Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' is one of the most adapted stories in the history of literature, with the exception of the Bible. This is especially true in film. In cinema's eighth earliest adaptation of the Dickens's novella, England's May 1923's "A Christmas Carol" (otherwise known as "Scrooge"), this British two-reeler is rare in that it ignores Tiny Tim, neither mentioned or appearing. This is the first version, however, to contain a large amount of Dickens's original text within its intertitles.
The movie is also a departure for showing Scrooge's meanness when he's irritated by one (not the normal two) boy singing Christmas carols outside his office. Instead of simply shooing him away, Scrooge gets out a book and goes outside to thwack the young singer over the head.
The opening credits list only four actors, one being Russell Thorndike, who plays a lively and convincing Scrooge. Known for writing his Doctor Syn novels, of which three have been adapted to the screen, Thorndike appeared in only 19 movies from 1922 through 1955. He was severely injured in Gallipoli during World War One and specialized in Shakespearean movies. His acting sister, Sybil, was more widely known, so much so that George Bernard Shaw specifically wrote his play 'Saint Joan' especially for her.
There are a number of articles and documentaries ranking the 'Christmas Carol' and 'Scrooge' movies throughout the years. One expert ranking (writer Clement Tyler Obropta) has the 1923 British version listed at #37, impressive considering it's less than 30 minutes in length.
