A Christmas Carol (1954)

Shower of Stars - 1954. Fredric March as Ebenezer Scrooge. Basil Rathbone as the Ghost of Jacob Marley. Bob Sweeney as Bob Cratchit. What could possibly go wrong ? Where do I begin ?The first three minutes of the program is taken up by Choral Singing. In fact, the program turns out to be a series of mediocre to bad songs interrupted occasionally with an abbreviated telling of "A Christmas Story". There is a way overlong love filled duet by the young Ebenezer and Belle following which she breaks off their engagement. Ummm... wha ? Following this, Ray Middleton goes on and on about Christmas and Santa which has nothing to do with the story. It's like he is supposed to be the "Ghost of Christmas PRESENTS"To make matters worse, March has a distractingly huge and obviously false nose that is not the color of his face. Then there is the final carol by "Tiny" Tim / choir during which we see several minutes of Frederic March making faces. It's just too too odd.I looked forward to seeing Basil Rathbone as Marley's Ghost but found him to be nothing special in the role.If you have made a list of "A Christmas Carols" to watch and need to check this one off .. do so... otherwise skip it.Almost forgot .. there are some cool ads for Chrystler cars !

Three talkie movies of the Charles Dickens classic had come out when Oscar winner Frederic March tackled the role for this television musical that cuts out much of the meat and left and disguises it with bits of parsley disguised as mistletoe to make it seem better than it is. Adding mediocre songs makes it even more tedious although much of what makes this beloved is there. March isn't so much miserly than a lonely old man too filled with pride to admit that all he was wants is a little attention. He isn't scary at all, and one thing that should be clear is that his wealth makes him a force to be reckoned with whether it be as a lender seeking the return of a loan or as an imperious boss. Basil Rather one is on and off quickly as Marley, but the usually bland Ray Middleton seems liver than normal as both Scrooge's nephew and the ghost of Christmas present. Sti, the plight of Tiny Tim is touching and the themes remain timeless. Remade countless times in several ways, this one will remain an obscure view of Dickens' most beloved classic. It won't ever compare to the several later musical versions, especially the Albert Finney remake in 1970.

To me, this Christmas Carol definitely could have been better considering that it had Fredric March and Basil Rathbone starring and Bernard Hermann as composer and that the story is so timeless. It does have a few big debits but also a lot of things that came off well. The adaptation is too short, from personal opinion this should of if it were allowed been 25 minutes longer, and there are parts especially with Christmas Yet to Come- a scene that came off ridiculously sadly as well- that felt rushed, making Scrooge's change of heart/transformation rushed and less believable too. Some of the story is structurally bare bones, the basic elements are there but things that give Scrooge reason to change and that what made him like he was in the first place were missed out which further led to his transformation from miser rushed and not so believable. The songs are hit and miss here and generally take up too much time of the running time. Some are pleasant, the best being the incredibly touching one sung by Tiny Tim, the most beautiful one melodically and the only song where the lyrics actually resonated with me, and the opening sequence song is the other truly memorable one. But others don't stick in your head very long and some have some corny lyrics, the worst one being Ghost of Christmas Present's which went on forever and didn't serve that much of a point to the story as well as suffering the worst of the lyric writing. The two original carols, outstandingly sung by the Roger Wagner Chorale, are great but don't quite fit within the Victorian/Dickensian setting.However, from a visual standpoint this Christmas Carol looks surprisingly good. It's very well shot throughout, with a big shout out going to the extended shot at the end, and the period detail is evocative and handsomely constructed. The street scenes with the Carollers and Fezziwig's drawing room are agreed the best of the interiors while the snow looks Christmassy and real. While the songs don't quite come over well generally Bernard Hermann's score absolutely does, the chorus writing in the Jacob Marley scene is wonderfully spooky. If there was anything actually that can be singled out as the best thing about this it would definitely be the score. Even with a lot missed out of the story there is no problem at all with understanding the script, which is witty and heart-warming, and while the story is truncated which compromises the pacing and length it still packs a powerful emotional punch(the ending is a tear-jerker) and makes its point effectively. In the acting stakes, nobody is outstanding in the support acting but nobody's disastrous. It was an interesting move to have Belle/Ghost of Christmas Past and Fred/Ghost of Christmas Present doubled up, that has never been done before, and it didn't come off too badly, Sally Fraser's beguiling and Ray Middleton's appealingly hearty(he is better though as Fred, he got the joviality of Ghost of Christmas Present just right but wasn't quite benevolent enough). Wasn't a big fan of the over-sized and rather stereotypical nose but Fredric March really gives his all as Scrooge and is very good, he is great doing the gruff miserable miser but the character's transformation is convincingly acted. His best moment is his facial expressions during the extended shot with the choral singing of Tim's song, a wide mix of emotions beautifully conveyed by March, it was another bold move made here and was most telling. One mustn't forget Basil Rathbone either, who chills the bones as Jacob Marley though in an understated way, a way that not many other actors can do as effectively as Rathbone could.All in all, a pretty decent adaptation of a Christmas classic, thanks to Hermann's score, a couple of good innovations, the visuals and the performances of March and Rathbone but due to it being too short and rushed with a bungled Christmas Yet to Come scene and hit and miss songs it does fall short as well. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

I bought the Bing Crosby / Kate Smith Christmas DVD specifically for the inclusion of this 1954 Frederic March version of A Christmas Carol as a bonus. For those who are real Carol fans and simply must see every version, naturally this shouldn't be missed. However, if this were the only adaptation available to me, I'd feel quite deprived!Frederic March makes a fairly good Scrooge, in my opinion. The rest of the cast didn't much stand out with me one way or the other except that I didn't really like them 'doubling up' on roles. The same actress played both the Ghost of Christmas Past and Belle, and the same actor both nephew Fred and the Ghost of Christmas Present. I suppose it must have been fairly low budget and this was cheaper. I found odd and objectionable the writers having Marley's ghost repeatedly moaning "Oh God!" The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was ridiculous -- some sort of blackbird! Even the Ghost of Christmas Present was miscast. Instead of a cheery, benevolent, bare chested giant clothed in a green robe, he wore tunic and pants and seemed rather slovenly, lolling about on the floor singing! They modernized or Americanized the story a bit, having one of the songs refer to Santa and the Cratchits trim a Christmas tree.The movie seemed to start out better than it ended. I found the first scenes preferable to later sequences, mainly because less seemed to be omitted early on! I prefer non-musical versions to musical ones anyway but find it especially irritating when they find time for several songs but omit crucial characters such as Ebenezer's sister Fan and eliminate numerous vital scenes. This version is short anyway, only about 50 minutes, and the story is pretty bare bones. Most of the details that enrich the tale are simply left out.The music was pleasant enough and seemed to fit in suitably but for most of the numbers, I found they contributed little and I merely wanted them to get on with the story! Unlike the 1970 Albert Finney musical which did boast some truly catchy tunes, none of these songs were the least bit memorable. However, I did enjoy the carolers at the beginning of the movie. Also, Tiny Tim sings a song at the end which, if I heard correctly, tells the Christmas story (religious context) and it appeared as though Scrooge was truly moved.Lest I appear too critical, this adaptation is a fairly traditional (if summarized) telling of Dickens' story and certainly maintains the original spirit. Again, I enjoyed March in the role and really loved some of the sets, especially the street scenes with the carolers and the drawing room with Fezziwig's party. I'd certainly recommend it to any Carol enthusiasts. Just keep an open mind and you'll enjoy it, but don't get your hopes up too high because you'll probably be disappointed!