Ed's Review Dot Com

Loew’s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Terry Gilburn, Barry MacKay, Lynne Carver, Leo G Carroll, Lionel Braham, Ann Rutherford, D’Arcy Corrigan, Ronald Sinclair

Ebenezer Scrooge, visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his 7 years dead partner Jacob Marley for his salvation, is visited by 3 ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-come.  They are trying to show him that he must change his ways or end up a miserable sad old man with no friends and no one who cares.  Scrooge sees the happy and sad times in the past which made him what he is.  He sees the love of Christmas and the good and bad things that happen on this day, and finally what he is to become.

This is a slightly different variation of the Christmas Carol story.  Lionel Barrymore was set to play Ebenezer, but bowed out due to illness and Reginald Owen was chosen.  Every year Barrymore would read the book on a radio broadcast, but refused in 1938 so as not to interfere with this movie.  It’s a lighter and somewhat less scary version of the film than most of the others, and did some groundbreaking in many ways.  The story was modified for the sake of the film however and does not follow the book so closely.   For one thing Bob Cratchit smacks Scrooge with a snow ball and is fired.  Then on Christmas Day,  Scrooge shows up at the Cratchit’s house and hires him back.  (Normally he waits until the day after Christmas to play with Cratchit about firing him for being late).  Another interesting fact of this version is that Gene Lockhart, a fine actor in his own right, was joined in this film with his wife Kathleen, and his daughter June.  This is the first film appearance of June Lockhart, later known as Timmy’s mother on Lassie, and the Mom on Lost in Space.   This must have been fun to play a daughter to your real life Mom and Dad who are playing your parents in the film.  Also mysteriously missing from this version is Scrooge’s girlfriend (Usually called Belle) who broke their engagement after Scrooge changed to a new person who measures everything by money.  Where was Belle?  At very least, smaller kids who are scared of the scary scenes in the modern versions of the story will probably be able to handle this lighter and happier version.  I really love this one as well.

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