United Productions of America
Jim Backus, Morey Amsterdam, Jack Cassidy, Royal Dano, Paul Frees, Joan Gardner, John Hart
Mr. Magoo is an actor, and starring in a version of A Christmas Carol as Ebenezer Scrooge. As the movie starts, Mr. Magoo is on the way to the theater, and of course has all kinds of issues getting there. He ends up in a Chinese Restaurant and thinks he’s backstage. But eventually he gets there just as the curtain rises. Then Magoo is no stooge! He plays Scrooge to the hilt, in fine fashion. We see the show from the audience, and at the breaks we get reminded that Magoo is NOT Ebenezer Scrooge, but an actor playing the role. This gives this version of the story a special feel to it that is missing in the other versions. This is a musical version and the songs are very memorable. Scrooge meets his deceased partner Jacob Marley who teaches him of the fate that’s awaiting him if he doesn’t change. Then each of the 3 ghosts visits him and he gets to view his youth to remember where he came from, the present to remind him of how badly off the Cratchit’s are, and the future to see the eventual end of his as an unloved and unwanted old miser. In the end the audience gives Magoo a standing ovation.
Each of the characters plays the role just fine and it’s hard to remember you’re watching a cartoon. This is a musical, as I said earlier and I still remember the songs from my childhood. 30 years later my daughter watched it and loved the music as much as I did. I can still remember the night this was on TV in 1962 when I watched it with my grandfather. This may be part of what hooked me on the story in the first place. One last note. Last time I checked the entire version of this tv special was available on You Tube. It’s hard to find it on TV anymore, but having it on the computer makes it viewable to anyone who wants to. You can find it at Amazon.com….in fact, there’s even a BluRay version.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
“This is not a preview of the film, but just a sample scene from the classic TV movie”
** Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962),
