25 Greatest Christmas Films: #23 — ‘Scrooge’ (1970)
by John NolteThis big-budget musical is yet another not terribly great movie that makes the list for two reasons. The first is a personal memory.
A hundred years ago, the day before Christmas break began, an English teacher pulled my entire freshman class out of school and bussed the lot of us down to the local 79-cent theater for a screening of Scrooge. Besides everyone getting excited over seeing Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness plays Marley), what I remember most about the movie is that after it was over, as we exited the theatre, the whole class burst out singing and dancing the film’s infectious “Thank You Very Much,” as we filed onto the bus … and we kept singing the whole way back to school.
–
I can still smell wet rubber boots, feel the cold green vinyl seat beneath me, and sense that ball of Christmas excitement in my stomach — you know, the one that gets smaller as you get older…
My second soft spot for Scrooge is due to how effectively it portrays Ebenezer’s regret and heartbreak over losing the love of his life to his own ambition. That’s always been my favorite part of the timeless Dickens’ classic, and it gets me every time in all the screen realizations, but especially this one. You really feel for the old guy here, and as opposed to presenting this loss as just another episode in a wasted life, you get the sense of the permanent impact this mistake had — how it was Scrooge’s emotional point of no return.
Finally, the only way to really appreciate Scrooge is to watch it in widescreen. The production design is a major plus with each shot nicely composed and every inch of screen meticulously filled with eye-catching detail. For all its flaws and bad songs, Scrooge sets a festive holiday table and the atmosphere is as good as it gets.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Hollywood, Michael Chavez and DNC DUDES, Mr. Pink. Mr. Pink said: 25 Greatest Christmas Films: #23 — ‘Scrooge’ (1970) http://tinyurl.com/yfdrx7t [...]
The "Thank You Very Much" song is one of the most wickedly funny moments of all Christmas movies.
Thanks John for a great digital publication. I love movies, loved movies and will love movies if they will just remember occasionally that they give an opportunity to bring joy and a smile into the lives of people who live in a world were troubles come: "as the sparks fly upward" as from a fire, one writer said.
Yes, the whole movie was lifted to the next level by the clever juxtaposition of that song and its sentiments; rejoicing over someone's death was scandalous to most sensibilities, so it took the Scrooge character to a new low by dint of the mockery.
Still a favorite.
This is a movie my wife introduced me to years ago and I always avoided it. I had absolutely no interest in a musical Scrooge… my favorite version of this classic tale being the one with Alastair Sim. But year after year my wife slowly wore me down and I eventually gave in. The movie has grown on me and I have done "a 180" from my earlier opinion and enjoy it nowadays. I'll add that I think this movie has the best "Ghost of Christmas Present" of them all.
lol, I was reading the tags and one of them is "scrooge McDuck". What's funnier is that I know who that character is also.
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My second soft spot for Scrooge is due to how effectively it portrays Ebenezer’s regret and heartbreak over losing the love of his life to his own ambition. "
He should have just looked on the bright side and realized that he saved himself a costly divorce down the road.
Thank you for posting this. My teacher brought us to this movie. I think it was the first time I had been in a theater. I have never been able to enjoy the other versions as much as this, because of it' satire and its beauty in the end.
My wife loves the older version with Alastair Sim, but I totally love this one. I remember being a kid and saying out loud – my there are lots of talented people wandering the streets of London. Still love the movie though. We actually play "The Minister's Cat" at our Christmas parties, and sing December the 25th – if not with quite so much vim and vigor.
I agree with Mr. Nolte though, it is most likely the way they bring out Ebenezer's regret and heartbreak over losing the love of his life. Plus, this is one of the few Ghosts of Christmas Present I think captured what Dickens' was trying to portray. Not to mention this is MARLEY and the Future was not too shabby either – though all he really has to do is point.
Ah – yes, thank you very much!
I had a roommate who dragged me to this thing twice, and I developed a soft spot for it. I had a feeling I'd *be* Scrooge someday, and… here I am.
I also like the "December the 25th" number. Clever lyrics and properly silly.
I have never seen this Scrooge – in fact I grew up thinking it was a stage musical. My parents had all sorts of albums from musicals like Fiddler, Bye Bye Birdie and Isabel's a Jezabel… anyway when we were kids we would play them endlessly. My older sister and I made up a tap dance to "Thank You Very Much". We thought we were very clever and delightful girls!
"This big-budget musical is yet another not terribly great movie" Them is fighting words, my friend. As is the fact that this movie is so low on your list. Should be in the top ten. This is the BEST film version of Dicken's A Christmas Carol bar none. Albert Finney's performance as Scrooge is a tour de force. The songs are great. Everything about this film is wonderful. It is must watch for me every Christmas season. And if you haven't played the Minister's Cat with your kids in the car on a long road trip then you are simply a terrible parent.
My proof:
Happiness (if this doesn't melt your heart then you are worse than Scrooge)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k5wsEHVy-4
I Like Life (Christmas Present to a tee)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VkOBbt5gl8&NR...
December the 25th (now this is a Christmas party!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjvAJS0_V4&fe...
I had posted mine before I read yours – you're right – the best "Ghost of Christmas Present" period. "Come here you funny looking little man." Love it.
I'm not a big fan of Albert Finney, but he does do a great job.
I agree, I got my family (and my wife's as well) to play Minister's Cat, and now it is a family tradition, especially at Christmas.
"Scrooge" What, no exclamation point?
I *LOVE* this movie/version of A Christmas Carol. It's in my top ten.
This is in my top ten of Christmas movies. It's a shame they usually cut out most of Scrooge's descent into hell, and the huge chain being wrapped around him. I guess it is too scary for the kiddies today. I know it scared me when I saw it in the theater.
John, did you have to write "100 years ago"? I was in elementary school in CT when i too was exposed to this gem of a film. I've been singing the songs for almost 40 years and Alex Guiness's face on the door haunted me for a decade. Also, I have this saved on my DVR as it's been transferred into HD and aired last Christmas. Thanks for giving this beautiful film the critical claim it deserves (and unfortunately didn't get 39 years ago). "You, you were good to me, you, you made my day".
"I like life. Life likes me. Life and I, we mutually agree…"
that we (Life and I) love this movie!!!
Here, here! How could this wonderful movie only be #23?? Time to lay off the eggnog, Mr. Nolte. Your brain doesn't seem to be functioning properly.
While I generally never watch the Academy Awards, I do have one happy memory of the Oscars from, I assume, 1970. There was a musical number — several movie stars sang "Thank You Very Much" in different languages, and I'll never forget Burt Lancaster lustily singing "molte, molte gracie!"
A great movie! It's always been my favorite movie version of A Christmas Carol. I can't sit through the last ten minutes of the film without weeping for joy.
I'll be curious to see the rest of the 25th best Christmas movies. My own favorites include We're No Angels (with Humphrey Bogart), Comfort and Joy, and the one you listed today, Scrooge. Merry Christmas!
I feel the same way about my King Arthur legends. When the movie makers stray from Malory, they ruin the story. That being said, I love a good musical and Scrooge I believe is able to capture the meaning behind Dicken's story as well as provide some wonderfully memorable little ditties. Cheers!
That's the beauty of owning it on DVD. No commercial interruptions and it hasn't been edited. Amazon has it for $11.
This remains my favorite Christmas film, and one that's horribly underrated, mostly by people who have never seen it. I think it's a much better film than you give it credit for, and — unlike many films from the 70s — it has held up very well. Part of the problem with its reputation is that for decades when it showed up on TV at all, it was a heavily edited pan-and-scan version. This is a film that is best viewed in widescreen on a large screen with a great sound system. ..bruce..
Well now I know what song will be going through my head all day.
Thank you very much!
and sense that ball of Christmas excitement in my stomach — you know, the one that gets smaller as you get older…
Unfortunately, Mr. Nolte, if I'm not vigilant, my stomach tends to get *larger* as I get older….sigh…
It was my first Scrooge movie. Fond memories.
How does it compare to the Muppet Christmas Carol?
Seriously — I love that version. Not that much Miss Piggy (any is too much, though), lots of Gonzo and Rizzo as the narrators.
"and sense that ball of Christmas excitement in my stomach — you know, the one that gets smaller as you get older… "
John, you are so right about that.
The scene where the younger Scrooge lets the love of his life walk away, and then the older Scrooge (both played by the great Albert Finney) begins to sing "I let you go away………….."
Yes, it gets me every time too.
Besides Miller's Crossing this is my favorite Albert Finney performance. Whatever the problems the films has, Finney certainly doesn't contribute to them. He brings an emotional depth to the transformation of Scrooge lacking in many accounts of the tale.
I should've mentioned that the make up in Scrooge got it pretty close. Today, Albert Finney kinda does look like Ole Scrooge, doesn't he?
You're right about Scrooge and the horrible treatment it gets on TV. I saw this movie on the big screen at a school trip almost 30 years ago, and the amount of times I have seen this movie on TV since then I can count on one hand. One time I saw a horribly edited version on a local station in the middle of the night! Why isn't it more popular?
My husband took me to this on our first non-blind date, so it has a sentimental appeal for me.That was thirty-nine years, four kids and three grandkids ago- in fact, tomorrow is the anniversary of the day we met.
This version has a lot to recommend- especially Finney-but musicals are always very tricky.
I, too, always miss the parts they left out…in any version.
"The movies are great medicine;
Thank you, Thomas Edison,
For giving us the best years of our lives."
(As sung by The Statler Brothers
in the song, "The Movies")
You forgot – "I like life!"
I've been humming and repeating that song off and on for YEARS…and I like it.
That's true! I had not thought of that. Kudos to the make-up artist.
I hope that "Mickey's Christmas Carol" is on your list somewhere because it's a pretty decent version of the Charles Dickens novel. We have Scrooge McDuck playing Ebenezer Scrooge and other characters like that. It's fun. I saw it when I was little and I still enjoy it today.
Undoubtedly the best musical version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" although "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" comes close.
If you haven't seen the latest version with Jim Carrey, I recommend it, especially in 3D. Much better than I was expecting.
Unfamiliar with this one. It has been added to the Netflix queue.
There is only one real Ebenezer. Alastair Sim broke the mold in 1951.
I am, in terms of "A Christmas Carol", an absolutely unshakable purist. That being the case, the best version of Dickens' work is…yet to be filmed.
Why, you ask? (You do ask, don't you?) Because every word of the author that is not included and every word NOT by Dickens that is added makes it worse. I love Alastair Sim's Scrooge, as I love George C. Scott's, Patrick Stewart's, Michael Caine's and even poor, forgotten Reginald Owens'. Still, all of these versions take out too much Dickens and add too much…stuff. Where, for example, is the Narrator, the second-most important character in the whole story? Where is the hearse that proceeds Scrooge up the stairs of his lodging? Where is the visit to the miners' home, who "labor in the bowels of the Earth?" How does any of this improve what is one of the most perfect stories ever written in the English language? You want an immortal rendering of "A Christmas Carol"? Use every word of Dickens that you can possibly incorporate, add as little as humanly possible and film it.
Remind me to sing this at Barney Franks funeral
You forgot – "I like life!"
I've been humming and repeating that song off and on for YEARS…and I like it.
That's true! I had not thought of that. Kudos to the make-up artist.
It only gets smaller for a little while–during that middlish "getting older" phase– and then it starts to grow again as you find yourself really seriously ageing. I don't know why, maybe because "naughty" and "good" and the sense of mystery about what's ahead become important once again, and we get more alive to the world, this time not to discover it, but to rediscover it before we irrevocably leave it.
Kids and old people: the only ones who can really experience the thrill (in all senses of the word) of the unknown.
"Scrooge! You're an even bigger fool that I took you for!" – Loved Christmas present
I would put this version higher but I guess that is probably for sentimental reasons.
The version I saw on TV as a child didn't have the seen of Scrooge in hell wearing chains. I'm not sure what other parts may have been chopped as well but seeing this again thanks to DVD as brought back great childhood memories.
I think the redemption scenes in this version get me more choked up than any others I've seen. I like the songs so much we bought the soundtrack
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Though uneven in his vocalized lyrics, Oscar winning actor Albert Finney was quite remarkable portraying the twisted older Scrooge when he was still the dashing Tom Jones looker in real life. The interplay between his Scrooge and the characters across time had whimsy, drama, and romantic pathos. I'm glad "Scrooge" is on this top 25 list, because it's on our family annual must see list for the holidays.
One of the great cinematic crimes of the 20th century is that Finney is not an Oscar winner. He's been nominated 5 times, but no win.
Matt Damon owns an Oscar but not Finney. *shakes head in disbelief and simmering rage*
They do a live version of this movie in Branson every year. Ozarkers are very hip!
You are the expert, but I am shocked. I had thought Finney had one statuette. This is a crime.
Perhaps he won a BAFTA award?
I actually collect different versions of "A Christmas Carol," and this is definitely one of my favorites!
The funny thing is, after watching the chopped-up tv version several times, I finally got the DVD, and saw that an entire scene – the one after Scrooge falls waaaay down into the grave – was chopped out. In that scene, Scrooge is in hell, talking with Marley, who greets him and ushers him into his new home – a reeeeally cold clerk's office, and then a really really huge chain is wound around him. That's why he "wakes up" twined in his bed curtains.
Side notes: Not interested in the Jim "I'm the only one who can do it right" Carey version. Also, the award for the worst Christmas Carol version ever goes to the "Western" version with Jack Palance and Rick Schroder. Blech!
[...] White Christmas (1954) 24. Scrooged (1988) 23. Scrooge (1970) 22. An American Christmas Carol (1979) 21. Susan Slept Here (1954) (wha?) 20. The Santa [...]
I even like that song, 'I Like Life' , better than 'Thank You Very Much'.
I've always thought this movie was very underrated. Can't decide whether Albert Finney or George C. Scott is my favorite Scrooge. I'm a very Scrooge-like man, myself, but this movie lifts my Christmas spirit every year, and the Ghost of Christmas Present's "I Like Life" never fails to transform my attitude from winter grouch to Christmas cheer.
Our favorite Christmas Carol adaptation, bar none. What a wonderful movie. Albert Finney ruined just about every other Ebeneezer Scrooge for me with his wonderful performance. I loved ALL the songs. The other casting was also superb. This movie also has my favorite Bob Cratchit – heavens, what a wonderful view of life he has – so positive it is heartbreaking to see him at the end by the grave. Great humor and great pathos. (Muppets? Okay – we love the Muppets – but Michael Caine really phoned in his performance, I thought).
Things that come to mind: the pettiness of Scrooge's misering (is that a word?) is very authentic and reminds me of what I have read about real misers in history; the looks everyone gives when they see him coming; Mrs Cratchit screaming when Scrooge pulls down his Father Christmas beard; Alec Guiness' quirky performances; Scrooge drunk on the milk of human kindness; seeing Scrooge's transformation slowly bubbling up through him (in spite of himself) through the ghostly visits; and the totally childish and un-self-conscious way Scrooge carries on on Christmas morning – his glee and general goofiness is such a picture of joy from a person who really has no idea how to be joyful because he is so out of practice. We have a tradition where we bring new people each year to watch this one with us. We're watching it again tomorrow. Wooo!
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