This is a good Christmas film for the whole family. Adaptations of A Christmas Carol are a dime a dozen I agree. There have been literally dozens of them. Some better then others. Albert Finney is a truly amazing actor, a protege of Olivier and in fact people have called him "a second Olivier". He is probably best remembered for his role as the eccentric Hercule Poirot in Murder On The Orient Express or as Daddy Warbucks in Annie. This film to me is his best performance. Finney was only 34 when it was made, but he is really convincing in his old makeup as Scrooge. In his vocal and physical mannerisms, he really creates a unique portrait of everyone's favorite Christmas miser. You really hate him in the beginning. A critic said that he is almost like Quasimodo. All right, I admit that I am a Puritan when it comes to reworking the classics. I like for them to do a straight adaptation of Dicken's book, after all it is the "perfect" story. Ordinarily, I would not like them turning it into a musical comedy in some aspects, but Ronald Neame was a gifted director with a gifted cast of technicians who did a wonderful job. Some of the songs are really wonderful, some are forgettable, but all in all its a fine job and an original take. Finney really made me feel Scrooge's pain when he sang that song about losing Isabelle. He really made me happy in the end when he sang that song "I'll Begin Again". "I'll begin today..throw away the past and the future I build will be something that will last....I will live my days for my fellow men. It was a wonderful song and almost made me cry tears of joy for the miser who was given a wonderful mercy from hell. By the way..when this film is shown on tv,,they cut out the scene where the Ghost of Christmas Future shows himself as a skeleton and he falls into the grave and winds up chained in hell. It is a terrifying scene that might scare small children. Finney makes a great Ebeneezer Scrooge and holds his own against Alastair Sim or Susan Lucci. The only thing that I don't agree with in this film is Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley. Maybe I should explain, I went to Fairmont State College in West Virginia and in the Christmas of 1992, I was fortunate enough to be cast in one of their plays, it was A Christmas Carol and I was cast as Marley's Ghost. I think that I have a little bit of expert insight on it, Marley is supposed to be tormented and Guiness portrays him all wrong. He is so faggy and cloying. It is almost like he is the Jacob Marley of the gay liberation movement! Other then that, this is a film you should watch at Christmas, like Its A Wonderful Life, it will teach you the true meaning of the holiday and leave you with a warm feeling in your heart.
