Scrooge

I love this movie. I think I have three different versions of "The Christmas Carol" on DVDs around here- actually, four if you count that Mr. Magoo cartoon. This version runs just over an hour and twenty minutes and in my no account opinion, it is by far the best version out there.

The first time I saw this was many, many, many, years ago, in the darkness of my childhood bedroom. I must have been about ten at the time and while it may not have been Christmas eve, it was close. We had a small mini TV that somehow foolishly ended up in my room. I remember watching this late at night with the lights off and the sound turned way down. I don't remember if I was under the blankets while I watched it, but I feel like I should have been. It totally gave me the creeps. It still does. This movie was made for watching in a dark room, late at night. The sharp black and whites, and long, foreboding shadows are perfectly fitted to my idea of the era. There's a colorized version of this, but it doesn't interest me at all.


Nobody looks like a better Scrooge to me than Alastair Sim- from his sneering and arrogant greed at the beginning of the story, through his mounting fear and regret, and finally through his sorrow, joy and redemption at the end.

I'm fully aware that you can see the reflection of a stage hand in the mirror toward the end, but it would take more than that to ruin it for me. Enjoy.