The Alcoa Hour - "The Stingiest Man in Town" (1956) - Part 1

The Alcoa Hour - "The Stingiest Man in Town" (1956)
Director: Daniel Petrie
Scrooge: Basil Rathbone


Now let's take a look at an episode of the TV series "The Alcoa Hour" - the 1956 musical adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" titled "The Stingiest Man in Town ."

This was broadcast live on December 23, 1956 in "compatible color" and then went unseen for quite a long time.

It seems to have been a big deal at the time, as it had some star power in the cast and was promoted with an original cast album and all.

But TV "spectaculars" (as they used to call them) weren't meant to be rebroadcast. These were one-time events and if you weren't in front of the TV at the time, you missed your chance. Live productions such as this were even less likely to be seen later.

Over the years, however, people still listened to the album and had fond memories of the special. There was even a cartoon version produced by Rankin-Bass in 1978 (we'll look at that one later), but the original seemed to be only a memory.

It always sounded very intriguing to me, as Basil Rathbone played old Scrooge with Vic Damone as young Scrooge. That's just fascinating right there!

Fortunately a kinescope was discovered a few years ago. It's black and white, and not sharp. but it's the whole show. It was released on DVD and now everyone can see it.

Here's a clip from VAI Music, the company that released the DVD, which gives a bit of the flavor:

Next, we look at the very musical cast!