Scrooge

SCRIBE'S I THINK LIFE A PERPETUAL SPREE REVIEW:

This is my favorite version of Dickens' holiday classic. It used to air locally in Michigan annually on channel 7 Sunday mornings until the rise of cable TV reduced its frequency on regular TV.

Normally, musicals are a trip through the dank, murky recesses of Satan's rectum for me, but the songs actually flesh out Dickens rather skeletal novel with some truly enjoyable moments.

Unlike previous Scrooges such as Alistair Cooke, Albert Finney wasn't an old man when he starred as the redemptive old miser. This is a huge benefit to the production, as he gets to play himself as a young man with an amazing display of emotion.

Finney's Scrooge is a modern take on a post-modern character. Instead of cartoonish villainy and anger, he radiates an inner misery and turmoil that has even effected his walk, which is now a loping, stooped-over gait.

With the exception of George C Scott, Finney is perhaps the finest actor to take on the role of old Ebenezer and he excels at it. Every moment is a study in nuance, a performance worthy of noting in acting schools the world over. His enjoyment of the role and of the dialogue is infectious and, for the first and probably last time, he makes us kind of like Scrooge. This production triggers an instinct in the viewer to realize there is more under the surface of this horrible, grouchy old bastard.

The flashback scenes are not so much glimpses at Scrooge's "could have beens" as they are a study in how easily the world can destroy our dreams and leave us shadows of our former selves. This Scrooge isn't some remote bad guy, he is us fully realized and without filters. This makes the moment of his redemption much more believable and cathartic.

The production design is amazing, second only to the Scott version from the late Eighties. The 1970's color process lends an odd yet appropriate dated feeling to the film.

This is Scrooge the way Dickens probably intended it and quite possibly the best X-mas film ever made.

***** out of *****

GREEN'S "THAT'S THE NICEST THING THAT ANYONE'S EVER DONE FOR ME" REVIEW:

Once in a while, Sir Scribe gets it just about right. There's not much I can disagree with on his assessment of this movie, for it is also my favorite film version of Charles Dickens classic novel.

I always assumed that Albert Finney was much older when this film was released, however he was only 34. That is not only a testament to the make-up artists but to the talent of Finney himself. As an added bonus, we get a wonderful turn by Sir Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley. The rest of the cast is also very good, if virtually unknown.

I love the scene at end of Scrooge's visit with the ghost of Christmas past where Scrooge is led to his small office in hell and Marley announces that he'll be the only one in hell to freeze. How fitting it is that the miserly Scrooge's house is plain and drab, without a touch of color, a reflection of the character's personality. Did you notice that once Scrooge discovers the magic and joy of Christmas, his posture straightens immeasurably from the crouched over, decrepit old miser that he was the day before?

That this is a musical doesn't bother me in the slightest. The music is excellent and the songs are tastefully done, enhancing the story that much more.

The moral of the story is simple yet quite profound. No one, not even the worst of us, is beyond redemption. The thing is we have to want to be redeemed. It's not just going to be handed to us without our asking for it.

Because it is such a true statement, the parting words of the ghost of Christmas present to Scrooge resonate with me, even though I don't often fulfill them: "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try and do as much as you can in the time that you have." WOW.

It is true that there are more acclaimed versions of 'A Christmas Carol' than this but none quite captures the essence of the story than with this movie, at least in my opinion. I think that ol' Chuck Dickens himself would indeed be pleased with this version of his story.

The one thing I will differ with Scribe on is this: This may be the finest version of "A Christmas Carol" put to film, but it is not 'quite possibly the greatest Christmas movie ever made.' In my book, that honor will always rest with some little known Frank Capra-James Stewart-Donna Reed-Lionel Barrymore film. Though this movie probably rates a close second, third at worst.

***** out of *****