Scrooge (1951)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production:
Running Times: 74 mins (Germany)     86 mins
Length:
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: black and white (computer colourized version also available)
Ratio: 1.37:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Renown Pictures Corporation Ltd
Presenter: George Minter
Producer: Brian Desmond-Hurst
Associate Producer: Stanley Haynes
Production Manager: Stanley Couzins

SCRIPT
Script: Noel Langley
Novel: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

DIRECTION
Director: Brian Desmond-Hurst
1st Assistant Director: Denis O'Dell
2nd Assistant Director: Tony Harris (updated)
3rd Assistant Director: Buddy Booth (updated)

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: C. Pennington-Richards
Camera Operator: C. Cooney

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Clive Donner

MUSIC
Music: Richard Addinsell
Songs: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (Hark the Herald Angels Sing); Franz Gruber (Silent Night)
Conductor: Muir Mathieson

SOUND
Sound Recordist: W.H. Lindop

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Eric Carter
Hair: Betty Lee
Costume Designer: Doris Lee
Costumes For Alistair Sim and Michael Hordern: Constance Da Finna

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Ralph Brinton

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Margaret Ryan (updated)
Accountant: Larry Edmonds (updated)
Production Secretary: Doris Prince (updated)
Mechanical Victorian Dolls: M. Steiner
Mechanical Toys: Bracher and Partner
Floor Runner: Jan Saubders (updated)

LOCATIONS
Studio: Nettlefield Studios, Walton-on-Thames, UK

CASTING
Casting Director: Maude Spector

CAST
Alastair Sim (Ebenezer Scrooge)
Kathleen Harrison (Mrs Dilber)
Mervyn Johns (Bob Cratchit)
Hermione Baddeley (Mrs Cratchit)
Michael Hordern (Jacob Marley / Marley's ghost)
George Cole (young Ebenezer Scrooge)
John Charlesworth (Peter Cratchit)
Francis De Wolff (Spirit of Christmas Present)
Rona Anderson (Alice)
Carol Marsh (Fran Scrooge)
Brian Worth (Fred)
Miles Malleson (Old Joe)
Ernest Thesiger (Mr Stretch)
Glyn Dearman (Tim Cratchit)
Michael Dolan (Spirit of Christmas Past)
Olga Edwardes (Fred's wife)
Roddy Hughes (Mr S. Fezziwig)
Hattie Jacques (Mrs Fezziwig)
Eleanor Summerfield (Miss Flora)
Louise Hampton (laundress)
C. Konarski (Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come)
Eliot Makeham (Mr Snedrig)
Peter Bull (1st businessman / narrator)
Douglas Muir (2nd businessman)
Noel Howlett (1st collector)
Fred Johnson (2nd collector)
Henry Hewitt (Mr Rosehed)
Hugh Dempster (Mr Groper)
David Hannaford
Maire O'Neill (Alice's patient)
Richard Pearson (Mr Tupper)
Patrick Macnee (young Jacob Marley)
Clifford Mollison (Samuel Wilkins)
Jack Warner (Mr Jorkin)

PLOT SUMMARY

Miserly London businessman Ebenezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his dead business partner Marley, who warns him that three more ghosts will appear during the night trying to show Scrooge the error of his ways. As the night wears on, he's visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. But will even they be enough to soften old Scrooge's heart?

USA
Theatrical Distributors: United Artists
Video Distributors: United Video, VCI Home Video
Laserdisc Distributors: The Roan Group; United (UNE-1119)
DVD Distributor: VCI Home Video (DVD 8201)

Finland
Rating: K-8

UK
Rating: U

West Germany
Rating: 6

1951
November
28: USA – theatrical release

1966
December
24: West Germany – television broadcast

1996
October
15: USA - laserdisc release (The Roan Group)

1998
December
8: USA - DVD release (VCI Home Video (DVD 8201))

Now! The story that has brought joy to millions! A new screen triumph!

One of the world's most loved character actors, Alastair Sim, in a masterful portrayal of one of the world's best loved characters, Scrooge!

The Holiday Picture of All Time! Charles Dickens' Joyous Classic!

Charles Dickens - Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte - West German title
A Christmas Carol - US title
Cuento de Navidad de Dickens - Spanish title
O Homem e o Espectro - Portugese title
Saiturin joulu - Finnish title
Lo schiavo dell'oro - Italian title

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
The Great Christmas Movies (1998)
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (1989)

BOOKS

A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens's Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television by Fred Guida (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc (2000)) p.180

book into film, christmas, ghosts, misers

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009