A Christmas Carol

How refreshing to see Reginald Owen as star of a movie. So what if he was the last minute replacement for Lionel Barrymore. I have read earlier comments for this movie, and I will give you my take.

I first saw Reginald Owen in "Mary Poppins", playing Admiral Boom, a character whom I thought was insanely crazy. I realized, many years later, that Owen was a very intelligent actor who had carried many a movie, mostly in character settings. Indeed, in "Poppins", Owen played along with all the craziness in the story.

In "A Christmas Carol", Owen plays Ebenezer Scrooge, essaying the lead part well. How refreshing, indeed. As an acting student, I noticed how Scrooge's forehead "old-age makeup" resembled that of what I was taught last summer in a theatre stage makeup class at The Ohio State University. There is that liquid latex (that has dried, of course) with just enough wrinkle to make his face give the hint of elderliness, whereas in real life Owen was only 51 years old.

As for Lionel Barrymore, I glean from my studies of the Barrymores that if they had made enough money on the stage they would never have "gone Hollywood", like they did. I think they had long ago sold out to the moneyed establishment. Definitely a lucky break for Reginald Owen, who for most of his career played the-glue character parts or second leads. Admiral Boom is certainly "an aside" in Mary Poppins.

In "A Christmas Carol", I noticed that "Tiny Tim" was played by the boy who played "Colley" in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". So what if the actor was too old. He conveyed the spirit of the story. He was a good actor.

The Lockharts were great, especially Gene as Bob Cratchit. Lockhart also played the double roles of The Starkeeper and The Graduation Speaker in "Carousel", as an older man, and certainly always a rotund one. Indeed, it was other actors supporting Reginald Owen this time, not the other way 'round.

The Ghost of Christmas Present was well made up and costumed. I liked his hair and beautiful robes -- the robes reminded me of the fur-trimmed outfits of modern Santa Clauses. He did a good job showing Ebenezer Scrooge the error of his ways.

All, it was a heartwarming story about how a wretchedly selfish individual gets shown the error of his ways, and is given a chance to right his self-centered existence. A charming holiday season movie to watch.

There's just something about this one that, while not close to being the most faithful it nonetheless remains my favorite of all the many film versions of Dicken's Christmas Carol.

I guess it's those old classic MGM production values. It's Gene Lockhart's sometimes cowed, sometimes impish, sometimes heroic & joy-filled Bob Cratchett.

And it's definitely the way Reginald Owen turns Scrooge around far earlier than the other productions. I get so tired of seeing that rotten old Scrooge stay rotten until ten minutes before the film ends, when, poof, he sees the light & is miraculously transformed form the meanest man in the world to the nicest. Here, Owen's Scrooge begins to turn fairly quick, and I enjoy that - it really makes him so much easier to root for.

Every time I see it I'm reminded about how marvelous & truly important Franz Waxman's score is to this version. It's delightfully bouncy & upbeat when it's called for & dark forboding during the grim scenes. It's wonderful; dead-on perfect.

For me, it's far and away the most entertaining version. Sit back for its brief 69 minutes, watch and enjoy.

Charles Dickens' immortal story certainly has resonated over the centuries, both in print and through the various cinematic interpretations of the tale. Here, Reginald Owen plays the central role of miserable, greedy old cretin Ebenezer Scrooge, a character with no use for the Christmas season. It isn't until four spirits, starting with that of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, visit him one Christmas Eve and work hard at making Scrooge see the error of his ways.

There is enough individuality in this adaptation (scripted by Hugo Butler) to make it interesting enough to watch, although it does sort of race through the story, clocking in at a mere 70 minutes. The sequence with the Spirit of Christmas Past (the gorgeous Ann Rutherford) IS over pretty quickly, with not enough time devoted to showing us how Scrooge started adopting his present demeanor. That said, it's full of endearing, engaging performances. Owen is a solid Scrooge, although he won't make anybody forget cinemas' most memorable Scrooge, Alastair Sim. In this version, he begins repenting sooner, and plays it more low-key than Sim when Scrooge sees the light.

Gene Lockhart is appealing as put-upon clerk Bob Cratchit, and the casting makes this a bit of a family affair: his real-life wife Kathleen plays Mrs. Cratchit, and their daughter June makes her film debut as one of the Cratchit children. Terry Kilburn is a wonderful Tiny Tim, Barry MacKay is a delight as the upbeat, optimistic Fred, and that great English character actor Leo G. Carroll is an excellent Marley's ghost. One amusing touch here is that when Marley's ghost appears in Scrooges' abode, he attempts to have some gentlemen remove the "intruder", whom of course they cannot see.

This 1938 adaptation is overall definitely not as potent as the 1951 classic, but it still gets enough right to rate as decent holiday fare.

Seven out of 10.

I've seen this along with the 1951 version on TV every Christmas and although the '51 version is preferable this is still a very good movie in it's own telling of the Dicken's classic. Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit and Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge are both great and Leo G. Carrol does a good ghost of Jacob Marley. Lionel Braham, Ann Rutherford and D'Arcy Corrigan turn in good performances as the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. MGM Cinematographer Sidney Wagner does a wonderful job with the photography. Cedric Gibbons is the Art Director here. He had a contract made in 1924 that his name would appear on every MGM movie made in the United States so until 1956 his name was on 1500 movies even if he was just head of the Production department and didn't actually work on a film. He did work on 150 films himself during that time and this is one of them. He's the guy who designed the Oscar and was nominated for 39 of them and won 11. Longtime MGM set Director Edwin Willis designed the sets here. This is Director Edwin Martin's best film in a career of largely forgettable films. This is a good Christmas film and some prefer it to the more popular 1951 version and it may be more stylish and charming in it's big studio MGM way but I prefer the '51 British version with Alistair Sim as Scrooge. I do really like this too and would give it an 8.5 out of 10.

I would like to say that every version of Dickens' tale is excellent in its own way but that would include Henry Winkler's "American Christmas Carol" and "Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol". Of course, then there's Albert Finney's musical "Scrooge" - Thank you very much.

But, rather than quibble about which is the best version, I will say that Dickens' story is the best illustration of the Christmas essence. Religion and commercialism aside, Christmas is about giving to mankind to better yourself and Scrooge is the poster child of that sentiment.

Now, as to Reginald Owens' version of the tale, just a couple of quick points:

This film is lighter and brighter than the others. The Lockharts are almost "cartoonish" in their portrayals. There is a cuteness in this one that makes it a bit more fitting for small children than the Sim/Scott/Stewart versions. Nephew Fred(Barry MacKay)is infectiously good natured and a fitting opposite for Owens' mean, old Scrooge.

As to Reginald Owens, his meanness is nowhere near the other Scrooge's but his character fits the overall nature of the film. I just wish that they would have tried harder with his facial makeup. In some of the scenes, he looks an awful lot like the scarecrow in "Wizard of Oz".

This version may be "A Christmas Carol Lite" but it is very watchable and entertaining.

"God Bless Us, Everyone."