A bland, stodgy movie.
Comment
11/27/07
A Christmas Carol (1951)
84 %
Reviews Counted: 19 Fresh: 16 Rotten:3 Average Rating: 7.8/10
Runtime: 86 mins
Synopsis: Ebeneezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) contentedly meanders through his life as a cruel miser until one fateful Christmas Eve when he is visited by three ghosts. The spirits show him how his behavior has degenerated over the years as his heart has become colder. Using events from Scrooge's... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Hermione Baddeley, Jack L. Warner
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst
Story: Charles Dickens
Screenwriter: Noel Langley
Composer: Richard Addinsell
Producer: George Minter
Story: Charles Dickens
Screenwriter: Noel Langley
Composer: Richard Addinsell
Producer: George Minter
Reviews
1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top Critic Top Critic Top Critic
Moves through a brisk 86 minutes with just enough time to linger on poignant moments.
12/20/07
Of the many film versions...this one from 1951 is the most faithful to the spirit of the book.
08/31/07
Alastair Sim's performance in Dickens' hoary holiday classic provided one of the defining moments of his career; the result is the definitive filming of the story, breathing life into the familiar plot while earnestly hewing to the author's vision.
12/04/06
Top Critic
What we have in this rendition of Dickens' sometimes misunderstood Carol is an accurate comprehension of the agony of a shabby soul.
03/25/06
Top Critic
Most agree that Alastair Sim's 1951 spin as Scrooge is the best, and truest to the novel.
10/24/04
The story is a timeless classic and this is the best direction translation the cinema has provided thus far.
07/29/03
Some of the more recent film versions of the story are considerably more sumptuous than this rather Spartan-looking production, but none of them do a better job of conveying the character of Ebenezer Scrooge or the themes of the story.
01/01/00
At a reasonably short 85 minutes, this is nevertheless a complete experience, and the strength and depth of its drama makes it the most memorable of any adaptation of the tale.
01/01/00
1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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