CHRISTMAS CAROL, A {GEORGE C. SCOTT} (TV)
Summary
A television movie adaptation of the novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.
The story begins on Christmas Eve in mid-19th Century London, where the notorious miser Ebenezer Scrooge runs a bank and acts cruelly to everyone, including his loyal clerk Bob Cratchit. His business partner and last friend, Jacob Marley, died seven years ago. Scrooge is visited by his nephew Fred, who tries to infuse his uncle with Christmas spirit, although Scrooge will have none of it. Fred invites Scrooge to his Christmas party the next day, but Scrooge refuses and throws him out of his office. Scrooge visits the exchange to carry out several business deals, and he is approached by a pair of solicitors looking for him to donate to charity to aid the poor, but Scrooge coldly refuses them. Cratchit brings his crippled son Tiny Tim home, and he expresses a hope that one day he will be able to run and play like other children.
On his way home, Scrooge hears a strange voice calling his name. He believes he sees Marley’s face in his door knocker, but quickly dismisses this vision. However, he continues to hear voices, and soon the ghost of Marley appears before him clad in heavy chains. Scrooge does not believe the ghost exists, but is frightened into believing otherwise. The ghost explains that he is being punished for his lack of empathy in and failure to think of anything other than wealth, and is now forced to carry his chains and ceaselessly wander the earth. He explains that he has been sent to offer Scrooge a chance to change his ways and avoid the same fate, and to that end he will be visited by three ghosts. Marley’s ghost departs, and Scrooge dismisses the entire encounter.
That night, while he is in bed, Scrooge is visited by the first of the three ghosts, a woman calling herself the Ghost of Christmas Past. Scrooge accompanies her as she transports him into the past to show him his own boyhood in boarding school. All the other children go home for Christmas, but the young Scrooge is left alone and forlorn. Scrooge recounts that his mother died giving birth to him, and that his father has hated him for it ever since. The ghost shows Scrooge a later Christmas, when his sister Fan came to school to bring him home, explaining that their father’s enmity towards Scrooge has lessened over the years. However, they meet their father outside, and he is quite terse with Scrooge, explaining that he will be home only for a few days before starting his apprenticeship with the shopkeeper Fezziwig. The elder Scrooge recounts that Fan eventually died giving birth to Fred, her only child.
Next the ghost shows Scrooge a scene from his apprenticeship with Fezziwig, as Fezziwig throws a cheerful Christmas party for his family, friends, and employees. The elder Scrooge is beside himself when he sees Belle, the love of his life, at the party as well. The younger Scrooge dances with Belle at the party, the two of them clearly in love. He vows to marry Belle when he has become rich and is “deserving” of her, but the ghost shows the elder Scrooge another Christmas a few years later, where he meets with Belle on a park bench. Belle tells Scrooge that she has realized that his desire for money has overshadowed his love for her, and that he no longer cares for her as he once did. She breaks off their engagement and walks off; the elder Scrooge seems to express regret that he did not go after her. The ghost shows Scrooge that Belle went off and married another man, started a family, and became quite happy. Belle and her husband discuss Scrooge’s situation, calling him “wretched,” and the Scrooge tells the spirit that he has no need of her pity. He yells at the ghost to leave him and she deposits him back in his bedroom in the present day, repeating the phrase “truth lives” again and again.
Later, Scrooge is awoken again by a voice calling his name, and he notices a bright glow coming from beyond the door. He opens it and encounters an enormous man in festive garb surrounded by a great banquet of all manner of food, the Ghost of Christmas Present. At the spirit’s instruction, Scrooge touches his robe and they are transported to the streets of London on Christmas morning. They go together to the Cratchit household, where Mrs. Cratchit prepares Christmas dinner for the family. Bob arrives with Tiny Tim from church; Scrooge is surprised that Cratchit has such a large family, believing he does not make enough money to support them. Bob tells his son Peter that he and Fred have arranged for him to get an apprenticeship and start earning a little money. The family excitedly sits down to dinner, and Scrooge is concerned that their meal is too meager to be sufficient. He asks about Tiny Tim, and the ghost predicts that he will not live to see the following Christmas “if these shadows remain unaltered,” using Scrooge’s own words against him. When Bob proposes a toast to Scrooge, his wife decries Scrooge for being “stingy” and cruel to Bob, but she reluctantly participates in the toast. Scrooge is unmoved by what he has seen, believing that he has been ultimately beneficial to the Cratchit family.
Scrooge is transported by the ghost to Fred’s Christmas party, where he and his guests discuss his earlier encounter with Scrooge. Most at the party mock Scrooge, but Fred takes pity on him and explains that his mother loved Scrooge while she was still alive. Fred vows to keep attempting to bond with Scrooge despite his animosity. The party engages in party games, although Scrooge does not share in their merriment. The ghost then takes Scrooge to see a band of homeless people huddling for warmth in a tunnel. One family debates amongst itself about going to the poorhouse, but they do not want to be separated, and there are no jobs available. Scrooge is confused by this visitation and the ghost opens his robe, revealing a pair of malnourished children beneath. The ghost explains that they are named Ignorance and Want, and that Scrooge must be wary of them. He then disappears in a flash of light, leaving Scrooge alone in the tunnel. He pleads to be able to speak to the spirit again, but receives no answer.
Out from the distance the final spirit emerges, a tall faceless figure covered by a black robe. Scrooge reasons that this is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and that he is to be shown the future. Scrooge is frightened, but accompanies the ghost and is taken to the exchange, where a group of businessmen casually discuss Scrooge’s death without any emotional attachment. He is then shown his own dead body wrapped up in his bed sheets, but he is too frightened to uncover it. Scrooge insists that someone must feel some kind of emotion towards his death and demands that the spirit show him any such people. Instead the spirit takes Scrooge through a wretched part of town and is shown thieves selling off Scrooge’s possessions, stolen from his room following his death. Scrooge insists that he be shown “tenderness” associated with his death, and is brought back to the Cratchit household as family mourns the death of Tiny Tim. Scrooge is satisfied by this and asks to be taken home, but instead he is transported to a graveyard, where he sees his own neglected gravestone. He wonders aloud if what the ghost has shown him will actually come to pass, and whether he can alter his own destiny if he changes his actions. He becomes emotional and begs to be given the chance to change, asserting that he will embrace the spirit of Christmas and become a better person.
Suddenly Scrooge awakens in his bed, and he is overjoyed to be alive and home. He discovers that it is Christmas morning and immediately sets about making amends. He purchases a large turkey for the Cratchit family, gives generously to charity, and decides to attend Fred’s Christmas party, where he is heartily welcomed. He also takes the opportunity to introduce himself to Fred’s wife and apologize for his earlier dismissal of him. The next day, Scrooge greets Bob at work and gives him a substantial pay raise, hoping to help him support his family. Scrooge’s change of heart takes hold and he becomes a better man and a caring, giving person. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: December 17, 1984 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:41:01
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 109083
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert E. Fuisz … Executive Producer
- William F. Storke … Producer
- Alfred R. Kelman … Producer
- Clive Donner … Director
- Roger O. Hirson … Writer
- Charles Dickens … Based on the novel by
- Nick Bicât … Music by, Lyrics
- Tony Bicât … Lyrics
- Tony Britten … Conductor
- Eleanor Fazan … Choreographer
- George C. Scott … Cast, Ebenezer Scrooge
- Nigel Davenport … Cast, Silas Scrooge
- Frank Finlay … Cast, Marley's Ghost
- Lucy Gutteridge … Cast, Belle
- Angela Pleasence … Cast, Ghost of Christmas Past
- Roger Rees … Cast, Fred Holywell
- David Warner … Cast, Bob Cratchit
- Edward Woodward … Cast, Ghost of Christmas Present
- Susannah York … Cast, Mrs. Cratchit
- Timothy Bateson … Cast, Mr. Fezziwig
- Derek Francis … Cast, Pemberton
- Michael Gough … Cast, Mr. Poole
- Caroline Langrishe … Cast, Janet Holywell
- John Quarmby … Cast, Mr. Harking
- John Sharp … Cast, Tipton
- Joanne Whalley … Cast, Fan
- Peter Woodthorpe … Cast, Old Joe
- Anthony Walters … Cast, Tiny Tim
- Michael Carter … Cast, Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
- Mark Strickson … Cast, Young Scrooge
- Liz Smith … Cast, Mrs. Dilber
- Danny Davies … Cast, Forbush
- Brian Pettifer … Cast, Ben
- Catherine Hall … Cast, Meg
- Peter Settelen … Cast, Belle's Husband
- Pat Rose … Cast, Mrs. Fezziwig
- Joe Blatchley … Cast, George
- Gavin Asher … Cast, Alfred
- Rebecca Burrill … Cast, Anne
- Cathryn Harrison … Cast, Kate
- Daniel Chatto … Cast, William
- Tim Munro … Cast, Mr. Topper
- Alan Bodenham … Cast, Poulterer
- Spencer Banks … Cast, Dick Wilkins
- Louise Gasser … Cast, Martha
- Kieron Hughes … Cast, Peter Cratchit
- Sasha Wells … Cast, Belinda Cratchit
- Orlando Wells … Cast, Little Boy Cratchit
- Nancy Dodds … Cast, Little Girl Cratchit
- Ian Giles … Cast, Boy who gets Turkey