| Title | Christmas Carol Movies, Stave II: A Christmas |
| Author | Chris Hornbostel |
| Posted in | Movie reviews |
| When | December 16, 2019 |
My own natural inclination in film appreciation is an almost knee-jerk mistrust of mainstream Hollywood. I associate the movie business – particularly when the studio system reigned supreme – with making films as product…
When I was a kid, this version was shown on TV a lot, but in the past few decades it’s been pretty thoroughly supplanted on broadcast TV by the Alastair Sim version.
Yeah, I think for a while they were a both on every holiday through the 50’s and 60’s, but eventually the 1951 Alastair Sim adaptation became the choice of that generation.
Oh, and kind of a neat thing: Mr and Mrs Cratchit in this version were played by real life married couple Gene and Kathleen Lockhart.
And making her screen debut was the Lockhart’s daughter, June, as Belinda Cratchit, one of the daughters. Years before June Lockhart played the mom in Lost In Space.
Quite similar to today.
Great review!
And about a decade before Gene played the judge in another Christmas classic: Miracle on 34th Street.
Is this one available on streaming anywhere?
It looks like it’s a rent/buy thing unless you already get Turner Classic Movies via cable, then you can stream it from TCM.com
Anyone seen this TV movie?
Shouldn’t this title page have “Carol” appended to it? “A Christmas” is a little too generic…
I’m hoping Mr. Magoo’s Christmas makes a surprise appearance!
It sort of will, actually. I have a newfound affection for it.
I loved the Mr. Magoo version when I was a kid. It stroked my goose.
Got to see the Reginald Owen version the other day, for the first time after many decades, and this review is spot on.