Written by Captain Conroy
Hi everyone, it’s me Captain Conroy once again and to kick-start – a very Merry Christmas to you all! And to tie in with the festive season, I thought the same way I did a Dracula comparison, this time do one about another widely adapted character – Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol.
Much like the last time, I’ll be talking about each one in terms of performance, presentation and lasting first impressions. But that’s not all as I’ll be dividing this into two parts and be talking about animated Scrooges as well as A Christmas Carol has had plenty of animated adaptations as well and being the season of festive cheer, I thought why not throw in a little bit extra this time? So, whenever ready – let us begin. This is going to be a fun one.
Candidate 1:
Name: Alastair Sim
Nationality: Scottish
Height: 6’0
First Played Scrooge: Scrooge (1951)
Birthdate/Deathdate: 9th October 1900 – 19th August 1976 – Aged 75 Years
So to get this party started, I thought we’d get started with Alastair Sim’s version of the character. And dare I say he is probably the definitive version of the character for many people. And after first watching his version at school – it would be very easy to see why.
Sim certainly had all the right credentials for playing Scrooge, I mean he looks like an old man with white hair – although I probably should mention that he was 51 years old at the time this movie came out but people often appeared older than they looked as a result of living through the World Wars which certainly would have taken its toll on everyone – 51 may not be considered old by today’s standards but back then it probably was.
But not that it particularly matters too much how old he was as he played the role so, so well. He starts out with a rather refined presence but yet with a very cold edge which of course is to be expected as Scrooge is not a nice guy as we all know very well. A talk with two businessmen showcases his very strong opinions and a talk with a client showcases how cold and unforgiving he is and furthermore always has an answer for everything said to him.
And if that’s not enough, we can see through his actions he’s a cold and unpleasant man but also how unfeeling he is through his facial expressions. When he sees the charity workers, he sells so much through his facial expressions how much he doesn’t care for charity and how uninterested he is in other people and how he only really cares for his work and the money he earns. It plays out just as one would expect not being very nice to either them or Fred but I find it quite interesting in this case that the charity workers see him first and then Fred sees him whereas in most adaptations and the original source material it’s the other way around.
And if not much else, despite how rich he is, he certainly doesn’t mind showing how cheap he is given he only pays Bob Cratchit so much and Mrs. Dilber says later on in the film how she’s only paid 2 shillings a week. Hell, he won’t even pay an extra penny for some bread at the inn where he’s eating dinner.
“Ha’penny extra sir.”
“No more bread!”
Seriously, what’s a ha’penny to him that should be considered chump change as far as he’s concerned. But either way how quickly this persona of his fades away the moment he sees Jacob Marley’s ghost on the door-knocker of his house, it’s then we see the change of looks on his face and suddenly how afraid he becomes which may only be natural as by ourselves mankind always have a fear of the unknown and how flawlessly Sim goes from this cold old man with a sense of dignity to becoming a cowering jabbering wreck on his knees once he has encountered Jacob Marley’s Ghost. My favourite part of this scene has to be how after Marley sits down, Scrooge won’t even look at him for a moment as he refuses to believe he’s really there, until Marley makes his point very clear that Scrooge is not hallucinating.
He even asks him if he can see a toothpick he picks up – pretty funny huh, but on the whole, as a setup for the character this is just perfect, and Sim plays it perfectly too. What’s more though is that if it’s not Jacob Marley, it doesn’t seem to take much for this particular version of Scrooge to get spooked as once he departs, Marley shows him the other spirits lamenting on what they could have shared and the good they could have done, he is quick to shut the window and dart into bed as quickly as he can before he even had a chance to have his supper. And that’s not a metaphor to say how fast he did – this literally was the case as before he could Marley came in and then this latest image happened to say the least. It didn’t look like a particularly appetising supper anyway.
But now for the most interesting part about this particular movie for me is of course we start with the Spirit of Christmas Past but this movie really delves deep into Scrooge’s past - more so than other productions for that matter. We see him as a young boy in school and a young man. Then we see him move on to another job, meeting Jacob Marley, witnessing the end of Fezziwig’s company and witnessing the death of his sister – and that still does include his break up with his love (named Alice in this case). But if that’s not enough, we get to watch him and Jacob Marley grow old and even witness the death of Jacob Marley which saw the end of Christmas Past’s visit rather than the breakup with Alice. And this even makes up a large chunk of the movie too.
During Christmas Past’s visit – the young Scrooge is played by George Cole who certainly takes on the role very well and passes off very well as a younger Alastair Sim in my humble opinion. We see his gradual transformation from a fairly humble young man to a colder man with a lust for wealth to avoid a life of poverty and gain something more from life and not be crushed under with the weak and the infirm as he describes it. Cole really pulls this off and there is no denying that this is Ebenezer Scrooge’s backstory and we all get to see how he changed from what he was to what he became - in this instance just with extra details as we have discussed.
Christmas Past’s visit doesn’t really make him budge however but he certainly does get some thoughtful insights during the visit and then as we move on to Christmas Present, Scrooge reckons how he is too old to be changed and that Christmas Present should go to a younger man with a stronger chance of redemption than him – but yet Present is not one to turn him away. This certainly made for an interesting part of Scrooge’s character showing how it would appear even if he wanted to redeem himself he lacks the passion to go ahead. Let alone it certainly says a lot how he never really tried by himself to be a better man but it takes the ghosts’ visits in order to get him to change. And Christmas Present certainly has a stronger impact on Scrooge than Past did but of course Future really seals it for him in order to change.
Once again, things are done a little out of order in this version when the Spirit of Christmas Yet-To-Come visits. This time, Scrooge is made aware of Tiny Tim’s Death first then he sees all the other things linking to his own fate if he doesn’t change – this time starting with Old Joe and then the businessmen while it’s usually the other way around. I don’t know for sure, but perhaps this was done to fit the narrative of this story how he starts to feel uneasy after he notices a subtle clue in the sense that he’s not in his usual spot and the usual time.
Even if it is done out of order, this is brilliantly done as it shows how this Scrooge is no fool and how quickly he can latch onto something. And of course how quickly his suspicions are confirmed once he finds out it was indeed him the others were talking about. But for a definite after the spirits visit, I just love how crazy he goes with happiness that he has a second chance at life after all no matter how old he may be. It’s still hilarious how he has to calm Mrs. Dilber down and insist to her he’s not gone mad – well, not completely anyway.
And once again how easily Sim made it look going from cold, to cowering, to crazy all in the same movie and there’s just not much more to say in terms of performance other than Sim obviously gave a masterful one and once more it’s just so easy to see how he’s easily many people’s definitive version of the character. And he must have left a very long-lasting impression as jump ahead from 1951 to 1971 – not only would people have still been talking about his Scrooge, but Alastair reprised his role for a short, animated film by none-other than Richard Williams.
Williams even won an Academy Award for this short and it’s worth mentioning as not only does Sim reprise his role in this short – but this short masterfully tells the story of a Christmas Carol in the short time frame of around half an hour without making it feel rushed – that is not an easy task, but this version and Mickey Mouse’s version handled it well enough.
And now for presentation – Alastair Sim’s Scrooge is seen wearing various different outfits throughout the movie and listed below are some examples:
As per the Victorian standards he looks done up well enough usually in three-piece suits with a variety of frockcoats, waistcoats and cravats. However the first one we see him in looks a little worn and I have to say I honestly quite like this because although he has the other outfits, this may imply that Scrooge is so cheap he doesn’t bother to buy new clothes once they start wearing out although I suppose that’s what people did back then, just wearing the same clothes until they wore out and only bought new ones if they could afford them or liked them enough. Of course he has his long black overcoat and top hat when he’s outdoors but this Scrooge stands out from many colourful outfits beneath the coat. Most Scrooges will dress mostly in black but of course we’ll cover more on that later. These clothes still look so right for Scrooge and certainly showcase both his wealth as well as the cheap side of him.
So in conclusion to this side of the essay, Alastair Sim was a fantastic Scrooge, displaying pure class and gets Scrooge down to a T with no faults at all. Once more he is many people’s definitive version of the character and will continue to be for many years to come no matter how many more new adaptations get made and how many more Scrooges come along. It’s no wonder this is one particular role he is very well known for.
Candidate 2:
Name: George C. Scott
Nationality: American
Height: 6’0
First Played Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (1984)
Birthdate/Deathdate: 18th October 1927 – 22nd September 1999 – Aged 71 Years
Already things have taken an interesting turn on this list as A Christmas Carol is a story that takes place in England, yet when the 1984 production by Production Partners LTD. came along – Scrooge was played by an American – but a damn fine one at that, good ol’ George C. Scott. Scott himself was quite a renowned actor known for playing stern authority figures and had a very distinct voice. He played a few antagonistic roles but was perfectly capable for playing protagonists as well, and was also known for a certain line that reached meme status…
“You magnificent b*****d, I read your book!”
Yeah, that one. But either way, the traits he had plus the fact that I was familiar with him prior to watching, I just knew he was going to be a fabulous Scrooge and by heck he was. His portrayal of the character is one of my personal favourites. After the film’s opening credits we see him for the first time not taking much note in Bob Cratchit pointing out a sombre anniversary of Jacob Marley’s passing and already showcases Scrooge’s cheap side by expecting Bob to be fine with just clothing as a means of warmth. Scott’s version of the character is also quick to showcase how he is one of the more sadistic interpretations of Scrooge out there as when he states to Fred his feelings about Christmas – he laughs when he says they should be boiled in their own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.
And if that’s not enough, this Scrooge is every bit the ruthless businessman as this version, other than money lending also sells corn to other businessmen who make bread and during the scene at the exchange when this is acknowledged, he very quickly raises the price and warns them it’ll cost an extra 5% when it already cost 5% for the delay and won’t change his mind despite their claims leaving them little alternative but to take his corn for the unfair price. And the sadistic side still shows at the exchange as he meets the charity men there and with a smile on his face shows little care for the poor and says his famous statement about if they’d rather die, they’d better do so and decrease the surplus population much to the disgust of the charity men.
However, things get interesting as there also are some signs of a nobler side to this Scrooge. He meets Tiny Tim prior to his ghostly visits, and he could easily have turned him away all the same despite him waiting for his father, but he just leaves him to wait, telling him he’ll have a long one. And as quickly as he was to dismiss Marley and initially not believe in him, he does end up feeling sorry for him and goes as far as to ask Marley if there’s anything he can do for him. Guess he’s not entirely a bad man huh? But this side is quickly overshadowed as once Marley has gone once his visit is done and he sees all the locks and bolts done back up:
“Something I ate.”
Talk about being in denial. However, he quickly does accept that it was real as once the clock strikes one, he asks himself what was it that Marley said? Despite initially thinking it was a dream, he doesn’t deny his senses when he meets Christmas Past and a nicer side comes out when he insists to Christmas Past, he had no intention of offending her when asking her if she’d put her cap on, and willingly wants to get on with it when she tells him she speaks of his reclamation. One particularly interesting thing is that while we don’t delve as deep into Scrooge’s past as the 1951 production did – it stills delves deep enough in the sense that we see his father in this one.
From this, we find out that he was the one who got Scrooge his job at Fezziwig’s but yet only has him home for three days and still doesn’t appear to show much affection for his young son – which does seem to contradict Fan’s statement a little that he was much kinder than he used to be. But even if not for his father, during reliving his past at Fezziwig’s Scrooge wears plenty of smiles which does suggest that he enjoys a feeling of nostalgia – but how quickly it falls apart from there once he is shown his break up with Belle and interestingly enough compared to most adaptations – his past stands out as he is shown Belle with a loving husband and children around the same time as Jacob Marley’s passing.
Really makes it interesting to see what Scrooge lost as opposed to what he gained doesn’t it. During his past, a fun fact for any Doctor Who fans who may be reading this post is that young Scrooge is played by 5th Doctor companion Turlough himself Mark Strickson.
I’d personally say he has a good enough likeness and thus passes off well enough as a younger George C, Scott. These two really work off each other well showcasing how Scrooge as a younger was a man who was all for earning a fortune in order to deserve Belle yet was a careful man providing what Belle called a safe and terrible answer to what Scrooge is now, at least until his redemption is complete. As one may suspect, signs of Scrooge’s redemption really show as he watches the Cratchits have their Christmas dinner together with Christmas Present, yet he is evermore in denial as at least twice during this scene when Christmas Present asks him what he said to which he answers nothing and is quick to adapt to the old credit is due where credit is due after Bob makes a toast to him and Scrooge says how he made a point about without him there’d be no goose at all.
Modest isn’t he?
But he does equally realise how wrong he was when earlier Present used his own words against him and again later when he left him. Even so, he proves a tough nut to crack as during Christmas Yet To Come’s visit, he realises that Mrs. Dilber has stolen his things but then begins to doubt it’s him they’re on about and dismisses that they weren’t his belongings after all – just similar. But while there were subtle hints of his change showcasing along the way from his smiles as he watches a pleasant scene of nostalgia, to asking questions about if Tiny Tim will live and if there is any refuge for the poor, it is only when he wipes the gravestone and sees it was him after all does he truly break and vows to change himself for the better which although this could seem a bit shallow – I personally think it makes this redemption more well-earned and it further shows when he quickly values how happy he makes others like the carol singers, the charity men and even Fred and his wife (called Janet in this case.)
And when it’s Bob’s turn to see the redeemed Scrooge – I just love the way the camera shot is set up with Scrooge in front of the window yet he is shrouded in shadow which comes across as a rather intimidating image and then once he moves to his desk we can clearly see him again which could be seen as a symbol for the change in his heart.
See what I mean? But in general, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed in Scott’s take on the character. He played it most brilliantly as a ruthless Scrooge with a sadistic side who despite spending a lot of time with the ghosts in denial, we still see his slow but gradual change. His voice worked perfectly for any time Scrooge spoke soft and dangerous and any time he had to shout. But you might be wondering despite being American, how does he do at a British accent? Well, I’ll be frank – it’s certainly not a bad attempt of his but there are times where the American accent slips back in. But despite this – he is still one amazing Scrooge, and he was just perfect for this role. To add onto the many positives, I have for this Scrooge, he is very well presented to.
Once again accurately replicating the appropriate time period, like I was saying earlier about the shadows, once again a visual representation of Scrooge’s redemption could be seen by him wearing mostly black when we first see him and going for light colours like navy blue and a red waistcoat and a lighter cravat showing the change in him. A long black coat accompanies him out in the cold and while he carries a cane, interestingly enough he often just walks carrying it, not so much as a walking stick and when he sees Tiny Tim at the end of the movie he doesn’t have it on him at all – could this suggest that he didn’t actually need one and that he would only carry it so he could hit things and people with it? Or could it just be an accessory like a cane was often for a gentleman in the past? We don’t know for sure, but I love it.
George C. Scott was a perfect Scrooge for this production and this version will always be one of my all-time favourite versions. I highly recommend checking the 1984 version out if you can find it anywhere – it’s a faithful adaptation of the classic story but has a lot of original parts about it which makes it unique amongst the rest and has one of my very favourite Scrooges to boot. And this version really left its mark as the gravestone that was used during the graveyard scene, it still says Ebenezer Scrooge on it to this day and can be seen in the Churchyard of St. Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury.
Like so. Makes for quite a sight doesn’t it? Having a fictional character’s name on a tombstone in a real Churchyard...
To be continued in Part 2...
Both Sim and Scott had this way of finding subtlety in playing Scrooge. I love the disgust that Sim has in his face, and how Scott chuckles the first time we hear him say “Humbug.” George C. Scott makes the word sound all the more genuine, he’s one of my favorite versions of Scrooge. ^^