COUNTING OUT THE SCROOGES
TELEVISION MOVIES STAGE The Christmas season’s favorite curmudgeon has appeared in many forms
“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone. Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret and selfcontained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue … ”
Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”
No novelist created more vivid characters, nor more of them, than Charles Dickens. And Ebenezer Scrooge, protagonist of “A Christmas Carol,” is arguably the most memorable and universally recognized of them all. Just as the “Carol” would become the world’s bestknown Christmas story (apart from the original one), the name Scrooge would become the very synonym for miserliness and misanthropy.
The power and durability of the “Carol” lie in Dickens’ genius in combining this unforgettable figure with an inspired story — which by its close affects a complete reversal of Scrooge’s character. And even makes us believe it! So it’s not only the colorful detail, but the emotional and spiritual range encompassed by Scrooge’s transformation that make the work so affecting.
Little wonder the “Carol” is one of literature’s most frequently adapted works, in all media, and Scrooge one of the most frequently portrayed characters.
The first stage productions happened within months of the book’s publication in 1843 — and uncountable stage adaptations have followed. The first silent-screen “short” was made in 1901; the first “talkie,” in 1928.
Theaters across America present the work each holiday season, including Houston’s Alley Theatre, which has been “Carol”-ing now for a quarter century.
Jeffrey Bean has starred in the Alley’s production for more than a decade, yet insists he never tires of the role.
“The fact that Scrooge undergoes such a total transformation,” Bean says, “makes it an enriching experience at every performance. There’s so much to explore, you find that different aspects resonate each year. One year, it may be his lost love for Belle; another, it’s that Scrooge sees in Cratchit a father who is warm and giving — as his own father was not.”
Our survey of famous and favorite Scrooges shows the variety of actors who’ve tackled the juicy role: MGM’s 1938 “A Christmas Carol,” a faithful and compact film version, benefits from Reginald Owen’s well-rounded portrayal and the studio’s neat production values. Many movie buffs consider the 1951 British “A Christmas Carol” the best film version and Alastair Sim the most compelling Scrooge. The tone is bleaker than most U.S. versions, with Sim so dour and pitiless he seems beyond redemption — which is why his utter joy in the closing scenes is so affecting. The humorously cranky Mr. Magoo was aptly cast as Scrooge in the 1962 TV special “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.” Apart from the framing scenes of Magoo starring in a Broadway production, the tale itself is faithfully presented, with catchy songs by Broadway greats Jule Styne and Bob Merrill (who were writing “Funny Girl” around the same time). Albert Finney made a particularly lively and colorful anti-hero in the lavish 1970 movie musical “Scrooge.” Other assets include a strong supporting cast with Alec Guinness and Edith Evans, terrific production and costume design, and Leslie Bricusse’s pleasing (though critically maligned) score, which often achieves the intended air of old English carols. Disney’s money-mad Scrooge McDuck was inspired by Dickens’ character, so who better to play Scrooge in the studio’s 1983 animated short “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” Perennial nice guy Mickey Mouse was likewise aptly cast as saintly Bob Cratchit. The great George C. Scott, surely the most physically formidable actor to play Scrooge, starred in the excellent 1984 telefilm. Towering and absolutely convinced of the rightness of his worldview, he enacts a strong and plainly successful Scrooge, not the usual scrawny pennypincher. A fine featured cast and splendid production values help make this one of the most satisfying treatments.
The 1988 film com- edy “Scrooged” offered a contemporary take played for sarcastic laughs, with the villain as a venal TV executive. Though the approach wears thin, Bill Murray is fun playing the mercenary jerk who gets his comeuppance. Michael Caine played straight man as Scrooge to a surrounding cast (mostly) of irrepressible Muppet characters in 1992’s “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” With Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Mrs. Cratchit and Fozzie Bear as “old Fozziewigg,” the funny but also warmhearted movie drew good reviews from most critics. Broadway heavy hitters Alan Menken (music), Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Mike Ockrent (book and direction) created the entertaining, large-scale musical “A Christmas Carol,” which played each holiday season from 1994 to 2003 at the Paramount at Madison Square Garden. Tim Curry was Scrooge in 2001, and others who starred included Frank Langella, Hal Linden and Tony Randall. Many actors have performed their own solo versions of the “Carol” through the years, but one held a unique claim on the story: Gerald Charles Dickens, the author’s great-great-grandson. Patrick Stewart performed an acclaimed solo version beginning in 1988, including multiple stands on Broadway. In 1999, he starred as Scrooge in TNT’s television movie, but this time with other actors filling out the roster of characters. The Menken-Ahrens stage musical was recycled into NBC’s 2004 TV movie, “A Christmas Carol: The Musical,” with Kelsey Grammer a properly curmudgeonly Scrooge.
Dazzling special effects were the main attraction in Disney’s 2009 3-D, computer animated “A Christmas Carol.” Jim Carrey came through with a typically highvoltage voice characterization of Scrooge, though the character design made him not just miser, but veritable monster. Most found the overall effect more technically impressive than emotionally satisfying.