A few thoughts on the 1956 View-Master adaptation...
Shown at the top is the little booklet that came with the set, which you could read while you watched each slide. It's a pretty snappy little condensation of the story, mostly from the original text.
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| Florence Thomas at work. |
I think each individual slide is really well-done. A bit of research shows that this set was sculpted by Florence Thomas, who created many dioramas for View-Master over 30 years or so. The level of detail is impressive!
I think it's really cool how old Scrooge and the ghost of Christmas Past are transparent looking at young Ebenezer reading. And if you look out the window, you see Ali Baba and the other characters from his books!
And Fezziwig's ball is spot on!
At the Cratchit's dinner, you can see that Peter is wearing Bob's shirt collar and that the two young Cratchits have spoons in their mouths. Right out of the book and seldom seen!
The last slide is interesting, as Tiny Tim is sticking his arms toward the camera. Most View-Master images go for a feeling of depth, not so much an in-your-face special effect. And he totally reminds me of say, Danny O'Day (making Scrooge Jimmy Nelson)!
A really fun blast from the past and still really fun to view these reels today!
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