Scrooge (1951)

My first time watching this adaptation of Charles Dickens' work - thoroughly enjoyed it! I've previously only watched the Disney animated film and the 2019 television miniseries with Guy Pearce. I also like both of those, they each have things that are inferior and superior to this 1951 film. Alastair Sim is the best Ebenezer Scrooge of the three, I loved watching him from start-to-finish. Sim's facial expressions are terrific throughout, while his happiness later on is infectious. A top performance! None of the others massively standout, unlike the aforementioned productions, but George Cole (young Scrooge) is pleasant, as are those who play the ghosts. Other positives include the score, the tension building and the arc of the lead character - given the fact that they make him horrid at the beginning. The special effects haven't aged well, but that's to be very much expected almost seventy years on - in fairness, they look pretty good for '51. Elsewhere, I found that some of the camera shots are held for too long, while I also wanted more reactions of Sim when he was seeing the past/present/future - sometimes they chose to stick on the 'event', rather than showing Sim. Those aren't major criticisms at all, just small ones. All in all, 'Scrooge' is a very good film - one well worth a view!

I read a review by a critic which stated this is the best adaptation of the oh so familiar story of Charles Dickens’ Scrooge. Not because of advanced production value or cutting edge special effects. In fact, this movie is definitely low tech, being from 1952 as it is. But now I agree with that assessment. There are three elements that in my mind elevate this production to the top of the pile. The first is the setting and the mood of the film. This felt like Dickensian London to me, the rough streets and dense atmosphere through the fog and just the look of the people. The story was also handled with a deft touch. It has been a long time since I have read the novella by Dickens, but this story felt closer to the original. I like the details they added sometimes when Scrooge was with the Christmas ghosts. For one example, when it showed the people selling Scrooge’s belongings, they spoke at some little length, about their lives and about Scrooge. And then later that scene illustrates how much Scrooge has altered, for he interacts with the woman he saw selling his curtains and gives her a raise. Finally there is Alastair Sims as Scrooge. He gives a multi-layered performance I appreciated more and more as the story went on. He convinced me during his second ghost that he might want to change but probably wouldn’t. He wasn’t there yet and needed the third ghost to get him over the top. His final conversion felt convincing to me, the little and big laughs of his were evidence of a man who knew he had been spared a final tragic chapter in his and others’ lives.

Alastair Sim is in his element here as the curmudgeonly miser who routinely spends his Christmas alone counting his fortune. Luckily for him, "Scrooge" receives a visit from his late but not so lamented partner "Marley" (Michael Hordern) who warns him that he is to receive three visitors this cold and snowy Christmas morning. These ghosts are to show him was has happened, is happening and might well happen if he doesn't mend his venal and selfish ways. Meantime, in a hovel nearby his clerk "Bob" (Mervyn Johns) is celebrating with his wife and five children - including the enthusiastic but poorly "Tim" (Glen Dearman). As the dawn approaches, perhaps "Scrooge" can find salvation from the home truths being presented to him? This version tells us more of the establishment of the character, aided by a joyous contribution from Jack Warner as his mentor "Jorkin" and also allows the supporters more of a role. Kathleen Harrison and Miles Malleson provide some light relief as "Scrooge" really does come to realise the contempt and disdain in which he's held by just about everyone - rich or poor. It's Sim, though, who has the character almost perfectly set here. He positively exudes the humbuggery of the role, his facial expressions convey menace, horror, joy and mischief enjoyably and by the conclusion you really do sense that he enjoyed the part as much as I did. The production captures both the emotional and physical frostiness and brutality of the scenario and it really is a reminder of no man being an island - or at least being happy as one. I wouldn't say Sim was better at the role than Sir Seymour Hicks, but he's certainly just as good.