Scrooge (1935)

You won't be disappointed!

The Worst Film Ever

Crappy film

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Apologies to Variety for borrowing their headline (Styx Nix Hix Pix: a reference to cinema patrons in rural America objecting to the way they were portrayed by Hollywood) and adapting it to include the star of this film (Sir) Seymour Hicks. Primarily a man of the theatre this was his most famous role and he played it several times including this, the first 'talkie' version of the old war-horse. For the time it presents a solid adaptation and although it is structured around Hicks the rest of the cast are all up to snuff. Several reviewers here have expressed surprise that rather than end with Tiny Tim's verging-on-immortal @God bless us, everyone' the film ends with Scrooge taking a pew next to Bob Cratchit in church and joining him in a rendition of Hark, The Herald Angels Sing. That, however, may be splitting hairs.

Seymour Hicks is unparalleled in so far in his portrayal of a Victorian miser, and tyrannical employer and is rightly the central focus of the film as C.D's would have desired a dark and sobering tale.I also think the Bob Cratchitt Character is a much more accurate representation of a cowed,lowly clerk in an era without Social Security for the employed and the possibility of being let go at a moment's notice with all the possible subsequent financial and domestic disaster that may ensue.Other Characters, I haven't comment d on so you should draw your own conclusions...

A long way from the best version by all means, the Alastair Sim and George C. Scott films are the definitive versions as adaptations and as stand alones. It's not the worst either, that dishonour goes to the 2001 animated film. It is interesting historically for being the first non-silent version as well as being one of the earliest, but for all the rather big flaws Scrooge(1935) has it is worth watching for more than just historical interest.I did find that there was a lot wrong with Scrooge. The camera work is rather static and could have been much more expansive, giving the film a stage-bound look sometimes. The music score is not bad-sounding at all, in fact it is quite nice and captures the Christmas spirit very well, the problem is that it is too intrusive making some of the dialogue not as audible as it could have done. While Scrooge isn't interminably dull as such, there was some padding that could have been shortened or left out entirely, there was a preparation for a feast scene that was one of the better-looking scenes of the film but took too long and was rather unnecessary. And unfortunately the ghosts were disappointing; the best special effect is the subtle and quite creepy one of Jacob Marley's ghostly face appearing on the door-knocker. The Marley scene did disappoint to some extent, the scene is too brief and does lack tension and Marley being just a disembodied voice looked strange and felt it too, the dialogue is good and though and Marley himself is beautifully voiced(such a shame the actor, sounding eerily like Claude Rains, is uncredited). Ghost of Christmas Past is just a blur and here Scrooge's past is very underdeveloped to the extent that it seems like Scrooge always was a miser(we are never shown why Scrooge resents his nephew Fred so much), making his redemption less believable. Just as bad is Ghost of Christmas Future, who is little more than a shadow on the wall who does very little other than point. Only Ghost of Christmas Present is seen properly and has proper screen time and his portrayal by Oscar Asche is a mixed bag, Asche does have some entertaining moments, but his portrayal is rather too slovenly(more Falstaff than Ghost of Christmas Present) and was in need of more robustness, at other points he also over-compensates.From the sounds of it it sounds like Scrooge is a bad film but it doesn't, just badly flawed. Scrooge does have many good merits. The best being Seymour Hicks's Scrooge, who is delightful as the character. Scrooge as a miser has rarely been scarier on film, and in an effective way, yet his redemption was quite charmingly done. Donald Calthrop gives one of the better portrayals of Bob Cratchit, cheerful and humble but under the smile there was a real fragility that Calthrop shows poignantly. It was nice to see more of Fred and Robert Cochran is most amusing, always with a cheerful air, even when his uncle resents him as much as he does. Phillip Frost is a cute and moving Tiny Tim. The Cratchit scene(s) have a danger of being overly-sentimental, here they were heart-warming and bring a tear to the eye, anybody can see how much they love each other as a family and can identify with it. One scene really stood out in Scrooge which was with Tiny Tim dead, with his body interestingly being shown, and Bob at his side, it is a heart-breaking scene and Calthrop's acting is part of the reason. The dialogue is very faithful to the book, some scenes almost word for word, and is great dialogue on its own. The story- which has always been one of my all time favourites- is also adapted reasonably faithfully, though with some omissions(mostly with Scrooge's past) and additions, and captures the spirit of the book and of Christmas very well. While the camera work and special effects were left wanting, the costumes and sets are actually very evocative and there's effective use of shadowy lighting.Overall, from a historical perspective Scrooge is very interesting and while there is a lot wrong with it it is an acceptable version that also does a lot right. 6/10 Bethany Cox

There are many films that have been made over the years of the classic Charles Dickens story about the miserly Scrooge and his miraculous transformation on Christmas Eve. This 1935 British version has quite an antique feel to it, especially when compared to the 1951 Alastair Sim film. This film moves quickly, but still faithfully portrays Dicken's tale adequately. Sir Seymour Hicks transfers precisely Dicken's portrait of the cantankerous old penny-pincher, who reforms after the visitations of four ghosts and guarantees a bright future for Tiny Tim and all the Cratchit family. I quite enjoyed Donald Calthorp's portrayal of Bob Cratchit, bringing dignity, patience and the gentleness of the man, whether at home with is loving family or in the cold cruel office of Scrooge & Marley, and finally bravely dealing with Tiny Tim's death in the ghost-vision scene being observed by Scrooge. As I previously stated the film has an antique feel, partially due to it's age and by technical standards it is not perfect. Nonetheless this " Scrooge " has it's own charms, is finely played, and carries on at a pace which nicely conserves the Dickensian's classic Christmas story. If you are very fond of early films, and A Christmas Carol, you may find this version entertaining and interesting.