“Sing a Christmas Carol”

Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” has made its way to the big screen a number of times, but for me, the best one of all is the 1970 musical extravaganza, “Scrooge”, starring Albert Finney as the insufferable Ebenezer. Shot in Technicolor and directed by Ronald Neame, this is a feast for the eyes. The attention to detail in the costumes and sets is complimented by the cast inhabiting the familiar characters of the story. Alec Guinness plays the Ghost of Jacob Marley with style and wit. Dame Edith Evans as the Ghost of Christmas Past brings a touch of old world class to her specter’s presence. All the actors in this version are perfectly cast giving the viewer the sense that these are the real people.

Somewhat in the tradition of “Oliver!” the songs burst forth without disrupting the realities they are set in. There are up numbers like “Thank You Very Much,” “Father Christmas,” “I Like Life,” and “Happiness.” These are balanced by more somber pieces such as “The Beautiful Day,” and “See The Phantoms.” All together, ”Scrooge" touches on a wide range of emotions and in the end leaves one with that warm Christmas feeling.

What makes this story a perennial favorite, I think, is the humanity which shines through the dark night of the main character’s soul. It’s a story of redemption and renewal and Albert Finney although barely in his thirties at the time transforms himself into a Scrooge that we despise at first, then pity, and finally cheer for. Only Alistair Sim in the 1951 black and white version of “A Christmas Carol” comes close to this rendition of classic literature’s most famous curmudgeon. Sim’s portrayal has the bleakness of bad dreams, which this film used to give me as a child. Dicken’s himself would have been proud of the bleakness of this version.

The musical, though it takes some liberties by turning London into a colorful, if not troubled, city, is so buoyant and beautifully photographed that it outweighs the only close contender on holiday cheer alone.

I love a good, depressing, bleak Dicken’s story as much as the next fellow, but for the last month of the year, I choose “Scrooge.”