The Case of a Christmas Carol(s)

On the 175th anniversary of "A Christmas Carol," Adam, Marci, and Robin discuss the many film versions of this Christmas classic. What makes this old tale of redemption so compelling?

In our special Christmas episode, we discuss one of the most iconic Christmas stories. Grab a cup of tea (or a glass of wine) and settle in with us as we ask why this story has remained on top after 175 years.

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A brief history:

• A Christmas Carol was published December 19, 1843 (Exactly 175 years before this blog post)
• The first depiction of the story on film was in 1901, when film was in its infancy
• The most famous silent film version was 1913
• More film versions came out in later years including: "Scrooge" In 1951, "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" in 1962, "The Stingiest Man in Town" in 1978, "A Christmas Carol," starring George C. Scott in 1984, "A Muppet Christmas Carol," in 1992, and "A Christmas Carol" Starring Patrick Stewart in 1999.

Films Mentioned:

• The two films we mentioned that we didn't include were: Rod Sterling's Carol for Another Christmas in 1964, and The Passions of Carol (NSFW) in 1975
• A Christmas Carol (1913) and A Christmas Carol (1935) both starred legendary British Actor Seymour Hicks. Hicks claimed to have played Scrooge in over 2000 productions. The 1935 film was the first talkie film adaptation.
• The Stingiest Man in Town (1956) was a one hour television episode for The Alcoa Hour. An animated remake of the same name premiered on television in 1978.
• Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962) was the first animated Christmas program produced specifically for TV. It was also the first animated adaptation of the novel.
• A Christmas Carol (1984) This made for TV adaptation stars George C. Scott (Patton). Robin names this as her favorite adaptation
• Scrooged (1988) The "modern" take on the classic story stars Bill Murray and Karen Allen.
• A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) This musical adaptation was the first major muppet project after the death of Jim Henson. It stars Michael Caine and was directed by Brian Henson. Marci and Adam name this as their favorite version
• A Christmas Carol (1999) Patrick Stewart stars in this British-American TV movie.
• A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) This TV movie is an adaptation of the 1994 broadway musical; music by Alan Menkin (The Little Mermaid) and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (Once on this Island). Robin mentions this as another favorite. The soundtrack is available for listening on Spotify. 
• A Christmas Carol (2009) This animated version was directed by Robert Zemekis and used motion capture technology. It starred Jim Carey and Gary Oldman.

  References:

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/719040%7C0/Scrooge.html

https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/editorial/charles-dickens-timeline

https://www.dickenslondontours.co.uk/a-christmas-carol-films.htm

Ending song credit: Jingle Bells Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/