We all know Charles Dickens' story of Ebenezer Scrooge and
his visits from the three ghosts on Christmas Eve. A story of redemption—a miserly man whose
concept of the Christmas spirit is "Bah, Humbug!" Then his life is turned around after a visit
from three Christmas ghosts—one from his past to remind him of what was and the
promise of what could have been, one from his present to open his eyes to what
he had become and how others felt about him, and one from the future to show
him where he was headed if he didn't change his ways.
From a writer's perspective, it was the first time a story
had been told from the point-of-view of a character within that story. Point-of-view—something vital for today's
writer of fiction.
The novella, first published in London on December 9, 1843,
has been a staple of the Christmas season as a movie, television show, or play
for well over a century.
This year, Hallmark's cable movie channel started showing
non-stop Christmas movies early in November.
After noticing A CHRISTMAS CAROL for the third time, three different
films, I wondered how many different versions of Dickens' story there
were. So, I did what I usually do when I
want a quick answer to something…I Googled it.
And the results came as quite a surprise. Things I knew, things I had known but
forgotten, and things I never knew.
Twenty-eight films, twenty-three television productions, plus other
miscellaneous offerings such as staged plays.
Live action, animation, a 3D computer generated images version from
Disney in 2009, and even a couple where the character of Scrooge was portrayed
as being female.
The first filming of A CHRISTMAS CAROL was a fifteen minute
silent movie made in 1908 followed by two other silent versions made in 1910
and 1913. There have been the straight
theatrical films, musical versions, and animated versions with favorite and
very familiar cartoon characters taking on the roles of Dickens' famous
characters. Of the twenty-eight movies,
ten were released under Dickens' exact original title of A CHRISTMAS CAROL as
were six of the twenty-three television productions.
Even though all the various productions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL
tell Dickens' story of Scrooge and the visits from the three ghosts, many had
their own unique twist and flavor of the original. I think my favorite is a 1970 theatrical
musical version titled SCROOGE which stars Albert Finney as the miserly
Ebenezer Scrooge who learns the lessons of the spirit of the Christmas season.
Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season, happy new year,
and most of all—Peace On Earth.
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