Night Visitors
A.O. Scott's video essay about Brian Desmond Hurst's A Christmas Carol ('51) says everything I've always felt and believed about it. This British-produced adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel is by far (a) the most emotionally affecting, (b) the best acted, (c) the spookiest and (d) the most atmospherically correct of the lot. You can sense the mood and aroma of 19th Century London in every frame, line, garment and setting.
And no ghost in any other film has ever howled quite like Michael Hordern's Jacob Marley -- here's the mp3.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 17, 2008 at 3:31 PM
comment #1
btwnproductions
says ...
Great film. Shame about the colorized YouTube clip, though. (It is available without the fake hues, fortunately.)
Posted by btwnproductions
at December 17, 2008 10:25 PM
comment #2
The Lord of Misrule
says ...
Mayhap it's a generational thing, but I am at a loss as to why the musical version of this story is almost always ignored. If it's simply because it's a musical seems to be a poor reason to overlook this film.
Albert Finney and Alex Guiness at the top of their games is but one of the reasons, along with a (mostly) faithful screen play (Let's forget the Hell sequence, shall we?) and wonderful production design makes this a preferrred telling of this oft-told tale.
And when one takes into account that this generation will be "treated" to Jim Carrey assaying most of the principle roles make me love "Scrooge" (1970) all the more.
Hey Mr. Neame! How about a special DVD edition.
Posted by The Lord of Misrule
at December 17, 2008 11:17 PM
comment #3
Rich S.
says ...
I couldn't agree more with Jeffrey's assessment of the Alistair Sim version. But the colorization is an abomination.
I always judge my Christmas Carols first and foremost by where Scrooge ends up on Christmas Day. The Reginald Owen version totally botches it by having Scrooge end up at the Cratchitts. This, of course, completely eliminates the final scene, one of the best in the story, where Scrooge plays his little trick on Bob the day after Christmas. Sadly, many versions since have followed this template. Just my two cents.
Posted by Rich S.
at December 18, 2008 4:15 AM
comment #4
Jeffrey Wells
says ...
I couldn't find an embedded black-and-white clip of this particular (i.e., Marley's visit) so I went for the colorized version. Obviously with mixed feelings. This is my favorite scene in the whole film and yet I despise colorized monochrome
Posted by Jeffrey Wells
at December 18, 2008 7:07 AM
comment #5
Rich S.
says ...
No offense meant, Jeffrey. I managed to get a public domain copy a couple of years ago with an introduction by Patrick "Avengers" Macnee, who plays young Marley in the film.
My favorite scene, book and movie, is when Scrooge goes to Fred's house for Christmas dinner. Scrooge's redemption is complete when Fred's wife welcomes him to the family. In the Sim version, it's utterly heartbreaking.
Posted by Rich S.
at December 18, 2008 8:09 AM
comment #6
vaskark
says ...
Fun fact: Michael Hordern narrated Barry Lyndon.
Posted by vaskark
at December 18, 2008 6:12 PM
comment #7
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 19, 2011 4:58 AM