Shower of Stars - A Christmas Carol (1954) - Part 4

Not unexpectedly, it's time for some additional thoughts on the 1954 "Shower of Stars" presentation of "A Christmas Carol!"

I think the available broadcast is from 1955. The clues are that Bill Lundigan says that they're bringing us "A Christmas Carol" again, which would indicate it's an "encore" presentation. Also, they're advertising 1956 cars, and we know that car manufacturers are always talking about next year's cars.

The biggest clue of all, though, is the little tag at the end telling us about next week's episode of "Climax!" "Climax!" and "Shower of Stars" rotated in the same time slot, with "Climax" usually consisting of dramas and "Shower of Stars" more likely to have variety shows.

Anyway, next week's episode of "Climax!" is "The Day They Gave Babies Away," listed on the IMDB as being shown on December 22, 1955. Aha! Curiously, the IMDB only shows "A Christmas Carol" as being broadcast in 1954 and 1956, but the 1956 listing shows it as "A Christmas Carol III."

I think it's interesting when Bill Lundigan talks to the stars of next week'sshow. He calls Barbara Hale "Barbie," which is fun and pronounces Brandon De Wilde's last name as "Deh-will-deh," which is good to know. Also, "Barbie" says Leif Erickson's first name as "Life." Interesting! In school, we always pronounced the same-named explorer as "Leaf" Erickson.

Side note: I always associate Leif Erickson with his wacky cup-switching routine opposite Lou Costello in "Pardon My Sarong" (1943)!

Oh, yeah, what about this show?

I think this is fun, but it's dated (especially the songs) and not something for modern audiences to dive right into. I really do think the whole "Shower of Stars" package is much more fun, as it sets the tone and you have fun commercials at the proper intervals and so on. You can put yourself right back in the mid-1950s!

As I've mentioned a couple of times, this whole thing seems American to me, There's not much of a British feel, but it was for American TV audiences.

The original songs, well-sung by the Roger Wagner Chorale are OK, but not particularly memorable.

That being said, Bernard Herrmann's score is really good. The use of spooky choral effects is striking. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr. Herrmann won an Emmy for his efforts!

I think this production presumes that we're familiar with the basic story, as we don't have much insight as to why Scrooge is the way he is, but we're going along for the ride.

I like Fredric March and Basil Rathbone as movie stars anyway, so I like them here too, but I do think they do a good job.

No one else is exactly a standout, but Ray Middleton is memorable, if nothing else!

So, I can't say that I recommend this for everyone, but if you think it sounds fun, give it a try.

Don't go by me, though, as I thought it was awesome to learn how Leif Erickson pronounced his name!