This article is about the 1988 version. For the upcoming reboot version, see Scrooged (reboot).
Scrooged is a 1988 film depicting a modern-day adaptation of A Christmas Carol, produced and directed by Richard Donner. It stars Bill Murray, with Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, John Houseman, and Robert Mitchum in supporting roles. Murray's brothers, Brian, John, and Joel, also appear in it.
Synopsis[]
Francis "Frank" Xavier Cross is a conceited, cynical television programming executive who has the position of president for television network IBC. He has found great success and wealth but only by becoming cold-hearted and arrogant. In the opening scenes, he is seen working out in a room with a border that reads "Cross: (n) A thing they nail people to."
Frank's ruthless concentration on his career has alienated him from his family, having only an "at arm's length" relationship with his brother, James, who is now his only living blood relative. He overworks his assistant, Grace Cooley, forcing her to constantly break plans with her family and neglect her mute son, Calvin. When a disturbing TV commercial that Frank personally produced is criticized by timid staff member Eliot Loudermilk, Frank responds by firing him on Christmas Eve. Frank's boss, Preston Rhinelander, comes to his office with an idea about reaching out to the animal audience, and takes the liberty of hiring him an assistant, weaselly sycophant Brice Cummings, who is transparently after his job.
When Frank is given the task of heading up a live Christmas Eve broadcast of A Christmas Carol, his life begins to mirror the story he's producing. The decomposing corpse of his mentor, media mogul Lew Hayward who had died of a heart attack seven years prior, comes back to visit to tell him the error of his ways, or as Lew puts it "All my success and prestige ended on the 14th hole when I dropped dead", and warns a similar doom is befalling him. Lew also tells him three ghosts will come. He awakens in his office, seemingly a nightmare, but Lew causes his phone to call Claire Phillips, his warm-hearted ex-girlfriend.
The Ghost of Christmas Past appears as a loudmouthed New York City cab driver, and takes Frank back to his childhood in 1955 where his mother, Doris, is watching The Lone Ranger with him, until his drunk and angry father, Earl, comes home after a hard day of working at the meat packing plant, and gives him a side of veal for a Christmas present when he wanted a train set. Doris says Earl was supposed to go to the toy store, and he snarls that Frank should buy his own toys. The ghost chides him for not doing anything in his youth except watch TV, then takes him to his late teens in 1968 when he had his first job at the TV station, where he met Claire at a Christmas party, then 1969 for his first anniversary with her, where they enjoy a Christmas with simple gifts. The ghost finally takes him to 1971, the year in which he chose his job as "Frisbee the Dog" over Claire, and to have dinner with Lew (who was the president of the network at the time) instead of with friends. The sequence shows how he gradually became the man he is in the present, first through Earl, who was a blue-collar version of him, who in the 1955 scene ranted about how most men at the plant are lazy slobs who make up excuses to get out of work, and in the 1971 scene when Frank breaks up with Claire because her friends offered no connections to get ahead.
The Ghost of Christmas Present then appears as a life-size pixie who's cheerful, childlike demeanor offsets her violent behavior; she shows him how Grace's family lives in poverty because of his stinginess and how much James misses him.
After the ghost's visit, Eliot, now deranged and drunk after spending Christmas on the streets, storms the office with a Double-barrel shotgun and tries to murder Frank. The Ghost of Christmas Future, a seven-foot-tall ghoul with a TV screen for a face, appears and shows him a future in which Calvin has ended up in a mental hospital, Claire has become as cold and uncaring as he is, and only James and his wife attend his sparse and sterile cremation.
As he feels his body being burned, Frank finally sees the error of his ways and begs for a second chance. He awakens back in his office, just as the live broadcast is approaching its climax. The reformed Frank rehires Eliot at a considerable salary increase, and enlists his help to hijack the live broadcast. Frank steps in front of the rolling studio cameras, and publicly wishes his viewers a Merry Christmas and delivers a manic but heartfelt speech about its true meaning. Calvin urges him to add Tiny Tim's phrase, "God bless us, everyone", finally breaking free of his mute condition. Claire rushes to the studio, aided by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who offers her a ride, and comes on set as Frank reconciles with her, sharing a romantic kiss as Grace and the other television workers start to sing "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". Frank looks up to see Lew and the ghosts commend him, then vanish.
Music[]
The film's score was composed by Danny Elfman.
Songs[]
Title | Performed by |
---|---|
"Brown Eyed Girl" | Buster Poindexter |
"Christmas Must Be Tonight" | Robbie Robertson |
"Get Up n' Dance" | Kool Moe Dee |
"The Christmas Song" | Natalie Cole |
"I Second That Emotion" | Smokey Robinson and The Miracles |
Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus from 'Messiah'" | |
"It's Howdy Doody Time" | |
"The Love You Take" | Dan Hartman and Denise Lopez |
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" |
|
"Silver Bells" | Robert Goulet |
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" | |
"Sweetest Thing" | New Voices of Freedom featuring Adriane McDonald and George Pendergrass |
"The Toy Parade (Leave It to Beaver Theme)" | |
"We Three Kings" | Miles Davis, Larry Carlton, David Sanborn and Paul Shaffer |
"A Wonderful Life" | Mark Lennon |
"Wooly Bully" | Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs |
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | |
"Smile, You're on Candid Camera" |
Availability[]
Paramount Home Video made the film available on VHS and Laserdisc in 1989, and later on DVD on November 9, 1999. In August 2006, Paramount announced that they would be releasing a special "Yule Love It! Edition" DVD of Scrooged on October 31st of that year. This DVD release was to include an audio commentary by Richard Donner, Bill Murray's message from the ShoWest exhibitors convention, and the featurettes "A Christmas to Remember", "Updating Ebenezer", "Bringing Ghosts to Life", "The Look of Scrooged", and the two-part "On the Set with Bill Murray". However, for unknown reasons, the "Yule Love It! Edition" DVD was cancelled and never released, and none of the supplementals were included on the film's first Blu-ray release in 2011. A 25th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on November 5, 2013, and a 30th Anniversary Edition DVD and Blu-ray followed on October 10, 2017 (despite the 30th anniversary being a year later). A 35th Anniversary Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray was released on November 7, 2023.
Cast[]
Actor/actress | Character(s) |
---|---|
Bill Murray | Frank Cross |
Karen Allen | Claire Phillips |
John Forsythe | Lew Hayward |
John Glover | Brice Cummings |
Bobcat Goldthwait | Eliot Loudermilk |
David Johansen | Ghost of Christmas Past |
Carol Kane | Ghost of Christmas Present |
Robert Mitchum | Preston Rhinelander |
Nicholas Phillips | Calvin Cooley |
Michael J. Pollard | Herman |
Alfre Woodard | Grace Cooley |
Mabel King | Grandma |
John Murray | James Cross |
Jamie Farr | Jacob Marley |
Robert Goulet | Himself |
Buddy Hackett | Scrooge |
John Houseman | Himself |
Lee Majors | Himself |
Pat McCormick | Ghost of Christmas Present (TV) |
Brian Doyle-Murray | Earl Cross |
Mary Lou Retton | Herself |
'Red Dog' | Santa Claus |
Jean Howard | Mrs. Claus |
June Cleaver | Herself |
Michael Eidam | Wally Cleaver |
Mary Trainor | Ted |
Bruce Jarchow | Wayne |
Sanford Jensen Jeffrey Joseph Dick Blasucci |
IBC Executives |
Peter Bromilow | Archbishop |
Bill Marcus Cal Gibson |
IBC Guards |
Damon Hines | Steven Cooley |
Tamika McCollum | Shasta Cooley |
Koren McCollum | Randee Cooley |
Reina King | Lanell Cooley |
Paul Tuerpé | Stage Manager |
Lester Wilson | Choreographer |
Ronald Strang | Art Director |
Kate McGregor-Stewart | Lady Censor |
Jack McGee Bill Hart |
Carpenters |
Kathy Kinney | IBC Nurse |
Ralph Gervais | Mouse Wrangler |
Alvin Hammer | Foreman |
Tony Steedman | Headwaiter |
Lisa Mende | Doris Cross |
Ryan Todd | Frank as Child |
Rebeca Arthur | Tina |
Selma Archerd | Mrs. Claus at Party |
Jay Byron | Man #2 at Party |
Harvey Fisher | Party Guest |
C. Ransom Walrod | Party Animal |
James R. Miller | Security Guard at Party |
Jennie Lew-Tugend | Foo-Ling at Party |
Roy Brocksmith | Mike the Mailman |
Shawn Michaels | Stage Manager - "Frisbee" |
Stella Hall | Lew Hayward's Secretary |
Sachi Parker | Belle |
Delores Hall | Hazel |
Anne & Logan Ramsey | Couple in Shelter |
Sydna Scott | Woman #2 in Shelter |
Wendie Malick | Wendie Cross |
Joel Murray Mitch Glazer Susan Isaacs Lauri Kempson |
Guests |
Chaz Conner Jr. | Ghost of Christmas Future (TV) |
Miro Polo | Mary Lou's Coach |
Ralph Bruneau | Nephew |
Maria Riva | Mrs. Rhinelander |
James E. Kindelon | Butler |
Raphael Harris | Older Calvin |
Wayne Finkelman | Orderly |
Susan Barnes Lynne Randall |
Harpies |
Gilles Savard | Waiter |
Michael O'Donoghue | Priest |
Dick McGarvin | Announcer |
Tom Doak | Video Tape Director |
Sam Drummy | Cameraman on Crane |
Winfred Tennison | Marvin |
Stephen Kahan Norm Wilson Henry V. Brown Jeanine Jackson Amy Hill |
Technicians |
Miles Davis Larry Carlton David Sanborn Paul Shaffer |
Street musicians |
The Caroling Company | Carolers |
Archive footage | |
Jim Hendricks | Commander USA |
Credited/Uncredited | |
Solid Gold Dancers Audrey Baranishyn Leslie Cook |
Scroogettes |
Uncredited | |
Buck (Dog) | Himself |
Eileen Fairbanks | Mistletoe Girl Dancer |
Sig Frohlich | Himself |
J. Mills Goodloe | IBC Technician |
Robert Hammond | Ghost of Christmas Future |
Don LaFontaine | IBC Promo Announcer |
Mitchell Roche | Street Urchin Caroler |
Daniel Shiplacoff | Singer |
Norman D. Wilson | TV Crew |
Unconfirmed | |
Susanne Lavelle | Unknown |
Peter Onorati | Unknown |
Videos[]
See also[]
External links[]
- Scrooged at the Internet Movie Database
- Scrooged at the Movie Database
- Scrooged at Rotten Tomatoes
- Scrooged at TV Tropes
- Scrooged at RetroJunk.com
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