The Case of A Christmas Carol(s) Again
December is a special time for us because it marks the anniversary of when we started our podcast six years ago back in 2018. And this holiday season is even more special because (as you probably know) this is our last month as a podcast! Earlier this year, we announced that this would be the final season of the Black Case Diaries Movie/TV Podcast. And in the spirit of saying farewell, we thought it would be fun to revisit our first official episode as The BCD: The Case of A Christmas Carol(s).
In our first-ever episode, we talked about how there were hundreds of movie and TV versions of the classic Dickens tale, and highlighted just a few of them. And now that we have better audio equipment, we thought it would be fun to do something similar tonight.
In December of 1843, Charles Dickens published what would become his most famous piece of writing: a short novel about a wicked old money-lender named Ebenezer Scrooge. At the time, the author had been struggling financially after his most recent novel had failed to bring in enough money for him to support his family. His publisher had little faith that his latest story would be any different, but Dickens was willing to pay the publishing costs himself in order to have A Christmas Carol be released as a standalone book.
Charles Dickens likely drew from his own experience with poverty while writing A Christmas Carol. When he was 12, his father was sentenced to debtors' prison, and the author was forced to work in a boot blacking factory. There were also two likely influences for the main character of Ebenezer Scrooge. One was Ebenezer Scroggie, a man whose grave Dickens happened upon one day in 1841. Scroggie’s grave described him as a “meal man,” but according to a BBC article that was originally published in 2015, Charles Dickens misread the description to say, “mean man.” The author reportedly wrote about this in his notebook, saying, “To be remembered through eternity only for being mean seemed the greatest testament to a life wasted.” Historians have uncovered more information about Scroggie, however, and it appears that his resemblance to Dickens’ Scrooge character is in name only. John Elwes is the other figure that may have inspired Scrooge. He was a member of parliament that was well remembered in Dickens’ time thanks to a bestselling biography that described him as a miser that would “walk home in the rain, in London, sooner than pay a shilling for a coach.”
A Christmas Carol is a story about caring for your fellow human, but one of the most important themes of the story is the sacred celebration of Christmas. Why? What is so wrong about Scrooge not liking Christmas? It’s a common belief that Charles Dickens essentially “invented” the modern concept of Christmas, elevating it from a minor Christian holiday into a massively commercial celebration. But, that’s not entirely true. At this point in the 19th century, Christmas was still cherished and celebrated privately in the homes of “common” people, but not so much in extravagant celebrations by the wealthy. Scrooge’s disdain for the holiday is more of an indication of his hatred for the poor, and his disdain for holiday about giving to others. The success of the story did seem to change the cultural attitude toward Christmas, though claiming that Dickens “invented” it might be a stretch.
Not long after the publication of the book, stage adaptations of the story were already being written and performed. Some early performances of A Christmas Carol were actually by Charles Dickens himself. The author adapted passages of his works into stage performances and went on tour. He was known to be a gifted actor, and his shows earned him international recognition until his death in 1870.
So let’s go ahead and jump into a list of some of the most famous (and some of our favorite) adaptations of one of the most famous Christmas stories of all time!
Scrooge or Marley’s Ghost (1901)
The earliest known film adaptation of A Christmas Carol is a silent film directed by Walter R. Booth. It has a runtime of about 6 and a half minutes, and you can find it on youtube!
Scrooge (1935)
The first full-length film adaptation with sound was called Scrooge and it was released in 1935. You can find the whole thing on youtube as well! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqRl5K8sEuw
It starred Seymour Hicks as the title character
A Christmas Carol (1938)
Starring Reginald Owen, this is an MGM classic that many consider to be one of the very best film adaptations of the story.
A Christmas Carol (1951)
Starring Alastair Sim, this is the highest user-rated film adaptation of A Christmas Carol on IMDB
It was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst with a screenplay written by Noel Langley (whose credits include The Wizard of Oz)
Twenty years later, Alastair Sim reprised his role as Scrooge in an animated adaptation that was made for TV!
Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962)
The first animated TV Christmas special!
We did an entire episode on this one!
Scrooge (1970)
Directed by Ronald Neame, this was a live-action musical adaptation starring Albert Finney! Alec Guinness of Star Wars fame played Jacob Marley, and Leslie Bricusse wrote the screenplay as well as the songs. You might remember Bricusse wrote the lyrics to Somewhere in My Memory from Home Alone.
The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
This was a Rankin and Bass traditionally animated special told from the perspective of a new character named B.A.H. Humbug. It was named after a 1950s made-for-TV special of the same name.
It starred Walter Mathau as Ebenezer Scrooge
Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
Directed by Burny Matinson, who also directed The Great Mouse Detective, this animated featurette is a delightful adaptation of the story told with classic Disney characters. Scrooge McDuck plays Scrooge (of course), Mickey is Bob Crachit, Goofy plays Jacob Marley, Donald plays nephew Fred, Daisy Duck plays Belle, and Jiminy Cricket plays the ghost of Christmas past.
A Christmas Carol (1984)
Starring George C Scott, this adaptation aired on CBS in the mid-1980s.
It captured the feel of Victorian England better than many other adaptations because it was filmed on location. It also focused more on the ghost story aspect of the story, giving it the creepy vibes that many other adaptations are often missing.
Scrooged (1988)
Starring Bill Murray, this is one of the least faithful adaptations, but definitely one of the most fun. It played into the concept of getting “scrooged” as if the visits from the ghosts is a repeated practice that often occurs to awful people in need of some perspective and growth.
A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
We did a whole episode on this one, too!
A Christmas Carol (1999)
Sir Patrick Stewart
A Christmas Carol (2004)
Hallmark Channel presentation starring Kelsey Grammar
Based on the musical
Disney’s A Christmas Carol (2009)
Motion capture animation
Jim Carey
Link to our Mo-cap episode
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
Story of Charles Dickens
Somewhat incorporates A Christmas Carol
Spirited (2022)
Musical comedy film starring Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell
Well, that’s it for our time with the ghost of Christmas past. We’re off to go live in the Christmas present, and we will see you in the not-so-distant Christmas future!
We’d like to thank our patrons John, JD, Jacob, Anthony, Shelli, and Bob!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!