A Christmas Carol (1938) - Jacob Marley Visits Scrooge - Warner Classics
A Christmas Carol is a 1938 MGM picture adaptation of the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.
Synopsis[]
On Christmas Eve in 19th-century London, Fred Scrooge is sliding on ice on a sidewalk. He meets Peter and Tim Cratchit, sons of his maternal uncle Ebenezer's clerk, Bob Cratchit. When Fred reveals who he is, the boys take off in terror.
Fred soon arrives at the counting-house of the miserly Ebenezer. After declining an invitation from his nephew to dine with him on Christmas, Scrooge rudely dismisses two gentlemen collecting money for charity. That night, Scrooge reluctantly allows Bob to have Christmas off but orders him to come into work early the day after. Later, Bob accidentally knocks off Scrooge's hat with a snowball. Scrooge fires him and withholds a week's salary to compensate for the ruined hat, also demanding a shilling to make up the difference. Bob spends the last of his wages on food for his family's Christmas dinner.
In his house, Scrooge is confronted by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge to repent his wicked ways, or he will be condemned in the afterlife as Marley was. He tells Scrooge he will be haunted by three spirits.
At 1 a.m, Scrooge is visited by the youthful Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back in time to his early life. Scrooge is shown his unhappiness when he was left to spend the holidays alone at school, and his joy when his sister, Fan, came to take him home for Christmas. The spirit reminds Scrooge that Fan, dead for some years, is the mother of his nephew. Scrooge is shown his early career in business and money lending as an employee under Fezziwig.
At two o'clock, Scrooge meets the merry Ghost of Christmas Present, who shows Scrooge how others keep Christmas. At a church service, Fred and his fiancée, Bess, are seen as happy and in love. The couple must wait to marry because of Fred's financial circumstances, and the spirit observes that perhaps they will not marry at all, and their love may end. Scrooge is then shown the Cratchit home. Despite wearing a cheery manner for his family's sake, Bob is deeply troubled by the loss of his job, though he confides in no one except his daughter Martha. The spirit hints that Bob's youngest son, Tim, will die of a crippling illness by the same time next year if things do not change.
At 3 a.m., the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come to Come arrives, appearing as a silent, cloaked figure. The spirit shows Scrooge what will happen if he does not change. Scrooge discovers Tiny Tim is dead and his family mourns for him, while he himself dies alone and forgotten. Scrooge promises to repent and returns home to awake in his own bed on Christmas Day.
Scrooge is a changed man. He asks a boy in the street to buy the large turkey in the butcher shop's window for him, meaning to take it to the Cratchits. Running into the two men who petitioned him for charity on Christmas Eve, Scrooge gives them a large donation. He visits Fred and makes him his new partner, then goes to the Cratchit house where he gives everyone gifts and rehires Bob with an increase in his wages.
Availability[]
In 1988, MGM/UA Home Video and Turner Entertainment released A Christmas Carol on VHS to celebrate its 50th anniversary, for the first time in a colorized version, and later on Laserdisc in 1990. The colorized version was released on VHS again by Warner Home Video in 2000. The original black-and-white version was released on DVD on November 8, 2005. It was also featured in a "Classic Holiday Collection" box set alongside Boys Town and Christmas in Connecticut, released on the same day. A Blu-ray release came out on November 11, 2014.
Cast[]
| Actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Reginald Owen | Ebenezer Scrooge (adult) |
| Ronald Sinclair | Ebenezer Scrooge (young) |
| Gene Lockhart | Bob Cratchit |
| Kathleen Lockhart | Mrs. Cratchit |
| Terry Kilburn | Tiny Tim |
| Barry Mackay | Fred |
| Lynne Carver | Bess |
| Leo G. Carroll | Marley's Ghost |
| Lionel Braham | Spirit of Christmas Present |
| Ann Rutherford | Spirit of Christmas Past |
| D'Arcy Corrigan | Spirit of Christmas Future |
| Uncredited actresses/actors | |
| Bunny Beatty | Martha Cratchit |
| Frank Benson | |
| Billy Bevan | Street Watch Leader |
| Ted Billings I. Stanford Jolley |
Men on Sidewalk |
| Matthew Boulton Charles Coleman |
Charity Solicitors |
| Bob Carey | |
| St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers | Carolers - 'Adeste Fidelis' |
| Richard Clucas | |
| Harry Cording | Waiter |
| Richard Deane | Handsome Boy |
| David Dunbar | |
| Herbert Evans | |
| Gertrude Geyer | Slim Girl at Fred's party |
| Douglas Gordon | |
| Donald Hainey | |
| Lumsden Hare Boyd Irwin William Stack |
Men discussing Scrooge's funeral |
| Hugh Harrison | Tom |
| Forrester Harvey | Old Fezziwig |
| Harold Hensen | Jack |
| Halliwell Hobbes | Clergyman sliding on sidewalk |
| Olaf Hytten | Schoolmaster |
| Bill James | |
| Tiny Jones | Woman encouraging Fred to slide |
| Muriel Kearney | Cratchit's Daughter |
| Colin Kenny | |
| Crauford Kent | Scrooge's Tall Business Associate |
| George Kirby | Goose-Seller |
| Maude Leslie | Bess's Mother |
| Norma Leslie | Plump Girl at Fred's Party |
| June Lockhart | Belinda Cratchit |
| William Martin | Cratchit's Middle Son |
| John O'Day | Peter Cratchit |
| Charles Peck | Dick Wilkins |
| John Rogers | Chestnut Vendor |
| Clifford Severn | Boy buying Scrooge's Christmas turkey |
| Renee Shearing | Fred's Maid |
| Ira Stevens | Fan Scrooge |
| James Stevens | Fat Man at Fred's Party |
| Doris Stone | Pretty Girl at Fred's Party |
| Monte Vandergrift | Drunk |
| Delmar Watson | Snowballer in Gang |
| Eric Wilton | Scrooge's Short Business Associate |
External links[]
- A Christmas Carol at the Internet Movie Database
- A Christmas Carol at Allmovie
- A Christmas Carol at TV Tropes
- A Christmas Carol at RetroJunk.com
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