By Jason – I’m thinking that I’d like to do a “Battle of the Scrooges” review for the website. What I mean is, I will have a marathon viewing session of “A Christmas Carol”. I’ll watch five of the most famous versions of Dickens Christmas fable. I’d give my reviews, and discuss the experience of seeing not just three Christmas ghosts, but 15! Actually, while I love my annual experience of watching Scrooge, I’m not sure I can handle ten straight hours of it. We’ll see if I’m strong enough to go through with it.
Here are the five versions I would choose:
1910 – William Bechtel playing Scrooge. This is the first filmed version that I’m aware of. It’s a silent film, so that should help add some variety to my viewing.
1951 – Alastair Sim playing Scrooge. The yearly classic when I was growing up. This is the one I remember seeing on network TV as an annual Christmas special.
1984 – George C. Scott playing Scrooge. Scott was a great actor, and a fine Scrooge.
1997 – Michael Caine playing Scrooge. This is actually called, “A Muppet Christmas Carol”. I know it’s not a straight retelling, what with Gonzo narrating on behalf of Charles Dickens, but it’s actually my favorite version of the story.
1999 – Patrick Stewart playing Scrooge. I haven’t seen this one before, but I’m a big fan of Captain Picard, so I can’t see a downside to this one.
