Scrooge (1935 film)
Encyclopedia
Scrooge is a 1935
British film directed by Henry Edwards
featuring Seymour Hicks
as Ebenezer Scrooge
, the miser who hates Christmas. It was the first sound version of the Charles Dickens
classic A Christmas Carol
, not counting a 1928 short subject
that now appears to be lost.
. The 1935 film differs from all other versions of the story in one significant way - most of the ghosts, including that of Jacob Marley
, are not actually shown onscreen, although their voices are heard. Only the Ghost of Christmas Present
(Oscar Asche
) is actually seen in full figure - the Ghost of Christmas Past
is a mere shape with no discernible facial features, Marley's Ghost is seen only briefly as a face on the door knocker, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
is just an outstretched pointing finger.
Why the film was made this way remains unclear; it is obviously not because British filmmakers could not achieve special effects, since we do see Marley's face superimposed on Scrooge's door knocker.
Another aspect making this film different from other versions of the story is that Seymour Hicks
plays both the old and young Scrooge, rather straining the credulity of the audience, since by this time, the sixty-four year old actor was visibly too aged to convincingly play a young man.
The story is also severely truncated, even more than in the 1938 MGM film version
, although the 1935 version is actually slightly longer. Much time is spent at the beginning of the film - before any of the ghosts appear - setting up the atmosphere of rich and poor London. Scrooge's sister Fan and Fezziwig
are completely omitted from this version.
This is the first of only two sound versions in which Tiny Tim
is actually seen lying dead. In the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come sequence Bob Cratchit
grieves at Tim's bedside. The 1999 Patrick Stewart version
also contains this scene.
Maurice Evans
appears briefly as a man harassed by Scrooge to pay his debts. Donald Calthrop
portrays a Bob Cratchit who bears an uncanny physical resemblance to John Leech's illustrations of the character in the original 1843 edition of the novel.
Two versions of this film exist; each has a differently designed opening credits
sequence, and one of the two versions omits the very last scenes.
Also, copyright for this film was never renewed and therefore it is in the public domain
and can be shown on multiple stations in a market. For years it was kept out of circulation, due to the extremely poor quality of most of the surviving prints. In the past few years, it has been remastered.
The film should not be confused with Scrooge
, the classic 1951 Alastair Sim
version.
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
British film directed by Henry Edwards
Henry Edwards (actor)
Henry Edwards was an English actor and film director. He appeared in 81 films between 1915 and 1952. He also directed 67 films between 1915 and 1937...
featuring Seymour Hicks
Seymour Hicks
Sir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
as Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
, the miser who hates Christmas. It was the first sound version of the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
classic A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, not counting a 1928 short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
that now appears to be lost.
Film
Hicks had played the role of Scrooge on the stage many times beginning in 1901, and again in a 1913 British silent film versionScrooge (1913 film)
Scrooge is a 1913 British black and white silent film based on the 1843 novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It starred Seymour Hicks as Ebenezer Scrooge. In the United States it was released in 1926 as Old Scrooge....
. The 1935 film differs from all other versions of the story in one significant way - most of the ghosts, including that of Jacob Marley
Jacob Marley
Jacob Marley is a fictional character who appears in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.- Relationship with Scrooge:In life, Marley was the business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. As teenagers, both men had been apprenticed in business and met as clerks in another business...
, are not actually shown onscreen, although their voices are heard. Only the Ghost of Christmas Present
Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Present is a character in one of the best-known works of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The Spirit closely resembles Father Christmas from local folklore....
(Oscar Asche
Oscar Asche
John Stange Heiss Oscar Asche , better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical Chu Chin Chow, both on stage and film, and for acting in, directing, or producing many Shakespeare plays and...
) is actually seen in full figure - the Ghost of Christmas Past
Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a character in the well-known work of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.The Ghost of Christmas Past was the first of the three spirits that haunted the miser. Ebenezer Scrooge in order to prompt him to repent...
is a mere shape with no discernible facial features, Marley's Ghost is seen only briefly as a face on the door knocker, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, A.K.A., The Ghost of Christmas Future, is a fictional character in English novelist Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is the ghost that haunts the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, in order to prompt him to adopt a more caring attitude in life and avoid the horrid...
is just an outstretched pointing finger.
Why the film was made this way remains unclear; it is obviously not because British filmmakers could not achieve special effects, since we do see Marley's face superimposed on Scrooge's door knocker.
Another aspect making this film different from other versions of the story is that Seymour Hicks
Seymour Hicks
Sir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
plays both the old and young Scrooge, rather straining the credulity of the audience, since by this time, the sixty-four year old actor was visibly too aged to convincingly play a young man.
The story is also severely truncated, even more than in the 1938 MGM film version
A Christmas Carol (1938 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 1938 American film adaptation of Charles Dickens's novelette.-Cast:*Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge*Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit*Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit*Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim*Barry MacKay as Fred...
, although the 1935 version is actually slightly longer. Much time is spent at the beginning of the film - before any of the ghosts appear - setting up the atmosphere of rich and poor London. Scrooge's sister Fan and Fezziwig
Fezziwig
Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig are characters featured in the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol. Mr. Fezziwig is the owner of a warehouse business; Ebenezer Scrooge and Dick Wilkins worked as apprentices for him. Mr. Fezziwig is a happy, foppish man with a large Welsh wig. In Stave 2 of A...
are completely omitted from this version.
This is the first of only two sound versions in which Tiny Tim
Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
Timothy Cratchit, called "Tiny Tim", is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is a minor character, the young son of Bob Cratchit, and is seen only briefly, but serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices...
is actually seen lying dead. In the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come sequence Bob Cratchit
Bob Cratchit
Robert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character who is the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol...
grieves at Tim's bedside. The 1999 Patrick Stewart version
A Christmas Carol (1999 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 1999 television film adaptation of Charles Dickens's famous novel A Christmas Carol. It was directed by David Hugh Jones and stars Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge and Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit...
also contains this scene.
Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans (actor)
Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. In terms of his screen roles, he is probably best known as Dr...
appears briefly as a man harassed by Scrooge to pay his debts. Donald Calthrop
Donald Calthrop
Donald Calthrop was an English stage and film actor. He starred as the title character in the hit musical The Boy in 1917. He then appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1940, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in London and died in Eton from a heart attack.He was the...
portrays a Bob Cratchit who bears an uncanny physical resemblance to John Leech's illustrations of the character in the original 1843 edition of the novel.
Two versions of this film exist; each has a differently designed opening credits
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
sequence, and one of the two versions omits the very last scenes.
Also, copyright for this film was never renewed and therefore it is in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and can be shown on multiple stations in a market. For years it was kept out of circulation, due to the extremely poor quality of most of the surviving prints. In the past few years, it has been remastered.
The film should not be confused with Scrooge
Scrooge (1951 film)
Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
, the classic 1951 Alastair Sim
Alastair Sim
Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE was a Scottish character actor who appeared in a string of classic British films. He is best remembered in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 film Scrooge, and for his portrayal of Miss Fritton, the headmistress in two St. Trinian's films...
version.
Cast
- Sir Seymour HicksSeymour HicksSir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
- Ebenezer ScroogeEbenezer ScroogeEbenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness... - Donald CalthropDonald CalthropDonald Calthrop was an English stage and film actor. He starred as the title character in the hit musical The Boy in 1917. He then appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1940, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in London and died in Eton from a heart attack.He was the...
- Bob CratchitBob CratchitRobert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character who is the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol... - Robert CochranRobert CochranRobert Cochran is the co-creator of the television series 24. Before that, he and Joel Surnow created and produced the television series La Femme Nikita and later also served as the series consultants. More recently he created the TV show Company Man with David Ehrman and also The Call with David...
- Fred - Mary GlynneMary GlynneMary Glynne was a British film actress. She appeared in 24 films between 1919 and 1939. She was born in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan South Wales and died in London....
- Belle - Garry MarshGarry MarshGarry Marsh was a British film actor. Marsh began acting on the stage at the age of fifteen. He started off in films as a leading man but later became a character actor playing self-important roles.-Filmography:* Long Odds...
- Belle's husband - Oscar AscheOscar AscheJohn Stange Heiss Oscar Asche , better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical Chu Chin Chow, both on stage and film, and for acting in, directing, or producing many Shakespeare plays and...
- Spirit of Christmas PresentGhost of Christmas PresentThe Ghost of Christmas Present is a character in one of the best-known works of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The Spirit closely resembles Father Christmas from local folklore.... - Marie NeyMarie NeyMarie Ney was a British actress who had an acting career spanning five decades, from 1919 to 1969....
- Spirit of Christmas PastGhost of Christmas PastThe Ghost of Christmas Past is a character in the well-known work of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.The Ghost of Christmas Past was the first of the three spirits that haunted the miser. Ebenezer Scrooge in order to prompt him to repent... - C.V. FranceC.V. FranceCharles V. France , usually credited as C. V. France, was a British actor.-Partial filmography:*The Blue Bird *The Skin Game *Black Coffee...
- Spirit of Christmas FutureGhost of Christmas Yet to ComeThe Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, A.K.A., The Ghost of Christmas Future, is a fictional character in English novelist Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is the ghost that haunts the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, in order to prompt him to adopt a more caring attitude in life and avoid the horrid... - Athene SeylerAthene SeylerAthene Seyler, CBE was an English actress.Although better known as a stage actress, she first appeared on the stage in 1909 and made her film debut in 1921, and became known for playing slightly dotty old ladies....
- Scrooge's charwoman - Maurice EvansMaurice Evans (actor)Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. In terms of his screen roles, he is probably best known as Dr...
- Poor man - Mary LawsonMary Lawson (actress)Mary Elizabeth Lawson was a stage and film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to her performances on stage and screen, Lawson was known for her romantic affairs, including with tennis player Fred Perry and her future husband, the married son of the Dame of Sark...
- Poor man's wife - Barbara EverestBarbara EverestBarbara Everest was a British film actress. She was born in Southfields, Surrey, and made her screen debut in the 1916 film The Man Without a Soul.-Selected filmography:* A Romance of Old Baghdad...
- Mrs. Cratchit - Eve GrayEve GrayEve Gray was a British film actress.She was taken to Australia as a child and later had a stage career there. She returned to England in 1924 and within three days of arrival had signed a contract and then made her first appearance on the London stage at Daly's Theatre in Madame Pompadour...
- Fred's wife - Morris HarveyMorris Harvey-Selected filmography:* Sunshine Susie * A Southern Maid * The Love Test * The Sky's the Limit * Let the People Sing * The Great Mr. Handel * Old Mother Riley Overseas -External links:...
- Poulterer with Prize Turkey - Philip Frost - Tiny TimTiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)Timothy Cratchit, called "Tiny Tim", is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is a minor character, the young son of Bob Cratchit, and is seen only briefly, but serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices...
- D.J. WilliamsD. J. Williams (actor)D. J. Williams was a British actor. He also directed one film, The Shuttle of Life, which starred Evelyn Brent.-Selected filmography:* Look Up and Laugh * Scrooge * Captain Bill * Silver Blaze...
- Undertaker - Margaret YardeMargaret Yarde-Selected filmography:* Michael and Mary * The Man from Toronto * Matinee Idol * Tiger Bay * Widow's Might * It Happened in Paris * Scrooge * Queen of Hearts...
- Scrooge's laundress - Hugh E. WrightHugh E. WrightHugh E. Wright was a French-born, British actor and screenwriter.- Actor :* 1066: And All That * The Knight of the Burning Pestle *Royal Eagle *Scrooge...
- Old Joe - Charles CarsonCharles Carson (actor)-Selected filmography:* The Loves of Ariane * Dreyfus * Many Waters * Marry Me * The Chinese Puzzle * Monsieur Albert * Men of Tomorrow * Leap Year...
- Middlemark - Hubert HarbenHubert HarbenHubert Harben was a British film actor. He was married to the actress Mary Jerrold and father of celebrity chef Philip Harben.-Selected filmography:* Every Mother's Son * Tell England * Fires of Fate...
- Worthington