The Christmas Carol (1949)

Directed by

Arthur Pierson

Genre

fantasy film, Christmas film

Country

United States

Runtime

25 min

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 19 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This half-hour black and white TV special adapts the classic Charles Dickens Christmas story about the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Narrated by Vincent Price, it shows Scrooge's transformation after being visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve.

nostalgiclow-keyearnestbrisksimpleold-fashionedcompactwarm

What happens

The Christmas Carol is a 1949 low-budget, black and white television special narrated by Vincent Price. Compressing Charles Dickens' classic 1843 story into a half-hour, it is stated to be "the oldest extant straight adaptation of the story" for television. It was originally produced as a syndicated production for airing on 22 stations across the United States on Christmas Day in 1949. It was sponsored by Magnavox and represented that company's first use of television advertising. In 1952, the show was acquired by Consolidated Television Sales for further syndication. The production is considered primitive by modern standards; it is also noted for misspelling Ebenezer Scrooge's name as "Ebeneezer" in the opening credits and on the headstone of his grave. The cast is led by Taylor Holmes as Scrooge and includes an early appearance by Jill St. John, then age 9 and billed as Jill Oppenheim, who plays one of the Cratchit daughters. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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