Dickens' classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and three Christmas Ghosts that change his perception of life. Narrated by Vincent Price.Dickens' classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and three Christmas Ghosts that change his perception of life. Narrated by Vincent Price.Dickens' classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and three Christmas Ghosts that change his perception of life. Narrated by Vincent Price.
Photos
Patrick Whyte
- Bob Cratchit
- (as Pat White)
Jill St. John
- Missie Cratchit
- (as Jill Oppenheim)
Robert Hyatt
- Tiny Tim
- (as Bobby Hyatt)
Constance Cavendish
- Martha
- (as Connie Cavendish)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaA very rare example of a 1940s television broadcast still surviving in entirety. In the infancy of television, programs were always broadcast live because videotape recording technology did not yet exist. This is a kinescope recording, also known as a kine or telerecording. It was made by a film camera pointed at a television monitor filming the broadcast. Although crude, it was the only available method to record a live broadcast during the earliest days of television.
- Quotes
Ebenezer Scrooge: Tiny Tim, I saw a friend of mine at church just a little while ago, he's a surgeon. You and I are going to see him, and soon he'll be your friend too.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas (1997)
- SoundtracksGod Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Traditional English Carol
Sung by The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir (as The Mitchell Choirboys)
Featured review
This half-hour digest telling of Charles Dickens' Christmas CAROL from 1949 is one of the earliest American television programs to survive. Taylor Holmes (a character actor perhaps best known for as Henry Spoffard Sr. in Marilyn Monroe's GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES) is well cast as the sour Mr. Scrooge. Although he is a bit over the top in a few of his early scenes, he is very good otherwise and there is a unusual touch of poignancy in his performance that often is not in other actors as Scrooge, possibly due to Mr. Holmes' having lost two of his sons (including the well-known actor Phillip Holmes) within the previous five years, thus giving him perhaps an emotional link to Scrooge's inner sadness that some actors couldn't quite reach. This little drama is moves quickly of course given the time frame and the cast of mostly unknowns does very well (although the ghosts are fairly ridiculously costumed, particularly the ghost of Christmas present who resembles some actor in a king costume for a 1960's cereal commercial). It's an effective little piece of television and Christmas nostalgia. It won't be anyone's favorite rendition of the classic story but it's worth seeing and rather endearing.
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content