The 1947 studio recording of "A Christmas Carol" starring Lionel Barrymore only runs about 24 minutes originally over eight sides of 78 RPM records, so you know they had to make some choices with what they wanted to include, and it's those choices that always fascinate me!
I mentioned last time that this particular recording plays like a kids' record to me, as it has a light tone. I think this has a bearing on the incidents that make it into the script along with some of the language.
The opening scenes have Scrooge giving Bob Cratchit a pretty hard time, but he mainly seems like a cranky boss.
When Scrooge's nephew comes in, that scene is played very well and not rushed.
We then skip ahead to closing time without a visit from the charity collectors.
Scrooge goes home and sees Marley's face in the knocker. The interaction between Scrooge and Marley's Ghost also goes on for a bit.
Of note is that Marley's Ghost tells Scrooge that the three spirits will visit him on three successive nights.
A fair amount of time is given to Scrooge waiting for the first spirit, which seems a bit odd, considering the short running time.
The Ghost of Christmas Past appears and takes Scrooge back to his old school where they see lonely young Ebenezer. Old Scrooge says it's his own lost boyhood.
The Ghost says they're going to see another Christmas, but that side of the record ends. When the story picks up, the narrator says they saw happy Christmases of long ago. That doesn't seem right somehow!
They go to Fezziwig's party next and this sequence also goes on for a bit. The narrator says the party broke up at 11:00 PM.
Things now get a bit wacky as
the narrator says that the spirit took Scrooge to the Christmas when Marley was "lying at death's door." Usually this is when we learn that Belle is happily married, but there's no Belle in this version at all.
Anyway, Scrooge gets really upset and dispatches the spirit, so the narrator points out that we'll never know what else Scrooge might have been shown.
On the whole, Scrooge seems way more upset than you would think based on the things the spirit had shown him.
Next Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, who like the Ghost of Christmas Past, is not described at all. Scrooge describes how his room looks different rather than the narrator and the spirit and Scrooge descibe most of the action in this sequence, which is quite short.
Unlike in most versions, Scrooge recognizes Bob Cratchit's house! Bob carries Tiny Tim inside and we get just a bit of dialogue to explain that Tiny Tim is sick and won't be around for long.
The narrator comes back to say that the spirit showed Scrooge other scenes, including misery and want as well as happiness. Then, poof, he's gone! No time for Fred's party.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come makes an even briefer appearance, as it only gets the chance to show Scrooge his tombstone. None of the other business of Scrooge being unmourned and, even more odd, no mention of Tiny Tim's presumed demise.
But Scrooge is sufficiently reformed and on Christmas morning engages the kid to buy the prize turkey. Scrooge mentions that he's going to his nephew's house, so you might think we won't "see" that, but, indeed we get go to Fred's house after Scrooge goes to church and makes a large donation to charity.
He surprises Bob Cratchit at the office next morning and raises his salary.
The narrator comes back to wrap up the story, but then Scrooge starts talking to us and Tiny Tim says, "God bless us everyone," then Scrooge says, "Yes, Tiny Tim, God bless us everyone. "
This is a bit wacky, as that makes it seem that Ebenezer Scrooge, not Lionel Barrymore, is addressing us and Tiny Tim is with him. So, do Scrooge and Tim know they're making a record?
I don't know, but I love a good cant-be-explained meta moment!
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