Rob from Movierob stops by for the penultimate entry for 2015’s Christmas in July blogathon. He’s reviewing the 1951 A Christmas Carol. Without further ado, here’s Rob!
Growing up in the States, I had many opportunities during the yearly holiday season to see many different adaptations of the timely story of A Christmas Carol.
Although, I always thought I’ve seen most of them, I came across this blog (by Rachel of SmilingLDSGirl) a few months ago that really put all my numbers to shame.
My two favorites of this classic tale have always been the Disney adaptation called Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and Bill Murray’s modernized version of the story in Scrooged (1988).
For some reason, I always avoided one of the first adaptations of this story; the one from 1951. A number of friends (including Mutant over at Cinema Parrot Disco) have stated that this version is one of the best and after having seen this, I must agree.
The special effects used back then were never great, but they really did the ghost and travel effects quite well.
Alistair Sim was an excellent choice for the lead role of Scrooge and he did a wonderful job no matter the age he was portraying.
I also liked how they expanded Scrooge’s history a bit and gave us more of an explanation as to how he turned out the way he did.
This in and of itself makes this movie feel even more genuine.
Despite not having seen all of the versions of this story, I can truly say that this one feels like the definitive version of the story because of the detail and effort put in to it in order to give us such a wonderful adaptation of this timely Dickens classic.
Thanks again to Drew for hosting this event and for letting me be a part if it
Now for Rob’s person he would like to meet under the mistletoe, he chose someone who reminded him of his wife… Janine Turner in Cliffhanger.
Thanks, Rob! You are one lucky guy if your wife is half as cute as Janine Turner. Rob has a thing for older movies, last year he reviewed It’s a Wonderful Life, which is great! It adds a nice variety to the celebration. Coming up, I will be closing the blogathon with review of movie that was recommended to me: Four Christmases. Catch ya later!
Drew's Movie Reviews 
Who recommended 4 Christmases? I hate that movie. Thanks for the shout out. Some people might think it would be boring watching the same story done 35 times (some were only TV length) but it was actually really interesting. It felt kind of like if 35 kids were given a writing prompt and you could see what they all came up with given the same start.
I love Christmas Carol because it is about redemption and that there are no lost causes. To me that exemplifies the message of Christmas and Christ. The Alistair Sims version is my favorite traditional telling. It’s beautifully shot and Sims has a right amount of sarcasm and contempt. He also does reborn Scrooge the best. I also appreciate the backstory they add because it shows how Scrooge has rationalized his way into a life of caring only for himself as a good thing.
Other favorites are Mickeys Christmas Carol and Muppets. I also like Scrooged and the 1984 with George C Scott even though he is a very American Scrooge. Nearly all are great because I love the basic story so much. God bless us everyone!
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I’ll have to look into this one if it has this many people singing its praises. I didn’t realize there were upwards of 35 versions of A Christmas Carol! I’ve only seen like 3.
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Some are very loose adaptations but it’s like Alice in Wonderland or Cinderella, one of those stories that’s retold in film and tv pretty frequently. I love it.
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That’s awesome that there are so many different versions of it. No matter what your taste is, there is bound to be one you enjoy.
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Reblogged this on and commented:
Check out my review of A Christmas Carol (1951) for Drew’s Christmas in July blogathon over at Drew’s Movie Reviews. Thanks Drew
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Thanks for joining in, Rob!
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I too am an enthusiast of “A Christmas Carol” in all its incarnations. The 1951 version with Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge is probably my favorite too, but there are two earlier versions which are wonderfully done and worth a view: the 1935 version starring Seymour Hicks, and the 1938 version starring Reginald Owen. I have 12 adaptations in my collection, ranging from 1935 to 2009. There is also a 1964 socially-conscious loosely-based TV movie adaptation called “Carol for Another Christmas” with Sterling Hayden and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also produced the 1938 version. And of course, “Scrooged” with Bill Murray was very cool too. 🙂 The musical “Scrooge” from 1970 with Albert Finney was also a fun watch, and that one played more with the idea of Scrooge’s failed romance as a major reason why he became an embittered old man.
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I never realized there were so many adaptations! That’s incredible.
Thanks for commenting. 🙂
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