Scrooge

Director: Ronald Neame Ronald Neame

Overview

Scrooge was designed as a follow-up to 1968's Oliver!, the Oscar-winning musicalization of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. The umpteenth musical version of Dickens' 1843 novelette A Christmas Carol, Scrooge features several sprightly Leslie Bricusse songs, including the bona fide hit "Thank You Very Much." Buried under mounds of latex, Albert Finney is Ebenezer Scrooge. The Three Ghosts who turn the miserly Scrooge's life around on Christmas Eve are portrayed by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Yet to Come). Sir Alec Guinness also appears as a fussy, slightly effeminate Marley's Ghost. Intriguingly, Finney performs his many songs live, without post-production dubbing.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2003
UPC:	0097363806349
Original Release:	1970
Rating:	G
Source:	Paramount
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	11,902

Special Features

[None specified]

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Albert Finney	Ebenezer Scrooge
Alec Guinness	Marley's Ghost
Edith Evans	Ghost of Christmas Past
Kenneth More	Ghost of Christmas Present
David Collings	Cratchit
Laurence Naismith	Fezziwig
Anton Rodgers	Jenkins
Michael Nedwin	Fred, Scrooge's Nephew
Suzanne Neve	Isabel
Richard Beaumont	Tiny Tim
Frances Cuka	Mrs. Cratchit
Kay Walsh	Mrs. Fezziwig
Mary Peach	Fred's Wife
Gordon Jackson	Fred's Friend
Karen Scargill	Kathy Cratchit
Molly Weir	Woman Debtor
Paddy Stone	Ghost of Christmas Future,Party Guest
Geoffrey Bayldon	Toyshop Owner
Michael Medwin	Nephew
Derek Francis	Portly Gentleman
Roy Kinnear	Portly Gentleman
Helena Gloag	Woman Debtors
Reg Lever	Punch and Judy Man
Keith Marsh	Well Wisher
Philip Da Costa	Child
Raymond Hoskins	Child
Gaynor Hodgson	Child
Nicholas Locise	Goose Boy
Peter Lock	Urchin
Joy Leigh	Child
Sara Gibson	Child
Clive Moss	Child
John O'Brien	Child
David Peacock	Child
Michael Reardon	Child
Terry Winter	Child
Stephen Garlick	Child
Leslie Bricusse	Composer

Technical Credits

Leslie Bricusse

Ronald Neame	Director
Leslie Bricusse	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Robert H. Solo	Producer
Wally Veevers	Special Effects
Jack Mills	Special Effects

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Humbug [4:30]
2. Cratchit's Christmas Shopping [2:52]
3. Cretinous Wretches [7:42]
4. Marley [9:21]
5. The Tiniest Chance [9:30]
6. The Ghost of Christmas Past [4:18]
7. Isabel [9:43]
8. The Spirit of Christmas Present [7:30]
9. Cratchit's Home [2:03]
10. Nephew Fred's Party [7:48]
11. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come [7:17]
12. Office in Hell [7:01]
13. Begin Again [8:52]
14. Saint Ebenezer [6:49]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie With Overture
      Play Movie
   Set Up
      Audio Options: English 5.1 Surround
      Audio Options: English Dolby Surround
      Subtitle Options: English
      Subtitle Options: None
   Scene Selections

Editorial Reviews

Albert Finney's portrayal in Ronald Neame's Scrooge may lack the dignity of some other attempts at Dickens' miserly spoilsport, notably that of George C. Scott in Clive Donner's 1984 made-for-TV version of A Christmas Carol. In fact, sniveling and stammering in his sloppy nightshirt, one might mistake Finney for a mentally unbalanced homeless man howling at the moon. But something about the performance, not to mention the songs by Leslie Bricusse, really registers, transforming this grainy production into a family favorite televised at holiday time for years after its theatrical release. One of the triumphs of the Oscar-nominated art direction is that it gives Dickens' London a shabby, lived-in quality, carried over several time periods. The most effective is the portentous future, hosted by a shrouded, faceless figure, who remains quiet as the grave while pointing a skeletal finger toward the images of Scrooge's destiny. The rousing songs are sometimes an odd counterpoint to this gritty design, but they're also probably the ingredient that elevated this adaptation to a level of popularity above the many others that exist.

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