In the past, I’ve pointed out some examples of A Christmas Carol with short runtimes as examples of how a good, traditional version can be done.  The 1949 U.S. television special is the example from the other end of spectrum: it’s bad.

This was an obscure version to me when I first came across this version more than about 30 years ago when it was first put in VHS. I purchased it on the spot. Knowing nothing of this version at the time, I thought I hit a goldmine. The most information provided on the plastic wrapped VHS case was that it was A Christmas Carol and Vincent Price was billed on the box. An obscure TV version of A Christmas Carol and Vincent Price? “Too cool!” I thought. I probably anticipated too much from it, setting myself up for a letdown.  (A small scan of what my original VHS looked like is on the right.)

There are a couple of oddities that stand out from the start:

• It replaced the “A” with “The” in the title calling it The Christmas Carol. 
• The misspelling of Scrooge’s name as Ebeneezer with an extra “e.”

My opinion remains unchanged – the most this watered-down, half-hour version has going for it is Vincent Price as the narrator! Not only is there an introduction where Price begins to narrate the story from the novella, we get to see him reading from the text between scenes, not always mere voice-over. Very personally, a bright spot here is Price quoting G.K. Chesterton in the introduction!

Attempting A Christmas Carol

Most of the remaining cast is mediocre. Taylor Holmes plays Scrooge. With an extensive list of supporting credits, Holmes was an experienced stage and film actor; I’ve always found him recognizable in a number of his supporting film roles (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). I may appear harsh, but this performance could be used to confirm why Mr. Holmes never seemed to move beyond small, supporting roles in films. He plays Scrooge with an American accent. He overacts his horror at Marley. He’s weakest near the end of the story as the reformed Scrooge. There is nothing that feels like enthusiasm but more like silliness. Whenever I watch this I get the impression of someone who can’t wait for what he is doing to be over and is simply going through the motions.  I remember when a friend once viewed it with me and more than once he laughed at Holmes’ strange emoting and expressions.

The cast performs most of the other roles with American accents. There are a few attempts to sound English by some performers and at least one actress that actually is English.

Most of the characters are fairly traditional but bland.   The biggest stinkers all-around are the three spirits.  The Ghost of Christmas Past’s robe looks like a sheet thrown into some semblance of a costume. They visit Scrooge’s school, but Belle and other past events are only quickly described.  This has the worst envisioning of the Ghost of Christmas Present in a conventional portrayal.  The costume is horrible.  The Ghost is one of few that is beardless in a traditional rendering and the acting is very poor.

A Nice Exception

I’ll make a small note of interest here to Queenie Leonard, the actress playing Mrs. Cratchit. She was an English born actress and cabaret performer, hence the authentic accent. She had a very respectable and varied career as a performer. This wouldn’t be the first time she played Mrs. Cratchit in a television production. She would later play the role in the 1954 musical television version of A Christmas Carol.

After Vincent Price, what I personally like in this production is the inclusion of the Mitchell Choirboys. The production uses their singing throughout the story, helping to keep it from being a total bore. This professional boys choir had a long and extensive list of credits during their existence from 1934 – 2000. There is still a modest web page about them.

Before they were famous

Actress Jill St. John, best known for being a “Bond girl,” made her juvenile debut as one of the Cratchit children in this presentation. She is billed as “Jill Oppenheim.”