A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott)

A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott is The Younger Son's favorite of the Scrooge videos. It is a good one. Scott is mean and devotedly business-like at first without being a miserly caricature and is utterly convincing post-conversion. The not-so-good parts:

• Nephew Fred just seems whiny;
• The Ghost of Christmas Present is scroogier than Scrooge and lacks any Christmas Spirit;
• Oppressive background music.

David Warner (Aldous Gajic in Grail, a Babylon 5 episode, and several characters in the Star Trek universe) is Bob Cratchit, and Susannah York is his wife. The Tiny Tim in this version actually looks like he is sickly. The woman who plays Mrs. Dilber here plays the same role in the Patrick Stewart version.

Here is the first scene:


12/25/2009: Salon.com loves this version:

Well, Cratchits and ghosts come and go, one might argue, but every "Christmas Carol" must rise or fall with its Scrooge. And on this point the 1984 version most emphatically ascends.