A Christmas Carol (1938)

My Review

“A Christmas Carol” is the classic Charles Dickens story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve after visits by three spirits. There have been numerous film and television adaptations of this 1843 story by Dickens, but this one directed by Edwin L. Marin is considered the definitive version, with good production values, classic performances, and a lean storyline. The screenplay was penned by Hugo Butler.

The cast includes Reginald Owen as Scrooge, Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit, Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit, Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim Cratchit, Leo G. Carroll as Scrooge’s partner Jacob Marley, Ann Rutherford as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Lionel Braham as the Ghost of Christmas Present, D’Arcy Corrigan as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, as well as Lynne Carver, Barry MacKay, Ronald Sinclair, and June Lockhart as Belinda Cratchit, an uncredited part for her, and her very first film role in a career that continues to this day. She is daughter of Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, and clearly visible in the Cratchit family scenes.

“A Christmas Carol” premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it did good business for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It was shown on television during the Christmas season in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and is aired on the Turner Classic Movie channel every December in recent years.