost of Christmas Present is expansive and hearty, and the black-robed Ghost of Christmas Future is shot from odd angles that accentuate his mystery.

Scrooge goes through his usual travels through time and space. In this version he seems to spend more time in the past than in others, showing more of his business shenanigans, and the actor playing the young Scrooge is a reasonable facsimile of the elder. The Scrooge who sees himself lonely at school until his beloved sister Fan arrives, his betrothal and subsequent separation from Alice, and his presence at Fan’s death, is in utter anguish. It is made clear to the audience how Scrooge’s heart hardened over time, and it’s difficult, at least for me, to keep one’s eyes dry.

Scrooge’s travels through the present include the usual. A visit with the Crachit’s and Tiny Tim that here vividly evokes a tightly loving family, and with Scrooge’s nephew in a scene that makes his Christmas party seem more alive than I recall in other versions.

The true test for me, though, is how well one of my favorite scenes is depicted, the revealing of Ignorance and Want. This was unspeakably unsettling to me as a youngster. Who are these children? Why are they huddling under his robe, why is no-one taking care of them? As an adult I find it powerful and sobering. This film’s Ghost of Christmas Present is stern and direct in his warning, and the children look wasted away. The Ghost’s mocking reply to Scrooge’s wondering why no-one cares for them, “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” echoes around Scrooge as he despairs. Well done.

The Ghost of Christmas Future needs to freak the audience out. In this regard this Ghost does alright. Needs more something…height? A skeletal hand rather than one of flesh? The visit with the Tiny Tim-less Crachit’s is devastatingly sad, especially when Bob Crachit’s composure breaks. An exceptional scene. However, the scene where the help sells Scrooge’s belongings is interminably long. Sims’ Scrooge is terrified at this point, and his collapse in the graveyard is convincing.

Scrooge’s awakening is a goofy delight as he inadvertently frightens his weary housekeeper. Sim’s comedic timing and facial expressions abound with manic joy and a lightness of spirit, as they should. Scrooge telling a random child to purchase a turkey for the Crachits is made delightful by Sim’s rambling and the child’s naturally skeptical responses.

His visit to his nephew’s sees Sim’s Scrooge asking for forgiveness with warmth and contrition. The singing of “Barbara Allen” adds to the tenderness of the scene. Scrooge’s prankish deception of Bob Crachit is rushed but the film ends appropriately with Scrooge and a healthy Tiny Tim walking hand-in-hand.

A good version of A Christmas Carolentertains. A great one can be deeply moving. This is a great one.