By TESS HENSON

I have read that it is an old tradition in the British Isles, to sit around the fire of a Christmas Eve and tell ghost stories. Why ghost stories? Well, perhaps it was to ensure that the children would stay tucked in their beds at night for fear of encountering the roaming spirits, so that St. Nicholas in his various personages could safely place the presents under the tree unseen.

Other phantasmagorial images are associated with the holiday as well--faeries, elves, wooden nutcrackers that are imbued with life, and a rather large man who shimmies down chimneys in the middle of the night and who is born aloft by enchanted, flying reindeer. It is of my opinion that Christmas is even more magical in its roots than Halloween--the holiday we most associate with magical goings on, and there is nothing more magical than the softening of a hardened heart. Perhaps Charles Dickens himself was influenced as a child by tales of ghostly visitors that he heard on those Eves, and was inspired to write A Christmas Carol, a tale that has elements of horror as well as holiday cheer.

We all know the story--a miserly man who has disowned his family and has no friends, is visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve, and through them is given a shot at redemption that will not only save his life, but those around him. Sounds pretty tame, huh? Well, I am a firm believer that there is a little Scrooge in each of us, and there is no greater fear than to have our past, present and possible future shown to us in a less than flattering light. Sometimes we need a good shaking up to realize that the concept of the Golden Rule is still a viable one in this day and age, and that if we all abided by it just a little bit maybe we would all be just a little bit happier. No other film version of Charles Dickens’ classic cautionary tale explores this fact better than the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol (a.k.a. Scrooge).

I know you have all probably seen this film many times, so I'm not going to go into any detailed plot description. Instead, I’m going to touch on the aspects of this film that I found particularly moving and important. First and foremost of all is the superb performance of Alastair Sim as Scrooge.

I have seen the George C. Scott and the Patrick Stewart versions of this film, and I would have to say that Sim, above the others, is the quintessential Scrooge. There is more pathos surrounding his character here, and he is much more convincing as a cruel, heartless and uncaring man than in the other two actor’s portrayals. When he is redeemed, Sim portrays the metamorphosis with much more maddening, giddy joy--much like the Scrooge in the original story--than the more reserved changes of Scott’s and Stewart’s portrayals. Sim has a visage that can change drastically; his menacing, sour face shows us a man who rarely smiles, and who can only take happiness in being left alone while his beaming smile and dancing eyes shows us a man who has finally embraced life with all his love. It is his face that evokes that empathy within us while watching his portrayal--neither Scott or Stewart can make me cry in their performances, Sim never fails to bring a few tears to my eyes in his.

The change progresses further with the appearance of the Spirit Of Christmas Past. This Christ-like ghost, who speaks in biblical intonations, shows Scrooge the loneliness of his past – his abandonment at school and his affection for his sister Fan, who seems to be the only person who cares for him. Scrooge has been estranged from his father because his mother died while giving him birth, and his father blames him for her death. However, one year Fan comes to his rescue at the school – taking him home finally for the holidays, stating that his father has had a change of heart. She is nearly too late in saving him though, for he has already begun construction on the emotional wall that will become a stone fortress around his heart in the future.

But before that happens, we see a young Scrooge who is still open to the possibility of happiness. He has a great fondness for his employer, Mr. Fezziwig, and it warms the viewer’s heart to see Sim as Scrooge smiling and tapping his feet to a reel as the spirit shows him a happy scene from his past. The spirit shows him that he also knew how to love, as he sees his young self with a sweetheart named Alice professing their love to one another despite their prospective penniless futures. But the wheels of time turn, and eventually the bad occasions must balance out the good.

When the spirit shows Scrooge his sister’s deathbed, we begin to maybe understand a little why Scrooge becomes the man he is. The spirit reminds him that even though Fan was always frail, she had a large heart. The spirit reminds him that she has a child, Scrooge’s nephew. Scrooge acknowledges that, but also states that she died giving birth to him. Scrooge blames his nephew for his dear sister’s death, just as his father blamed him for his mother’s demise.

Eventually, even Alice calls off their engagement, claiming that he has another idol now--money. He has defected from Mr. Fezziwig’s employment, and has joined another, more prosperous firm, and has earned a newfound greed for gold and silver. In an earlier scene, before the ghostly visitations, we see Scrooge at a restaurant having dinner. He asks for more bread and is told that it will cost him extra. He then declines to have the extra bread. Not only does his obsession with money make him miserly to others, he is miserly to himself. So, Scrooge has lost everything that he has ever cared about, and even though he has become a hard man, we still have some sympathy for him.

As I have stated before, the Spirit Of Christmas Past is clearly meant to be a Christ-like figure – embodying the Christian sentiments of the holiday and speaking in biblical verse. With the appearance of the Spirit Of Christmas Present, we encounter the Pagan aspect of the holiday, Yule, with the spirit representing the ruling entity of the waning year, The Holly King. He is robust and jolly, sporting a wreath of holly atop his head and dressed in a warm, thick robe. However, even though the spirit himself is not so frightful, the visions he reveals to Scrooge are quite frightening. He shows Scrooge that even though the poor and downtrodden don’t have much to be thankful for, they are still hopeful and keep Christmas in their hearts.

We see the Cratchit family, celebrating the hopeful health of Tiny Tim with not one, but two helpings each of warm Gin punch. We see them looking forward to the pudding that will be served for Christmas dinner that Mrs. Cratchit has made mostly of flour, because other ingredients could not be afforded. It bothers them not, as they claim it will be the best pudding in all of London. And lastly, we see Bob Cratchit toasting to Scrooge, because he is the benefactor of their meager meal. Even through the family’s protestations he reminds them that it is Christmas--a time to think of someone other than yourself. And we see the frail Tiny Tim blessing us all. Scrooge is moved by the small, invalid boy, and asks the spirit if he will live. The spirit tells him he sees a vacant stool and a lonely crutch by the fireplace, and that if this present continues on it’s current course, that will be the outcome. Scrooge, in his metamorphosis, is greatly disturbed by this.

The spirit then shows Scrooge his nephew’s house. Much merry-making is going on as it is Christmas Eve, and again, Scrooge is toasted--however, this time it is more because his nephew feels sorry for him than anything else. The spirit then shows him his young and only love, Alice, who is now working in a homeless shelter, giving joy to people who are much less fortunate than her. This also moves Scrooge, but he begins to protest, saying to the spirit that he is too old to change and set in his ways. The spirit, who up to this point has been in good cheer, shows him two nearly naked, starving children who have been hiding in his robes. He tells Scrooge that the boy is Ignorance and the girl is Want, and that he needs to pay particular attention to the boy if he is to change his future in any way.

As Scrooge runs from the Spirit Of Christmas Present and his waifish, terrifying children, he is stopped by an ominous being in a black robe--the Spirit Of Christmas Future. Unlike many interpretations, I do not think that this spirit represents Death. I believe it evokes the very nature of the future…that for the most part, it is a dark shadowy void, where much is still formless and without color or scope. In that respect, this apparition represents a future that is both grim and hopeful, depending on the choices made. Scrooge is understandably frightened more by this apparition than any of the others because of its silent, intimidating cause. It is here to show Scrooge the inevitable future if he does not change his ways. With Scrooge, we visit the Cratchit family again, this time grieving over the loss of Tiny Tim.

We also see Scrooge’s maid, Mr. Stretch the undertaker, and Old Joe a local merchant, haggling over what seem to be Scrooge’s belongings after he has died, the three of them cackling away and saying nasty things about him. Several businessmen at a local establishment that Scrooge frequents talking about his funeral, one stating that he will only attend if there will be food served. As horrifying as all this is, the worst is yet to come.

Scrooge is taken to a dark and desolate graveyard. The atmosphere in this scene really invokes the gothic horror tradition. It is truly creepy and unsettling. There, the spirit shows him his own gravestone. This ultimate shock, this final epiphany, provokes Scrooge into a complete metamorphosis. He begs the spirit to give him another chance and that he is indeed a changed man. In this way, the spirit has shown him the inevitable: he will die, but how will he die? Will he die alone without having known the love of friends and family, or will he die as a well-loved and respected benefactor? Let’s face it, we all die--but how will we be remembered? It’s our choice…and sometimes our choice can lead to horrible results.

Scrooge wakes from his seeming nightmare on Christmas morn, and is stunned that he is still alive. It is here that Sim delivers some of his best performances of the film. At first, there is disbelief that he is not dead, and then there is pure, rapturous joy as he understands that he is not only alive, but also a changed man. As his maid looks on in horror, he laughs, dances and in a sublimely funny scene, attempts a headstand on a chair: "I must stand on my head!". It is at this point that the maid is nearly scared to death, thinking that her employer has completely lost his mind, and runs screaming hysterically from the bedchamber. Scrooge chases her down and accosts her on the stairwell, laying a pence in her hand and telling her to buy a present for herself. He then raises her salary from 2 to 10 shillings a week and sends her off to enjoy the day.

Scrooge throws open the windows and in his giddiness, calls down to a boy on the street to fetch him the butcher so he can send a huge goose to the Cratchit family for Christmas dinner. In the best, and most poignant scene, we see Scrooge knocking hesitantly on his nephew’s door. The maid lets him in, and as he prepares to enter the main room where all the merry-making is taking place, looks back to her for encouragement. She inclines her head and smiles sweetly at him, encouraging him. Once inside, there is silence for a moment as the singing stops as most of the people are shocked to find him there. He asks for forgiveness from his nephew and his nephew’s wife, and like all unconditional relationships, is forgiven and embraced warmly into the family again. It is a scene that would warm even the coldest heart--and perhaps my favorite of the entire film.

The next day, Scrooge bustles to make it into the office before Bob Cratchit, as he has a surprise in store for him. When Cratchit comes in, a few minutes late, Scrooge accosts him and calls him into his office. Cratchit, of course, is thinking the worst – that he will be fired for his infraction. Instead, in a moment of pure brilliance, Scrooge gives him a raise instead, and tells him that he would like to help him raise his family.

Scrooge cannot hide his glee in performing this good deed, and Sim once again shines in the role as his face takes on various forms of nearly mad joy as he cackles about Cratchit’s good fortune. He says, "I don’t deserve to be so happy…but I can’t help it!" Then he is lost in another laughing fit. As the film closes, the narrator tells us that Scrooge performed better than his word to the spirits, becoming a good friend and master to all. Because of his good will, Tiny Tim recovers and Scrooge becomes a second father to him. Not only is Tiny Tim saved, but the Spirits Of Christmas and Jacob Marley’s ghost are also saved from the Well of Lament because they were successful in interfering for the good in Scrooge’s manage. All’s well that ends well.

Even though Alastair Sim is by far the best actor in this film, there are a couple of other actors who are worth mentioning, mainly because they dipped their fingers into genre of horror. After all, no other film plays up the horror aspects of the story as strongly as this version, and the presence of two actors with horror film credits is most apropos. Mr. Stretch, the undertaker, is played with great aplomb by Ernest Thesiger, who is known for his roles in such horror classics as The Old Dark House and The Ghoul. But perhaps he is most well known by monster boomers for his role as Dr. Pretorious in James Whale’s inimitable Bride Of Frankenstein.

A very young Patrick MacNee portrays a young Jacob Marley early on in the film. We know he went on to later star in the famous Brit TV series The Avengers, and has had cameo roles in horror fare such as the 1981 film The Howling and the mid-Eighties genre offering, Waxwork. Even though this film was released in 1951, it has a very classic Universal horror film feel and look to it. That is, it looks more like a mid-Thirties to mid-Forties style picture. The score by Richard Addinsell does much to lend to the ominous overtones of the film, and is reminiscent of some of those early monster movie scores.