The Christmas Carol

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Movie
German title The Christmas Carol
Original title The Christmas Carol
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1949
length 25 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Arthur Pierson
script Arthur Pierson
production Mike Stokey
Bernard Ebert
camera Meredith M. Nicholson
cut Kind be
occupation

The Christmas Carol is an American television film special directed by Arthur Pierson from 1949. The black and white production is based on the classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens , which has been compressed to 25 minutes for this TV version. The narrator is Vincent Price .

action

After a brief introduction by the narrator that Jacob Marley, the business partner and only friend of Ebenezer Scrooge, died seven years ago on Christmas Eve, the story of the rich Ebenezer Scrooge begins. Since then he has not wanted to hear anything about Christmas and also declines the invitation of his nephew, who, like every year, visits him to invite him to Christmas dinner.

After Scrooge has withdrawn alone in his apartment and is about to go to bed, the ghost of Marley appears to him. This is hung with large chains and Marley's ghost declares that in the course of his life he unintentionally forged these chains himself. Because he was not among people all his life, but had only given himself to his greed for money, he must now, after his death, go as a spirit among people. The ghost wants to warn Scrooge because otherwise the same threatens him if he does not change his life. Scrooge is told that three ghosts will visit him to help him save his soul.

A few hours later, the ghost of Christmas past appears to Scrooge. This lets him look back into his past when he did not experience a happy Christmas season as a child and was only alone without friends. He also remembers his great love, which he literally exchanged for the pursuit of wealth. After the ghost has disappeared, Scrooge imagines everything as just a dream, but then the second ghost appears to him. He shows him the present Christmas and leads him to the family of his office worker Robert Cratchit, who seem very happy despite their father's little income. Among his children is the crippled Tim, who could possibly be better off with better nutrition and medical care. Scrooge shows his first sympathy for the difficult fate of the child and he is surprised that Bob Cratchit bumps into his employer and replies to his skeptical wife that it is Christmas after all. As soon as the second ghost has disappeared, the last of the three announced “visitors” appears. The spirit of Christmas to come brings Scrooge back to the Cratchits, to whom Tim has since died. Continue through the streets of London to a group of businessmen discussing the death of a person who had amassed their lives and was not popular with anyone. When Scrooge asks the ghost who the men are talking about, the ghost shows him a gravestone with the inscription Ebeneezer Scrooge . Scrooge is frightened and vows to improve himself and to allow Christmas in his heart from now on.

Scrooge is happily surprised to find himself sitting safely on his bed. He calls out to his friend Marley (who does not show up) and lets him know that he has understood the message and learned the lesson. It is now daylight and from the window Scrooge asks a boy in the street what day it would be today. The boy calls back. “It's Christmas Day, sir!” He goes to the closet, laughing warmly and relievingly, puts on festive clothes and leaves his apartment lively. He wishes all the people he meets on the street "all the best" and a "Merry Christmas". He visits Robert Cratchit with his family and brings presents for everyone, including a turkey for Christmas dinner. He especially welcomes Tiny Tim, who then gives the benefactor a warm hug, which Scrooge clearly enjoys. With the care of his "second father" (Scrooge), Tiny Tim is sure to survive.

Summing up at the end, the narrator once again emphasizes Scrooge's change in personality: “Scrooge was better than his word” and concludes with the words “God bless each of us”.

background

The Christmas Carol is seen as "the oldest surviving direct adaptation in history" for television. The production was sponsored by Magnavox and was the company's first use of television advertising. By modern standards, the production must be described as primitive and there were misspellings in the opening credits and in the film, where the name of Ebenezer Scrooge as "Ebeneezer" too is reading.

The shooting took place at Jerry Fairbanks Productions in Hollywood . The Christmas carols used were sung by the " Mitchell Choirboys ".


Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fred Guida, A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens's Story and Its Productions On Screen and Television , McFarland & Company, 2000, ISBN 978-0-7864-0738-5 , p. 179. Excerpt available on Google Books .
  2. ^ "Magnavox Christmas TV on 22 stations" , Billboard , December 24, 1949, p. 15.
  3. ↑ Background information from Internet Movie Database , accessed on January 8, 2018.