#alastair sim

[citizenscreen]

Alastair Sim as Scrooge in the 1951 version of Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Director: Brian Desmond Hurst

#alastair sim #a christmas carol

[princesssarisa]

As I've been rewatching the different film versions of A Christmas Carol this year, I've been noticing something that I didn't even notice last year as I reviewed them for A Christmas Carol Holiday Season. Without changing the fundamentals of the story, different versions bring out different aspects of Scrooge's character arc.

It's similar to the phenomenon I've noticed in different screen and stage adaptations of fairy tales. For example, the way some versions of Cinderella are about the value of kindness, others are about never losing hope in the face of adversity, others about an outcast finding acceptance and love, others about an abuse victim discovering her own self-worth and inner strength, etc.

I suppose A Christmas Carol is a modern literary fairy tale, so it's no surprise that different adaptations find very different meanings in it.

For example:

Alastair Sim's 1951 Scrooge was once a good-hearted young idealist, but due to various external factors – his lonely childhood, his beloved sister Fan's death, the corrupt Mr. Jorkin replacing Fezziwig as his employer and mentor, and finally the loss of his fiancée Alice – he gradually came to view the world as a "hard and cruel place." So he steeled himself against it by turning cold and ruthless. The ghosts' job is to show him that the world isn't as cruel as he thinks it is; to remind him of all the kind, caring people both from his past and in his present, and to show him that kindness is the real solution to human suffering, while hardening himself has only caused and will cause more suffering, both for others and for himself.

Albert Finney's 1970 musical Scrooge is less icy than Sim's and more of a bitter, misanthropic workaholic who's forgotten how to appreciate the joys of living. Due to his lonely, awkward youth and the shattering loss of his fiancée Isabel, he declares "I hate life because life hates me!" and regards other people as leeches and fools, while seeing himself as a fine, upstanding gentleman forced to put up with them. The ghosts' job is to snap him out of his self-delusion and self-pity, and to teach him to joyfully live life to the fullest – which includes spreading kindness and cheer to others as well as enjoying himself – while he still can. A sharp reminder of his own mortality ensures that he learns the lesson.

For Michael Caine's Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol, the emphasis is more on the lack of love in his life. Because he was neglected as a child and taught only to value business by Sam the Eagle his stern schoolmaster, he's never quite understood human bonds, and when he had one bright, shining chance for a different life through his love for Belle, he let it slip away. As a result, years of loneliness have turned him harsh and cold. The ghosts' job is to teach him the importance of love – both personal love of family and friends and more general love for his fellow Muppets and man – and to force him to admit how unhappy he is being alone with no one to love or to love him, breaking his heart until he changes.

I haven't managed to rewatch George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart, et al this year. But since the Christmas season technically lasts until January 6th, I plan to rewatch them, and I'm sure I'll find similarly unique spins on Scrooge's character arc.

All of these approaches are valid. They all draw on aspects of Scrooge's journey in the book. But each approach adds to the unique identity of each adaptation.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @cliozaur, @warrioreowynofrohan, @bliss-bliss-bliss-bliss

#a christmas carol #adaptations #ebenezer scrooge #character arc #characterization #scrooge 1951 #scrooge 1970 #the muppet christmas carol #alastair sim #albert finney #michael caine #fictional characters

[ozu-teapot]

A Christmas Carol (AKA Scrooge) | Brian Desmond Hurst | 1951

Alastair Sim, Czeslaw Konarski

#Alastair Sim #Czeslaw Konarski #Brian Desmond Hurst #A Christmas Carol #Scrooge #1951 #Scrooge 1951

[zippocreed501]

Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge

Scrooge (1951)

#scrooge #alastair sim #a christmas carol #xmas countdown

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

#Scrooge #A Christmas Carol #Alastair Sim #Mervyn Johns #Hermione Baddeley #Jack Warner #Kathleen Harrison #Michael Hordern #George Cole #Brian Desmond Hurst #1951

[moviemosaics]

A Christmas Carol

directed by Richard Williams, 1971

#A Christmas Carol #Richard Williams #movie mosaics #Alastair Sim #Ken Harris

[letterboxd-loggd]

Green for Danger (1946) Sidney Gilliat

June 17th 2023

#green for danger #1946 #sidney gilliat #alastair sim #leo genn #trevor howard #sally gray #megs jenkins #rosamund john #ronald adam #judy campbell #moore marriott #george woodbridge #henry edwards

[nathalieskinoblog]

A Christmas Carol 1951 - 2019

#a christmas carol #alastair sim #george c. scott #bill murray #michael caine #patrick stewart #simon callow #jim carrey #guy pearce #dan stevens #a christmas carol 2009 #eine weihnachtsgeschichte #the man who invented christmas #mickeys christmas carol #scrooged #the muppet christmas carol #charles dickens

[genevieveetguy]

I'm beginning to feel sad and I shouldn't feel sad. It's so depressing.

Stage Fright, Alfred Hitchcock (1950)

#Alfred Hitchcock #Whitfield Cook #Alma Reville #Jane Wyman #Marlene Dietrich #Michael Wilding #Richard Todd #Alastair Sim #Sybil Thorndike #Kay Walsh #Miles Malleson #Hector MacGregor #Joyce Grenfell #Ballard Berkeley #Wilkie Cooper #Leighton Lucas #Edward B. Jarvis #1950

[hekate1308]

25 Days Of A Christmas Carol December 12: Scrooge (1951)

directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, written by Noel Langley, starring Alastair Sim

An ant is what it is, and a grasshopper is what it is, and Christmas, sir, is a humbug. Good day.

#25acc #a christmas carol #a christmas carol 1951 #alastair sim

[citizenscreen]

Sir Alastair Sim was born on October 9, 1900 #botd

#alastair sim

[princesssarisa]

A Christmas Carol Holiday Season: "A Christmas Carol" (1971 animated short)

This 25-minute animated short, produced by famous Warner Bros. animator Chuck Jones and directed by Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), is the only Christmas Carol adaptation ever to have won an Oscar. In 1973, it won the award for Best Short Subject, Animated Film. And it deserves the honor! With no pun intended, this is truly a Christmas Carol of haunting beauty.

Short and succinct though it is, this Carol is one of the most faithful to Dickens's book, with all the ghostly surrealism that other adaptations downplay. For example, no other version offers as faithful a portrayal of the Ghost of Christmas Past, which constantly changes shape and age just as Dickens described. We also see such rarely adapted episodes as Scrooge's childhood visions of his favorite book characters, and his travels with the Ghost of Christmas Present to a miners' camp, a lighthouse, and a ship at sea. This is also a Carol unafraid of the book's dark side – the moody opening image of snow flying in a tempest of wind should make that clear – and it features several often-forgotten moments of horror. This is the first adaptation since the classic 1951 Scrooge to include the vision of the phantom children Ignorance and Want, and the very first, as far as I know, to show the jaw of Marley's Ghost falling down onto his chest. To make matters worse, he never raises his jaw again, but goes on speaking as it hangs open without moving his lips.

Both in these eerie moments and in scenes of Christmas cheer, the beautiful soft-lined animation creates a truly Victorian atmosphere. The art style and character designs are inspired by John Leech's original woodcut illustrations and etchings, and they have the look of 19th century illustrations come to life – sometimes with rich realistic detail, at other times with atmospheric impressionism. Meanwhile, the score makes excellent use of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (the only carol mentioned by name in Dickens's book) as its main theme.

Adding to the prestige of this elegant short is the fact that two of the leading actors from the classic 1951 film reprise their roles in the voice cast. Alastair Sim voices Scrooge, still able to inhabit the role at age 71, and Michael Hordern again lends his rich tones to the agony of Marley's Ghost. The supporting voice cast does a fine job too, with narration by Michael Redgrave binding the story together.

This animated Carol might not appeal to children the way more lighthearted versions do. But for adults who love animation as an art form and who enjoy faithful Carol adaptations that capture the light and the darkness of Dickens with equal vividness, this is a must-see!

@ariel-seagull-wings, @thealmightyemprex, @faintingheroine, @reds-revenge, @thatscarletflycatcher

#a christmas carol holiday season #a christmas carol #1971 #richard williams #chuck jones #animation #animated short #alastair sim

[ozu-teapot]

A Christmas Carol (AKA Scrooge) | Brian Desmond Hurst | 1951

Michael Hordern, Alastair Sim

#Michael Hordern #Alastair Sim #Brian Desmond Hurst #A Christmas Carol #Scrooge #1951 #Scrooge 1951

[principiumindividuationis777]

#Alastair Sim #Ebenezer Scrooge #A Christmas Carol #1950s #Christmas #black and white #British cinema #redemption

[machetelanding]

Alastair Sim in Scrooge (1951)

#scrooge #drama #movies #1951 #1950s #alastair sim #charles dickens #a christmas carol #ebenezer scrooge #publicity stills #black and white

[leaving-no-shadow]

A single spectator could be more than enough;  Stage Fright, 1950 Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

#stage fright #alfred hitchcock #1950s cinema #marlene dietrich #jane wyman #alastair sim #movie quotes #black and white film #suspence