One of our family’s favorite Christmas films is the 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol staring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge.
Bottom Line
A Christmas Carol is a clean, wholesome film that the entire family can enjoy. Our only criticism of the film that parents should be aware of is that of the final scene, when Scrooge visits his nephew’s home for dinner – some of the ladies in the room are wearing dresses with low necklines.
Synopsis
The movie opens with the lines:
Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.
In the first few minutes of the film we are introduced to Ebenezer Scrooge, a man of business who has no heart. He threatens a man who owes him money with debtor’s prison, he refuses to donate to a Christmas fund for the poor, and he barely gives his employee Christmas Day off from work. Christmas, to Scrooge, is merely an interruption of business; money, to him, is god.
It is Christmas eve. Scrooge makes his way home and is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley.
Marley tells Scrooge that Scrooge has a chance of escaping his fate (Marley is doomed to walk the earth, fettered with the chains of greed he forged in life, unable to assist those he should have and could have assisted while living). Marley tells Scrooge that the chains Scrooge bears were as long as his own seven Christmas eves ago (the day of Marley’s death) and that Scrooge has labored on his chain since. Marley informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits – the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
Thus the journey begins.
The Ghost of Christmas Past arrives at 1am on Christmas morning, and proceeds to show Scrooge Christmas scenes from his own past. We see Scrooge not yet defiled by love of money; we see Scrooge, who is poor and humble himself, fall in love with a poor and humble girl; we see Scrooge’s first encounter with Jacob Marley and we watch their subsequent downward spiral into greediness. Scrooge watches these replays but is unmoved: he is too old to change.
The Ghost of Christmas Present arrives next, and shows Scrooge scenes unfolding in the moment. We see the home and family of Bob Cratchit and their Christmas celebration (which includes a reluctant toast to Scrooge as the provider of the feast, since he pays Bob Cratchit’s wages). We see the sweet girl Scrooge once loved but subsequently lost because of his love of money – she is working with the poor, giving them food and comfort. Scrooge watches these scenes but is still unmoved: he would rather go home to bed.
Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives, and he shows Scrooge scenes that, if Scrooge does not mend his ways, will begin to unfold in the months and years to come. He shows Scrooge the death of Bob Cratchit’s lame son; he shows Scrooge’s bed curtains and night shirt being fought over for money; he shows Scrooge a grave. Scrooge is finally moved and convinced: he is not the man he was!
To find out how the film ends, you’ll need to watch it. 🙂
What we Love
- This version of A Christmas Carol is very true to Dickens, with many lines taken verbatim.
- We feel the acting is excellent, especially the characters of Scrooge, Marley, Bob Cratchit, and the housekeeper. Wow, can Marley wail!
- There are some great lines to quote over the dinner table, e.g., “You might be an undigested bit of beef, a piece of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than the grave in you, whatever you are.”
What Could Be Better
- The costumes of the young ladies at the Christmas party at Scrooge’s nephew’s house are a bit low.
Enjoy, and God bless us, everyone!