The Best Version of “A Christmas Carol”

I have read Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” several times over the years.  I know the scenes and dialogue pretty well.  Because of this I judge each film version based on 2 major criteria:  (1) how close the dialogue matches the book, and (2) how good is the acting.

Many pundits have claimed the best film version is Alistair Sims 1951 version.  I just watched it and found it a flawed and inferior production.  It invents scenes and dialogue that do not appear in the book:  Scrooge visits his sister on her deathbed, and does the same for Jacob Marley.  He meets Marley at Fezziwig’s and the two conspire to take over the business.  None of this appears in the book.

I found the acting amateurish and unconvincing.  The actors are merely reciting lines with little feeling or emotion.

The best version of “A Christmas Carol” is George C Scotts’ 1984 version.  The dialogue is faithful and the acting superb.

Be careful however, I saw a televised presentation of the Scott version today and it had been edited with key scenes cut out to shorten it.  Look for a pay per view version or watch the DVD.  Be sure to watch the complete presentation.

Note:  the 1984 version of “A Christmas Carol” can be viewed in its entirety at Paramount Plus.

A Christmas Observation

The verse below is my favorite quote from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This short novel was written in 1843 and has seen 165 Christmases since it first charmed the English public.

Scrooge's nephew Fred to Scrooge. . .

'There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,' returned the nephew. Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round. . . as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!'

You can read the entire novel online at this link.

Picture at right: Charles Dickens