Scrooge is a 1951 British Christmas fantasy drama film based on the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and was produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It also features Michael Hordern, Kathleen Harrison, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley, Mervyn Johns, Clifford Mollison, Jack Warner, Ernest Thesiger, and Patrick Macnee. Peter Bull narrates portions of Charles Dickens's words at the beginning and end of the film, and appears on-screen as a businessman.
Scrooge is a 1951 British Christmas fantasy drama film based on the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and was produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It also features Michael Hordern, Kathleen Harrison, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley, Mervyn Johns, Clifford Mollison, Jack Warner, Ernest Thesiger, and Patrick Macnee. Peter Bull narrates portions of Charles Dickens's words at the beginning and end of the film, and appears on-screen as a businessman.
Upon its initial release, the movie was largely ignored by critics, and reactions were varied. Nevertheless, the movie attracted a cult following on television, and subsequent reviews have been significantly more positive, with many critics considering it one of the best adaptions of the novel, with general praise for the performances, particularly Sim's portrayal of Scrooge.
Production
Alastair Sim was Hurst's first choice to play Scrooge. Teresa Derrington, who played Fred's maid who gives Scrooge quiet encouragement to see Fred, said Sim was not as encouraging to her during filming, and asked her sneeringly if it was her first film role.
Comparison with the source material
In the film, Mrs. Dilber is the name of the charwoman, whereas in the book the woman was unnamed and the laundress was named Mrs. Dilber. Dilber’s role is greatly expanded in the film, to the point that her actress receives second billing in the list of cast. The interactions of the two charity benefactors, Scrooge's nephew, and his clerk Bob Cratchit in the office are not in the same order as in the book.
Samuel Wilkins, who is in debt to Scrooge, was not in the book. The film also expands on the story by detailing Scrooge's rise as a prominent businessman. He was corrupted by an avaricious new mentor, Mr. Jorkin (played by Jack Warner), a chara
On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge tells his colleagues that he has no intention of celebrating Christmas. He refuses to donate to two men collecting for the poor. His nephew, Fred, invites him to dinner the next day, but Scrooge refuses, disparaging Fred for having married and mocking him for his lack of success. He gives his mistreated clerk, Bob Cratchit, the day off for Christmas but demands that he come to work early the next day.
Scrooge returns home and is visited by the ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley. Marley's ghost warns Scrooge that he must change his ways or be condemned to wander the earth in agony for the selfish deeds he committed in life. Marley says Scrooge will be visited by three spirits, the first to arrive at one o'clock that night. Frightened, Scrooge takes refuge in his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Past arrives. Scrooge is shown himself alone at school, unwanted by his father after his mother died in childbirth. His beloved sister Fan arrives to take him home, telling Ebenezer that their father has had a change of heart toward him. The Spirit then shows Scrooge the annual Christmas party thrown by his former benevolent employer, S. Fezziwig. Scrooge watches his younger self propose to his sweetheart Alice, who accepts. He is then shown how he is tempted to leave Fezziwig's to join a business run by Mr. Jorkin.
Scrooge witnesses the death of Fan after she gives birth to Fred and discovers he missed her last words asking him to look after her son. Scrooge's younger self joins Jorkin and meets Jacob Marley. Jorkin's firm buys Fezziwig's business, and Alice breaks her engagement to Scrooge because of his dedication to "a golden idol". When Jorkin is found to have embezzled funds from the now bankrupt company, Scrooge and Marley seize the opportunity to buy his shares. One Christmas Eve seven years earlier, Scrooge refuses to see Marley until the workday is finished and arrives just as his friend dies cold and alone. The Spirit reproaches Scrooge for taking Marley's money and house, as an ashamed Scrooge finds himself back in his bed.
Scrooge is then visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present who takes him to see how "men of goodwill" celebrate Christmas. The spirit shows Scrooge poor miners joyfully singing Christmas carols and the Cratchits' celebration on Christmas Day. Scrooge asks whether their ailing young son, Tiny Tim, will survive his physical disabilities. The Spirit hints that he will not unless the future is changed but questions why Scrooge should care for the "surplus population". Scrooge and the spirit then visit Fred's Christmas party, where Fred defends Scrooge from his guests' critical remarks.
An older Alice is working in a poorhouse, where she ministers to the sick and homeless. The Spirit shows Scrooge two emaciated children, personifying Ignorance and Want. When Scrooge shows concern for their welfare, the Spirit scourges the miser with his own words: "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"
Finally, Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows him the Cratchits mourning Tiny Tim's death. Three people, including Scrooge's charwoman, Mrs. Dilber, sell off the possessions of a dead man, and two businessmen joke they will only attend the man's funeral if lunch is provided. When shown a gravestone bearing his own name, Scrooge begs the Spirit for a second chance; he then awakens in his bed.
Scrooge learns that it is Christmas Day and gleefully realises he still has an opportunity to make amends. Though Mrs. Dilber is initially frightened by his transformation, Scrooge reassures her and gives her the day off with pay. He anonymously purchases a prize turkey for the Cratchits and sends it to them. He delights Fred by attending his dinner party, asking his niece-in-law's forgiveness and dancing with her. The next day, Scrooge plays a prank on Bob Cratchit and pretends to be about to fire him for lateness, but instead says he will raise Bob's salary and assist his family. Scrooge embodies the Christmas spirit and becomes a second father to Tiny Tim, who recovers.
