A Christmas Story (1951)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Charles Dickens - A Christmas Story |
| Original title | Scrooge |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1951 |
| length | 86 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Brian Desmond Hurst |
| script | Noel Langley |
| production |
Brian Desmond Hurst for Renown Pictures |
| music | Richard Addinsell |
| camera | CM Pennington-Richards |
| cut | Clive Donner |
| occupation | |
| |
A Christmas Story is a British literary film adaptation by Brian Desmond Hurst from 1951. The film is considered one of the most famous film adaptations of Charles Dickens ' story A Christmas Carol and is often referred to as the best film adaptation of A Christmas Carol .
action
London in 1843: The hard-hearted and greedy moneylender Ebenezer Scrooge leaves the stock exchange on Christmas Eve and explains to two colleagues at the stock exchange (one of them is also the story teller) that Christmas is "humbug" and that he would rather be alone - so not at all - celebrate. Back in his office, Scrooge harshly rejects two benefactors who are collecting money for the needy. He also declines his nephew Fred's invitation to dinner the next day, also because he does not agree to Fred's marriage to a woman of poor origin. Scrooge is tough not only on his relatives, but also on his subordinates and customers: although he grudgingly allows his poorly paid assistant Bob Cratchit a free day with pay, he should come all the earlier the next day.
In the evening Scrooge receives an unexpected visit to his house: the ghost of Jacob Marley, his business partner who died seven years ago, appears and wants to warn him. The ghost of Marley has to wear a heavy chain as punishment for his hard-hearted and selfish actions in life and explains Scrooge that he too would be punished in his afterlife if he does not change himself and help other people. Before Marley's ghost disappears, he announces the arrival of three more ghosts and shows Scrooge at the window the souls of other ghosts who also have to wear chains because of their deeds. Deeply frightened and shocked, Scrooge retires to his bed, but he is quickly awakened: The first of the ghosts Marley announced is the ghost of Christmas past: an old, thoughtful man. The ghost shows Scrooge how he had to live alone in boarding school for a long time and not, like the other children, was picked up, at least until his beloved sister Fan brought him back to the troubled family at Christmas.
Then the ghost shows him his entry into working life at the dealer Fezziwig, who looks after his employees like a father. Scrooge is shown with his fiancée Alice at a Christmas party at Fezziwig's. After the death of his sister Fan at Fred's birth, Scrooge changed jobs to the greedy and sarcastic Mr. Jorkins, where he met the young Jacob Marley. His hunt for money and profit begins and later he opens his own money lending business with Marley in the old shop in Fezziwig, which has since had to file for bankruptcy. Alice discovers the new selfish traits in Scrooge and dissolves her engagement, from now on he only lives for his business. In 1836 Scrooge's only friend Jacob was dying. Although he knows about Jacob's condition, he doesn't leave the office until seven on the dot. Jacob tries dying to warn Scrooge that he should get better, but Scrooge refuses to understand. When he inherits Marley's house and fortune, Scrooge feels more joy than sadness.
The second ghost is the happy present Christmas spirit, which shows Scrooge the current Christmas celebrations with other people. He is shown how Bob and his family celebrate Christmas together. Despite their poverty and only one little goose (they couldn't afford more), the family seems happy, but the ghost tells him that Bob's son Tiny Tim will probably die of an unknown disease if the future doesn't change. Then he is shown the dinner party at Fred's and how Alice is caring for the sick in poor houses this Christmas. As a warning and a message that he should take care of it in the future, the second ghost shows Scrooge two emaciated children under his coat: poverty and ignorance. Finally, the veiled and mute ghost of the future Christmas appears as the third ghost, showing Scrooge what will happen to him if he does not change: Tiny Tim would die and his family would fall into deep mourning - Scrooge himself would also die, but for him no one would mourn, on the contrary: Scrooge's housekeeper, along with other people, steals and sells Scrooge's bed curtains to compensate for her bad treatment. After seeing his own headstone, Scrooge promises to mend himself. The third ghost disappears, the spook is over.
Scrooge is now turning into a good person: he first scares his housekeeper with his newfound zest for life, but then gives her some money and increases her salary. He also sends a large turkey to Bob and his family. Then he visits his nephew Fred and his dinner party and recognizes Fred's “poor” wife as a full member of the family. When Bob returns to work the next day, he increases Bob's salary and wants to help him and his family from now on. The narrator closes the film and explains that Tiny Tim survived and that Scrooge will henceforth become a happy, generous, and kind man.
background
Brian Desmond Hurst's film version of A Christmas Carol adheres closely to the original and contains most of the parts of Dickens' narrative. A special feature of this version, however, is the strong focus on Scrooge's past: For example, some aspects are added to the segment with the spirit of Christmas past, for example Scrooge's second employer, Mr. Jorkin, where he gets to know greed. The character of Mr. Jorkin does not appear in the Dickens tale at all. In the film he is played by Jack Warner, a British film star at the time, in a relatively small appearance for Warner. The part of Kathleen Harrison as Scrooge's housekeeper was also changed compared to the Dickens original. Another minor change involves Scrooge's fiancée Belle, who is renamed Alice in the film.
Michael Hordern was not on the film set at all in his scene as "Marley's Ghost", but was added later technically. The same goes for Michael Dolan's entire appearance as the ghost of Christmas past. Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern re-represented their roles as Scrooge and Marley in the animated film A Christmas Carol (1971).
In England and the United States, the film was known for its many TV broadcasts at Christmas time, but the film was only seen occasionally on German television. Scrooge had its German premiere on December 24, 1966.
synchronization
The German synchronization was probably created in the 1960s at Studio Hamburg under the overall direction of Gyula Trebitsch . One problem with the German version is that it lacks 13 minutes compared to the original English version and thus several, sometimes important, scenes. These have been inserted in the now restored version and provided with German subtitles and left in the original language.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Ebenezer Scrooge | Alastair Sim | Heinz Klevenow |
| Robert “Bob” Cratchit | Mervyn Johns | Günther Jerschke |
| Fred, nephew | Brian Worth | Uwe Friedrichsen |
| Mrs. Dilber, Scrooge's housekeeper | Kathleen Harrison | Gerda Gmelin |
| Old Jacob Marley / Marley's ghost | Michael Hordern | Werner Bruhns |
| Mr. Jorkin | Jack Warner | Max Eckard |
| Alice, fiancee | Rona Anderson | Renate Heilmeyer |
| Spirit of Christmas Past | Michael Dolan | Josef Offenbach |
| Present Christmas Spirit | Francis De Wolff | Erwin Linder |
| Jacob Marley as a young man | Patrick Macnee | Werner Bruhns |
| First stock market businessman / narrator | Peter Bull | Gerlach Fiedler |
| Second stock market businessman | Douglas Muir | Hermann Lenschau |
| Old Joe, crumb dealer | Miles Malleson | Henning Schlueter |
| Washerwoman | Louise Hampton | Katharina Brauren |
| Mrs. Cratchit | Hermione Baddeley | Roswitha Krämer (???) |
| Fan "Fanny" Scrooge | Carol Marsh | Marion Hartmann (???) |
Reviews
The film has received mostly positive reviews to this day, with the main actor Alastair Sim in particular receiving numerous praise for his portrayal. The New York Times chief film critic AO Scott named the film the best adaptation of Dickens' tale in 2013.
“A classic parable based on a Christmas story by Charles Dickens; the atmospherically photographed remake of the story relies on some all too macabre optical effects, but overall it can convey the moral content excellently and thus offers a pleasant family entertainment. "
“Just as the Christmas ghost advises Ebenezer Scrooge to come and get to know him better, I advise anyone who hasn't seen it to come and see the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol , the king of Christmas movies. Seeing it feels less like watching a movie, but more like standing in front of a magical portal (...) "
"The 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens' timeless classic is perhaps the most scrupulous film version - and Alastair Sim's appearance as Scrooge should not be forgotten."
Web links
- A Christmas Carol at the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ "Scrooge" (1951) at Turner Classic Movies
- ↑ "A Christmas Carol" at Allmovie
- ↑ Article on the film at Turner Classic Movies
- ↑ "A Christmas Carol" at IMDb Trivia
- ↑ Article on the film at Turner Classic Movies
- ↑ Blog: Kuleshow Effect
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/1194835382819/critics-picks-a-christmas-carol.html
- ↑ A Christmas Story. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Review at Slate.com
- ↑ "A Christmas Carol" at Rotten Tomatoes