A Christmas Carol (1941)
Director: George Wells
Scrooge: Ronald Colman
So, remember when I was saying that the 1938 MGM adaptation could use a bigger star, such as Ronald Colman, as Scrooge? Well, we're going to jump ahead a few years to 1941 and take a look at a record album from Decca, featuring... Ronald Colman!
This was a set of three 12-inch 78 rpm records, which allowed for about a half-hour of material.
Full disclosure: I love listening to old radio shows, and this recording is done in that style, as noted, with a supporting cast, sound effects and music. So, I think it's awesome, but as they say, your mileage may vary.
Back in 1941, radio was king. You could listen to your favorite shows, but you had to be right there when they were on. Then after the broadcast, the shows were gone forever.
So, imagine the thrill of having a handsomely produced drama on records that you could play whenever you wanted. Sort of like primeval home video!
Make that drama one of your favorite stories starring a top movie star and you've really got something!
It doesn't take much to make me think of a family listening to this album as a tradition on Christmas Eve, gathered around the big radio/phonograph combination, fireplace roaring, maybe sipping some hot cocoa. What could be better?
So, what makes this so special? Well, for starters, you have Ronald Colman narrating the proceedings as Scrooge. He was a great icon of the Golden Age of Hollywood, starring in such classics as "A Tale of Two Cities," "Lost Horizon," "The Prisoner of Zenda," "Random Harvest" and others (check out any and all of those!). And for my money, he had the best voice of any actor ever. One of those that you would pay to hear read the phone book, as they used to say when we still had phone books!
The guy had sophisticated charm and class to spare!
This project gives Mr. Colman topnotch support. Musical director Victor Young and vocal director Ken Darby were tops in their fields. (Side note: Ken Darby arranged a wonderful version of "The Night Before Christmas," which he performed annually with his group the King's Men on the "Fibber McGee and Molly" show.)
The supporting cast is full of top radio actors, with Hans Conreid (voice of Captain Hook and Snidely Whiplash among many others) and Gale Gordon (of "Our Miss Brooks" and "The Lucy Show") most familiar to more modern listeners.
I feel I would be remiss if I did not point out that the actor who plays Bob Cratchit, Eric Snowden, appeared on two episodes of "Leave It to Beaver!" He's an ultra-sophisticated salesman in each. He sells Aunt Martha that Little Lord Fauntleroy suit that Beaver has to wear to school, as well as the hunting jacket the boys buy as a present for Ward. Fun!
As I understand it, this record set was popular when it came out and I don't think it's ever really been out of print. It started out as 78s, later showed up as a set of 45s, then LP, cassette, CD and is even now available as a digital download. Probably even had an 8-Track!
Enough talk for now. If you've never heard it before, give it a listen and we'll talk about it a bit...
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