A Christmas Carol is a 1938 MGM picture adaptation of the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.
Synopsis[]
On Christmas Eve, an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner, Jacob Marley. The deceased partner was in his lifetime as mean and miserly as Scrooge is now and he warns him to change his ways or face the consequences in the afterlife.
Scrooge dismisses the apparition but the first of the three spirits, the Spirit of Christmas Past, visits as promised. Scrooge sees those events in his past life, both happy and sad, that forged his character. The second spirit, the Spirit of Christmas Present, shows him how many currently celebrate Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come shows him how he will be remembered once he is gone.
To his delight, the spirits complete their visits in one night giving him the opportunity to mend his ways.
Availability[]
In 1988, MGM/UA Home Video and Turner Entertainment released A Christmas Carol on VHS to celebrate its 50th anniversary, for the first time in a colorized version, and later on Laserdisc in 1990. The colorized version was released on VHS again by Warner Home Video in 2000. The original black-and-white version was released on DVD on November 8, 2005. It was also featured in a "Classic Holiday Collection" box set alongside Boys Town and Christmas in Connecticut, released on the same day. A Blu-ray release came out on November 11, 2014.
Cast[]
| Actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Reginald Owen | Ebenezer Scrooge (adult) |
| Ronald Sinclair | Ebenezer Scrooge (young) |
| Gene Lockhart | Bob Cratchit |
| Kathleen Lockhart | Mrs. Cratchit |
| Terry Kilburn | Tiny Tim |
| Barry Mackay | Fred |
| Lynne Carver | Bess |
| Leo G. Carroll | Marley's Ghost |
| Lionel Braham | Spirit of Christmas Present |
| Ann Rutherford | Spirit of Christmas Past |
| D'Arcy Corrigan | Spirit of Christmas Future |
| Uncredited actresses/actors | |
| Bunny Beatty | Martha Cratchit |
| Frank Benson | |
| Billy Bevan | Street Watch Leader |
| Ted Billings I. Stanford Jolley |
Men on Sidewalk |
| Matthew Boulton Charles Coleman |
Charity Solicitors |
| Bob Carey | |
| St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers | Carolers - 'Adeste Fidelis' |
| Richard Clucas | |
| Harry Cording | Waiter |
| Richard Deane | Handsome Boy |
| David Dunbar | |
| Herbert Evans | |
| Gertrude Geyer | Slim Girl at Fred's party |
| Douglas Gordon | |
| Donald Hainey | |
| Lumsden Hare Boyd Irwin William Stack |
Men discussing Scrooge's funeral |
| Hugh Harrison | Tom |
| Forrester Harvey | Old Fezziwig |
| Harold Hensen | Jack |
| Halliwell Hobbes | Clergyman sliding on sidewalk |
| Olaf Hytten | Schoolmaster |
| Bill James | |
| Tiny Jones | Woman encouraging Fred to slide |
| Muriel Kearney | Cratchit's Daughter |
| Colin Kenny | |
| Crauford Kent | Scrooge's Tall Business Associate |
| George Kirby | Goose-Seller |
| Maude Leslie | Bess's Mother |
| Norma Leslie | Plump Girl at Fred's Party |
| June Lockhart | Belinda Cratchit |
| William Martin | Cratchit's Middle Son |
| John O'Day | Peter Cratchit |
| Charles Peck | Dick Wilkins |
| John Rogers | Chestnut Vendor |
| Clifford Severn | Boy buying Scrooge's Christmas turkey |
| Renee Shearing | Fred's Maid |
| Ira Stevens | Fan Scrooge |
| James Stevens | Fat Man at Fred's Party |
| Doris Stone | Pretty Girl at Fred's Party |
| Monte Vandergrift | Drunk |
| Delmar Watson | Snowballer in Gang |
| Eric Wilton | Scrooge's Short Business Associate |