My first time watching this adaptation of Charles Dickens' work - thoroughly enjoyed it!
I've previously only watched the Disney animated film and the 2019 television miniseries with Guy Pearce. I also like both of those, they each have things that are inferior and superior to this 1951 film.
Alastair Sim is the best Ebenezer Scrooge of the three, I loved watching him from start-to-finish. Sim's facial expressions are terrific throughout, while his happiness later on is infectious. A top performance!
None of the others massively standout, unlike the aforementioned productions, but George Cole (young Scrooge) is pleasant, as are those who play the ghosts. Other positives include the score, the tension building and the arc of the lead character - given the fact that they make him horrid at the beginning.
The special effects haven't aged well, but that's to be very much expected almost seventy years on - in fairness, they look pretty good for '51. Elsewhere, I found that some of the camera shots are held for too long, while I also wanted more reactions of Sim when he was seeing the past/present/future - sometimes they chose to stick on the 'event', rather than showing Sim.
Those aren't major criticisms at all, just small ones. All in all, 'Scrooge' is a very good film - one well worth a view!
Review by r96skBlockedParent2020-12-20T11:58:17Z
My first time watching this adaptation of Charles Dickens' work - thoroughly enjoyed it!
I've previously only watched the Disney animated film and the 2019 television miniseries with Guy Pearce. I also like both of those, they each have things that are inferior and superior to this 1951 film.
Alastair Sim is the best Ebenezer Scrooge of the three, I loved watching him from start-to-finish. Sim's facial expressions are terrific throughout, while his happiness later on is infectious. A top performance!
None of the others massively standout, unlike the aforementioned productions, but George Cole (young Scrooge) is pleasant, as are those who play the ghosts. Other positives include the score, the tension building and the arc of the lead character - given the fact that they make him horrid at the beginning.
The special effects haven't aged well, but that's to be very much expected almost seventy years on - in fairness, they look pretty good for '51. Elsewhere, I found that some of the camera shots are held for too long, while I also wanted more reactions of Sim when he was seeing the past/present/future - sometimes they chose to stick on the 'event', rather than showing Sim.
Those aren't major criticisms at all, just small ones. All in all, 'Scrooge' is a very good film - one well worth a view!