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I realized during a particularly annoying episode of The Bold and The Beautiful, that I could change the channel and seek out my own holiday viewing. What I found was the 1984 British-American produced tv movie version of “A Christmas Carol,” starring Only American George C. Scott, surrounded by a cast that was loaded for bear. Some of the names associated in the production include: Michael Gough, NIgel Davenport, Frank Finlay, Angela Pleasance, Edward Woodward, David Warner, Mark Strickson, Joanne Whalley (before the Kilmer), Lucy Gutteridge, Daniel Chatto, Cathryn Harrison, Roger Rees (who serves also as the Narrator) and Susannah York, whose two children Sasha and Orlando Wells were two of the Cratchit children to her Mrs. Cratchit.
Fun fact: this was not the first time Susannah York and George C Scott appeared in a period film together. They were Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester in the 1971 version of Jane Eyre.
The earliest memory I have of this movie is that it was made a big deal of because starring as the Ghost of Christmas Present was Edward Woodward. The mid-80s apparently was a great time to be Edward Woodward in the United States. He landed the lead in what would become a hit show called…The Equalizer. That’s right kiddos-he was the Equalizer before Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah. He was the OG. He was also a pretty well known British actor known for some pretty heavy dramatic roles there. The Equalizer, then as now aired on CBS and this tv movie aired on CBS annually for many years. CBS, realizing that the star of one of their monster hits shows was in this tv movie, they’ve aired for a few years wasted no time in making promos that would lead you to think that Edward Woodward, the Ghost of Christmas Present, was the star. And to be on their side a bit, while I love a lot of this tv movie, Woodward simply rocks the Ghost of Christmas Present role.
The other day on Twitter (yes I continue to call “X” by it’s original name, the way that Kunta Kinte insisted on being called by his name “Kunta Kinte” and not his slave name of “Toby.” Even after he was severely compelled to answer to “Toby,” the part that mattered held onto “Kunta Kinte.”), there was a poll of the best Scrooge portrayals. Like Lays chips, I can’t ever have just one. If you were to ask me the same question regarding Ghosts of Christmas Present: Live Action Musical would be Kenneth More from the 1970 Theatrical movie one and Edward Woodward would be the Live Action TV Movie one.
Other highlights of this version are David Warner as Bob Cratchit. Yes, THAT David Warner, who would usually be the Scrooge or some flavour of villain was affable family man Bob Cratchit, taking it from Scrooge whereas other characters he’s play would’ve stuffed Scrooge inside of the plum pudding.
George C Scott seems tailor-made for the role of Scrooge. He plays the role with less bombast than many but he also isn’t just painting by the numbers. This version of A Christmas Carol, plot-wise, is quite faithful to the novella, especially including scenes that are usually left out of many adaptations. These would be scenes like what I call “the postscript about Belle” and the warning of Ignorance and Want. There were some scenes added such as Nigel Davenport as Scrooge’s dad-usually mentioned in the scenes of Christmas Past but never seen. Many modern adaptations depending on the era, delve into this as a way of explaining Scrooge’s pre-conversion personality. This version’s dad is cold, critical and clearly not a hugger. We are given to understand that Scrooge’s dad irrationally holds him responsible for his mother’s death and not even three days after being liberated from his boarding school, he is drop-kicked into Fezziwig’s firm.
I came away from this version actually feeling like I wanted to go out and do good things, which is funny because A) I try to do as many good things as I can, but B) I’ve seen this version A LOT so if nothing else I should’ve been jaded. And I did have moments where I said things like “did the poulterer just set off a bomb near a pack of geese? I’ve never seen so much dead geese hanging in one place…”
I recommend this movie. The acting is first rate, the production values are great. You can find this on demand and on streaming services.
Fun fact: this was not the first time Susannah York and George C Scott appeared in a period film together. They were Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester in the 1971 version of Jane Eyre.
The earliest memory I have of this movie is that it was made a big deal of because starring as the Ghost of Christmas Present was Edward Woodward. The mid-80s apparently was a great time to be Edward Woodward in the United States. He landed the lead in what would become a hit show called…The Equalizer. That’s right kiddos-he was the Equalizer before Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah. He was the OG. He was also a pretty well known British actor known for some pretty heavy dramatic roles there. The Equalizer, then as now aired on CBS and this tv movie aired on CBS annually for many years. CBS, realizing that the star of one of their monster hits shows was in this tv movie, they’ve aired for a few years wasted no time in making promos that would lead you to think that Edward Woodward, the Ghost of Christmas Present, was the star. And to be on their side a bit, while I love a lot of this tv movie, Woodward simply rocks the Ghost of Christmas Present role.
The other day on Twitter (yes I continue to call “X” by it’s original name, the way that Kunta Kinte insisted on being called by his name “Kunta Kinte” and not his slave name of “Toby.” Even after he was severely compelled to answer to “Toby,” the part that mattered held onto “Kunta Kinte.”), there was a poll of the best Scrooge portrayals. Like Lays chips, I can’t ever have just one. If you were to ask me the same question regarding Ghosts of Christmas Present: Live Action Musical would be Kenneth More from the 1970 Theatrical movie one and Edward Woodward would be the Live Action TV Movie one.
Other highlights of this version are David Warner as Bob Cratchit. Yes, THAT David Warner, who would usually be the Scrooge or some flavour of villain was affable family man Bob Cratchit, taking it from Scrooge whereas other characters he’s play would’ve stuffed Scrooge inside of the plum pudding.
George C Scott seems tailor-made for the role of Scrooge. He plays the role with less bombast than many but he also isn’t just painting by the numbers. This version of A Christmas Carol, plot-wise, is quite faithful to the novella, especially including scenes that are usually left out of many adaptations. These would be scenes like what I call “the postscript about Belle” and the warning of Ignorance and Want. There were some scenes added such as Nigel Davenport as Scrooge’s dad-usually mentioned in the scenes of Christmas Past but never seen. Many modern adaptations depending on the era, delve into this as a way of explaining Scrooge’s pre-conversion personality. This version’s dad is cold, critical and clearly not a hugger. We are given to understand that Scrooge’s dad irrationally holds him responsible for his mother’s death and not even three days after being liberated from his boarding school, he is drop-kicked into Fezziwig’s firm.
I came away from this version actually feeling like I wanted to go out and do good things, which is funny because A) I try to do as many good things as I can, but B) I’ve seen this version A LOT so if nothing else I should’ve been jaded. And I did have moments where I said things like “did the poulterer just set off a bomb near a pack of geese? I’ve never seen so much dead geese hanging in one place…”
I recommend this movie. The acting is first rate, the production values are great. You can find this on demand and on streaming services.
