Of
all Charles Dickens' writings, A Christmas Carol has been most
frequently adapted for the screen. This 1935 version stands tall beside the other
first-rate Dickens adaptations of that same year, David Copperfield and A
Tale Of Two Cities. Scrooge is regarded in
England as one of the outstanding films of its era. Scrooge is notable
not only for Dickens' beautiful story but also for superb performances, a
vigorous script, excellent pacing, persuasive settings, costumes which utterly
capture 1843 London, and impressive moving-camera photography with atmospheric
lighting reminiscent of German expressionist cinema. Sir Seymour Hicks,
an age-appropriate Scrooge, first played the role on screen in 1913; indeed,
the career of this distinguished actor-writer-director, on stage from 1877,
almost overlaps Dickens' own. Hicks' performance is simply first-class; he also
co-authored the screenplay and he inhabits Scrooge thoroughly, subtly and
radiantly. The other characters are secondary compared to Scrooge but all are
impeccable.
Cast
Seymour
Hicks, Donald Calthrop, Robert Cochran, Mary Glynne, Garry Marsh
Director
Henry
Edwards
60
Minutes, 1935, B&W, G, VHS
