14 Comments
Dec 3, 2023Liked by Jenny Hammerton

This has always been my favorite version of “A Christmas Carol”! I’ve yet to find anyone that who is a better Scrooge than Alistair Sim! Can’t wait to see it again this year.

Expand full comment
author

Yay! Glad you like this version Melissa. Hope you have a snuggly old time on the sofa watching it again!

Expand full comment
Dec 3, 2023Liked by Jenny Hammerton

This sounds great; when is the watch party being held?

Expand full comment
author

Hi Bethany - not doing a watch party for this one - partly as I know everyone is so busy around Christmas time. Watch at your leisure - I'd love to hear what you think of the film - Jx

Expand full comment
Dec 11, 2023Liked by Jenny Hammerton

Oh, okay, good to know. I’ve requested a copy at the library and I’m looking forward to watching it 😁

Expand full comment
author

Yay! Love that you are getting it from the library. Do let me know what you think of it xxx

Expand full comment
Dec 11, 2023Liked by Jenny Hammerton

I sure will! I just noticed that it has both the color and black and white version; which do you recommend?

Expand full comment
author

I have never seen the colorised version, I would imagine the original black and white to be more atmospheric…

Expand full comment
Dec 16, 2023Liked by Jenny Hammerton

So true; plus, now that I really think about it, whenever they colorize something it always looks so fake and off-putting. Like when they colorized I Dream of Jeannie or I Love Lucy.

Expand full comment

Hi!

My library at last relinquished its one and only copy of this movie to me - I think one of the local librarians took it home and enjoyed it for Christmas - I declared it "Canadian-Ukrainian?!? Christmas" last night, having listened that day on the local radio to an interview with someone saying that she was going to stick with her family tradition of celebrating both on the 25th and on the 6th/7th no matter what various authorities declared. So i stuck the dvd into the player and got on with it.

I'm fairly sure I've seen this film before (It was labelled "A Christmas Carol" on the outside of the box, but the title as the film started was "Scrooge") but my most recent Christmas Carol watch was the muppets version! At first I was scared I had accidentally got a colourized version, but fortunately that was not the case.

I think this could be a bit scary for some younger viewers, particularly with the music and sound effects. I liked the way that Christmas Future's cloak served to wipe the screen! Of course, Scrooge is most fun at the start of the story, when he's such a crank, but I enjoyed Sim's performance throughout. Thanks for encouraging us to watch this film this sort-of-Christmas time!

Oh, yes, it's somewhat amusing to see the big goose for Christmas - compared to turkeys, it does not seem particularly big at all!

Expand full comment
author

Oh FABULOUS, VT. So glad you eventually wrestled that copy off the librarians! So brilliant to have a Canadian-Ukranian Christmas. I might do a 6th/7th second Christmas myself next year. I think the film was renamed A Christmas Carol rather than Scrooge for the overseas (to us) market.

I agree with the scary nature of the film and I remember being a bit anxious as a kid, but then, all comes right in the end. Isn't Alastair brilliant? I so wish I had a recipe for him as I'm dying to do a St Trinian's film. Have you ever seen one of those? I love them with a passion.

I've had goose once at Christmas, when I went to stay with a Scottish boyfriend's family. There were a lot of us at the table and not a lot of meat each!

I looked up the actor who played Tiny Tim - Glyn Dearman - looks like this was his biggest role, he did a bit of TV work later on...

Expand full comment

And my Dad wants to add that he liked whoever Tiny Tim was!

Expand full comment

I wondered if you had started a discussion for BN or not.

This is what I wrote about it three years ago:

http://widescreenworld.blogspot.com/2020/09/black-narcissus.html

When I watched it again, I noticed how much reading between the lines is necessary. A lot is implied: Sister Ruth’s feelings for Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh’s emotional turmoil. You know there’s something going on, but you kinda have to intuit much of it for yourself, at least until it’s made clearer after the fact.

Never saw the ‘51 CAROL. I imagine it influenced many of the later versions.

Expand full comment