A Christmas Carol 1951

There have been many versions of this great story. This is the version that I like the most. The great Alastair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge and he is the reason I like this so much. When I think of the Scrooge… I think of him.

The movie is in black and white which turns some people off but it makes it that much better to me. The effects they use are obviously not CGI but they get the point across well and serve the story. I like the scene where the ghost of Jacob Marley is warning Ebenezer of being greedy…the two were not on the set at the same time…it looked really good for being 1951…or anytime for that matter.

So get some eggnog or hot butter rum and sit back and watch this great movie.

From IMDB…spoilers

Ebenezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) is a greedy businessman who thinks only of making money. For him, Christmas is, in his own words, a humbug. It has been seven years since his friend and partner, Jacob Marley (Sir Michael Hordern), died and on Christmas Eve. Marley’s ghost tells him he is to be visited during the night by three spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael Dolan) revisits some of the main events in Scrooge’s life to date, including his unhappy childhood, his happy apprenticeship to Mr. Fezziwig (Roddy Hughes), who cared for his employees, and the end of his engagement to a pretty young woman due to a growing love of money. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Francis De Wolff) shows him how joyously is nephew Fred (Brian Worth) and his clerk, Bob Cratchit (Mervyn Johns), celebrate Christmas with those they love. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Czeslaw Konarski) shows him what he will leave behind after he is gone. Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning, a new man intent on doing good and celebrating the season with all of those around him.

Cast

  • Alastair Sim (Ebenezer Scrooge)
  • Kathleen Harrison (Mrs. Dilber)
  • Mervyn Johns (Bob Cratchit)
  • Hermione Baddeley (Mrs. Cratchit)
  • Michael Hordern (Jacob Marley)
  • Glyn Dearman (Tiny Tim)

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

15 thoughts on “A Christmas Carol 1951”

      2. Dickens inspired so many people. I’m a big Chaplin fan…he was heavily inspired by him and that is the reason I wanted to read it…
        I know…I went the long way around but hey…I got there.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Scrooge was scary for little kids to watch, but I always got a lot of joy from watching this movie. My parents bought the 1956 album The Stingiest Man in Town and we listed to it every year. It had a lot of great songs on it like A Christmas Carol, An Old Fashioned Christmas, Humbug, The Stingiest Man in Town, I Wear A Chain, The Christmas Spirit, Yes, There Is a Santa Claus, One Little Boy, The Birthday Party of the King and Mankind Should Be My Business. I used to love singing all of these songs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. He was scary. The top hat added to that also. It was great to see the transformation at the end.

      That is one thing Christmas does…it takes me back to being a child…not that it is very far away. My dad and mom divorced when I was 4 or 5 and Christmas was one day of peace we would have together afterward… I remember the songs I sang, books I read, and the tv specials.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  4. A Christmas Carol is a timeless classic. I just watched a youtube on a new movie about Dickens and what led up to his writing it. Not sure if I saw it on a blog or at youtube but it looks good.

    Like

    Reply

  5. Likwise – to me, it is the definitive version! My mom and I always tried to catch it on Christmas eve when I was young, even at times long after I’d moved out and was an adult. Special effects (the ghosts floating as they go flying through the past and so on) are cheesy by today’s standards and tiny tim wasn’t so tiny ((reminds me of the SCTV spoof)) but it captured the spirit of the story beautifully and was just so joyful when he got up on christmas morning.
    somewhere I have a nice little copy of the novella, I was actually saying just tonight maybe next year I’d like to read it on Christmas Eve together as a family- like someone already commented, it’s not a terribly long book, but it is a classic.
    Merry christmas!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You know the part that is great to me is when he wakes up and he is suddenly happy…he acted that so well compared to what he had been…his body language…everything just changed.
      Merry Christmas! I still love it like a kid almost.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. yep- truly a classic that captures the feeling of the day at its best. You’re right, sim acted it very well – he IS Scrooge, both the mean and the jolly.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. we started watching this one the other night and didn’t get far- the opening scene had some kid taking a leak on Marley’s grave..it went downhill after that… I don’t think Dickens wrote it that way..

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment