A Christmas Carol (2004 film)

Lore & Background

The film follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly moneylender in London, who refuses charity and dismisses Christmas. After being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley, Scrooge is confronted by three spirits: the Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows his childhood and lost love Emily; the Ghost of Christmas Present, who reveals the joy of his nephew Fred and the Cratchit family; and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be, a silent woman who shows him Tiny Tim's death and his own lonely grave. Scrooge vows to change and awakens on Christmas Day, spreading happiness and raising Bob Cratchit's salary.

Reader's Guide

The film is one of many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, but it stands out as a musical version derived from the 1994 stage production. Critical reception was mixed: Brian Lowry of Variety called it the 37th-best production of the story and the third-best musical version, praising visuals and special effects but critiquing musical numbers and some performances. Paul Brownfield of the Los Angeles Times praised Grammer's performance and the period costumes. The film features notable departures from Dickens's novella, such as depicting Scrooge's father in debtors' prison and portraying the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be as a mute sorceress. Its legacy lies in being a televised musical adaptation that aired on a major network.

Did You Know?

• The film was shot in Budapest.
• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be is depicted as a silent woman under a beggar's robes, unlike the faceless phantom in Dickens's novella.
• One of the ghosts in Marley's sequence is a charred skeleton of a former colleague named Mr. Haynes, described as 'mean to the bone'.
• The opening number 'Jolly Good Time' is a reworking of two numbers from the stage version: 'The Years Are Passing By' and 'Jolly, Rich, and Fat'.