A Christmas Carol (1984 film)

A Christmas Carol
1984 poster
Genre	Drama Family Fantasy
Based on	"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
Screenplay by	Roger O. Hirson
Directed by	Clive Donner
Starring	George C. Scott Frank Finlay David Warner Susannah York Edward Woodward Roger Rees Liz Smith
Music by	Nick Bicât
Country of origin	United Kingdom United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Robert E. Fuisz
Producers	George F. Storke Alfred R. Kelman
Production locations	Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Cinematography	Tony Imi
Editor	Peter Tanner
Running time	100 minutes
Production company	Entertainment Partners Ltd.
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	17 December 1984 (1984-12-17)

A Christmas Carol is a 1984 British-American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843). The film was directed by Clive Donner, who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge, and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. It also features Frank Finlay as Marley's ghost, David Warner as Bob Cratchit, Susannah York as Mrs. Cratchit, Angela Pleasence as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Roger Rees as Scrooge's nephew Fred; Rees also narrates portions of Charles Dickens' words at the beginning and end of the film. The movie was filmed in the historic medieval county town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

The film received positive reviews, with praise going to the sets, soundtrack, cinematography, and the performances of the cast, particularly Scott's portrayal of Scrooge.

Plot

On a Victorian-era Christmas Eve, London commodities trader Ebenezer Scrooge declines his nephew Fred Hollywell's invitation for Christmas dinner, and reluctantly grants his loyal-but-underpaid employee Bob Cratchit's request to have Christmas off as there will be no business during the day. Scrooge later charges three businessmen 5% extra for corn, due to failing to meet his demands the previous day, much to their chagrin. Scrooge then declines to give a donation to charity workers Poole and Hacking, while referring to the poor as "idle people" who are better off dead. That night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his seven-years-dead business partner Jacob Marley, who warns him to repent his miserly ways, lest he be condemned to the same afterlife as that of Marley's: wandering the Earth for eternity while carrying heavy chains forged from his own greed, forced to witness what he could not share in life. According to Marley, three spirits will visit Scrooge that night.

At 1 A.M., the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back in time to his lonely childhood. As a boy, Scrooge is deserted at boarding school by his father Silas who held a grudge against Ebenezer, as the boy's mother died giving birth to him. Silas gets Ebenezer an apprenticeship with the benevolent Mr. Fezziwig, after only three days to spend with his loving elder sister Fan, Fred's mother, who has since died. Scrooge is shown his courtship and engagement to Belle, someone whom he initially loved, but eventually lost as he became preoccupied with financial security upon Silas' death. The Spirit shows him Belle on the Christmas Eve Marley died, as a happily married mother. When Belle expresses pity for Scrooge's loneliness, he becomes angry, extinguishes the spirit with her cap, and re-appears in his bedroom.

At 2 A.M., the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the joys of Christmas Day. They visit the Cratchit residence, and find Bob's family content with their small dinner. The ghost mocks Scrooge's cynicism when Bob informs his son Peter that Fred is willing to take him on as an apprentice at a generous salary. When Scrooge asks if Tim – Bob's crippled son – will survive, the spirit explains that he will die if the future remains unaltered, and sarcastically quotes Ebenezer's earlier comments about the poor. Scrooge is taken to Fred's house for the party which Scrooge declined to attend. Fred explains to his wife Janet that he will continue to pursue a relationship with Scrooge for the sake of his late mother, Fan, with whom Scrooge shared fondness; Ebenezer is touched by this. The spirit then takes Scrooge to a tunnel where homeless families are camped. The ghost berates Scrooge's belief about the poor being shiftless, and shows Ebenezer two malnourished children, Ignorance and Want, warning Scrooge to beware of them. The ghost then disappears, abandoning a distraught Scrooge.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives and takes Scrooge to the exchange, where the three businessmen callously discuss the death of a colleague, whose funeral they would attend only if lunch is provided. Scrooge is transported to his own bedroom, where a dead man lies under the sheet. Scrooge is hesitant to lift the sheet and demands to be shown emotion over the man's death. He is taken to a poor section of town where his possessions are being fenced after having been stolen, with the thief Mrs. Dilber and the fencer Joe both mocking the dead owner. Scrooge complains that he was shown only greed and avarice, demanding to see tenderness instead. He is transported to the Cratchit house, where Bob and his family mourn the recent death of Tim - who has succumbed to his illness - vowing to keep the boy's memory with them always. The affected Ebenezer asks to be taken home but is instead taken to a cemetery. When he asks who the dead man is, the ghost points to a neglected grave. Scrooge wipes the snow away to see the tombstone bears his own name; recognising the repercussions of his heartlessness, Scrooge tearfully vows to change his ways for the better, and begs to be spared. Ebenezer then finds himself back in his bedroom.

Discovering that it is Christmas Day, a gleeful Scrooge anonymously sends the Cratchits a large prize-winning turkey for dinner. Offering Christmas wishes among the citizens of London, he makes a large donation to Poole and Hacking. Scrooge visits the Hollywell residence; Fred and Janet are delighted when Ebenezer welcomes the invitation to dinner and reconciles with his nephew, expressing how much he loved Fan. The next day, Scrooge plays a prank on Bob, pretending to be about to fire him for lateness, but instead doubling his salary and pledging his support for the latter's family. Scrooge treats everyone around him with kindness and generosity, and becomes a second father to Tim (who recovers and does not die), embodying the Christmas spirit.

Cast

Frank Finlay as Marley's ghost

• George C. Scott – Ebenezer Scrooge
• Mark Strickson – Young Ebenezer Scrooge
• Frank Finlay – Marley's Ghost
• Angela Pleasence – Spirit of Christmas Past
• Edward Woodward – Spirit of Christmas Present
• Michael Carter – Spirit of Christmas Future
• David Warner – Bob Cratchit
• Susannah York – Mrs. Cratchit
• the Cratchit Offspring:
  • Anthony Walters – Timothy "Tiny Tim" Cratchit
  • Louise Gasser – Martha Cratchit
  • Orlando Wells (Susannah York's real-life son) – Michael Cratchit
  • Nancy Dodds – Nancy Cratchit
  • Sasha Wells (Susannah York's real-life daughter) – Belinda Cratchit
  • Kieran Hughes – Peter Cratchit
• Roger Rees – Fred Hollywell/Narrator
• Caroline Langrishe – Janet Hollywell, Fred's wife
• Lucy Gutteridge – Belle, Scrooge's fiancée
• Nigel Davenport – Silas Scrooge, Ebenezer and Fan's father
• Joanne Whalley – Fan Scrooge-Hollywell, Ebenezer's sister and Fred's mother
• Timothy Bateson – Mr. Fezziwig
• Michael Gough – Mr. Poole
• John Quarmby – Mr. Hacking
• Peter Woodthorpe – Joe the Fence
• Liz Smith – Mrs. Dilber
• John Sharp – Mr. Tipton
• Derek Francis – Mr. Pemberton
• Danny Davies – Forbush
• Brian Pettifer – Ben (homeless father)
• Catherine Hall – Meg (homeless mother)
• Cathryn Harrison – Kate
• Daniel Chatto - William

Production

Tombstone from the graveyard scene still in situ at the churchyard of St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury.

This movie was filmed on location in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in the English Midlands. It originally aired on the American television network CBS on 17 December 1984, and was released theatrically in Great Britain. The film appeared on TF1 Television in France on Christmas Day. The U.S. debut was sponsored by IBM, which purchased all of the commercial spots for the two-hour premiere. The film brought in a 20.7/30 rating/share, winning its time slot and ranking No. 10 for the week. The film was marketed with the tagline "A new powerful presentation of the most loved ghost story of all time!"

Comparison with the source material

Rather being a simple miser, Scrooge is more of a ruthless businessman who laughs when he mocks Christmas, and even tries to make excuses to defend his actions during his encounters with the Spirits. The interactions of the two benefactors, named as Poole and Hacking in the adaptation, occur at the London exchange, rather than in the office as in the book. A ghostly hearse that Scrooge sees in the book going up his staircase after he sees Marley's face on his doorknocker happens outside on the street and becomes the hearse that carried Marley's body. Marley's ghost, although initially see through (as in the book), solidifies when he enters the room. Scrooge's mother is established as having died giving birth to him, causing his father to bear him a grudge. His father stills resents him as he moves him to Fezziwig's after only three days back.

Home media

The movie has run in syndication on local American channels since it debuted in 1984, and was released on VHS in 1989 (in the UK) and to DVD in 1999. This was because Scott himself (and later his estate through Baxter Healthcare, to whom the Scott family donated their copyright) owned the rights to this film. On 25 November 2007, it returned to national television on AMC for the first time since its debut, and the network continues to show it each December under license from the Scott estate and 20th Century Studios/Walt Disney Television (the latter's distribution rights the result of their owning the video rights). In 2009, the Hallmark Channel also ran the movie soon after Thanksgiving. The same year, the film was re-released on DVD by Fox, with updated box art but the same menu and features as the previous DVD release. Fox released it on Blu-ray in December 2010.

Critical reception

The film remains among the most beloved of the several adaptations of A Christmas Carol. John J. O'Connor of the New York Times gave a positive review, praising the cinematography, production sets and the performances (especially Scott). Scott was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for his portrayal of Scrooge. In 2009, novelist and essayist Louis Bayard, writing for Salon.com, labelled the adaptation "the definitive version of a beloved literary classic", praising its fidelity to Dickens' original story, production sets, the strength of the supporting cast, and especially Scott's performance as Scrooge.

See also

• List of Christmas films
• List of ghost films
• Adaptations of A Christmas Carol

External links

• A Christmas Carol at IMDb
• A Christmas Carol at AllMovie
• A Christmas Carol at the TCM Movie Database