Tonight's Movie: A Christmas Carol (1938)

I believe MGM's A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938) was the first film version I ever saw of the classic Dickens story, and it's definitely my very favorite.

I'm a great admirer of the 1984 version with George C. Scott, was moved by the 1951 telling with Alastair Sim, and I've enjoyed multiple viewings of other versions -- including those featuring the Muppets and Mickey Mouse -- but it's the short and sweet 69-minute MGM version I return to time and again.

The movie was originally set to star Lionel Barrymore, who played Ebenezer Scrooge regularly on the radio, but when his health forced him to bow out he recommended his friend Reginald Owen play the role, and Owen couldn't be more perfect.

Owen is genuinely scary in his early scenes as the miserly Scrooge, particularly when he fires Bob Cratchit (Gene Lockhart) on Christmas Eve -- then turns on a dime and, in a very limited time frame, he evokes a tear or two as Scrooge looks back at his childhood and youth.

While Owen's transformation in the final scenes on Christmas Day may not have quite the emotional payoff of other versions, I feel that's because the earlier part of the movie avoids going quite as "dark" as some other CHRISTMAS CAROL films. But to my thinking that fact makes the movie an overall more joyous experience.

The script was written by Hugo Butler, but I have a sense that producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz -- known as an excellent script editor -- may have played a role in streamlining the story. The film gets every truly needed plot point across, but it cuts straight to the most important theme.

The main takeaway throughout the entire film isn't so much Scrooge's journey in particular but the love felt among each of the characters -- the Cratchits; Fred (Barry MacKay) and Bess (Lynne Carver); and young Scrooge (Ronald Sinclair), his sister Fan (Ira Stevens), and Fezziwig (Forrester Harvey). Because of this emphasis, this telling has a particular warmth I find very appealing.

Gene Lockhart's performance as Bob couldn't be bettered; at varied moments across the movie's short running time he manages to make me both laugh and tear up. It's quite special to see him opposite his real-life wife, Kathleen, as Mrs. Cratchit, with their daughter June Lockhart in her first film role as their daughter Belinda.

June reminisced about making the movie in a delightful 2014 interview. It's nice to note that as of this viewing, both June and Terry Kilburn, who played Tiny Tim, are still with us; they are now 97 and 96, respectively.

MacKay is a particularly wonderful Fred, whose reassuring presence helps give the film its warm glow. I very much like the way this film bolsters the romance of Fred and Bess.

The rest of the cast is excellent as well, including Leo G. Carroll as Marley's Ghost; Ann Rutherford as a unique, beautiful Ghost of Christmas Past; Lionel Braham as the Ghost of Christmas Present; and Charles Coleman and Matthew Boulton as the "Charity Solicitors." Even the tiny roles are perfection, including Halliwell Hobbes as the minister.

Young Clifford Severn plays the boy Scrooge sends to the butcher shop near movie's end; I wrote about the Severn family here and here.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL was directed by Edwin L. Marin. It was filmed in black and white by Sidney Wagner and the uncredited John F. Seitz. The score was by Franz Waxman.

This film is available on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Related posts: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951); MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1983); Tonight's Theater: A Christmas Carol at South Coast Repertory (2011).

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