The LIFE magazine photo spread from the December 25, 1944 issue featuring Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge is a fascinating piece.
It offers something of a "what if" in that it perhaps shows what a movie featuring Barrymore as Scrooge would have looked like. He famously did not get the chance to play the part in 1938. I may have mentioned that once or twice!
The story indicates it was enacted at the MGM studios, so the photos do look movie-ish.
They show the cast list, which is really helpful, but it's not a particularly well-known bunch, with a couple of exceptions.
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| Who wore it better? |
Most fascinating of all is June Lockhart, who's made up to look like Ann Rutherford's version of the Ghost of Christmas Past from the 1938 movie.
June is best-known for her later TV "mom" roles on "Lassie" and "Lost in Space," but if you recall, she played Belinda Cratchit in the 1938 movie with her real-life parents Gene and Kathleen Lockhart!
She no doubt remembered that, but did whoever was casting this photo shoot know? Pretty fun, though!
June's still around, age 94!
I also recognize Jeff York, well his name, as the Ghost of Christmas present. He was a big guy who originally acted in serials and B-movies under his sort-of birth name Granville Owen, then changed his name after service in WWII to Jeff York. I imagine he was going for a Bruce Bennett thing, as Herman Brix broke away from the stigma of serial acting by changing his name.
In any event, it got him signed to MGM, which is how he wound up here. I remember him most as Mike Fink in a couple of "Davy Crockett" episodes on the Disney TV show. From reruns of course!
I have to look on he IMDB to identify any of the other "actors," but they seem to be MGM contract players. I don't think any of them would have been cast in an actual live-action version of "A Christmas Carol" if it were to have been made in 1944, except maybe for Dickie Hall as Tiny Tim.
In any event, it all works well for these purposes.
The photography by Ralph Crane is great, but no surprise as he was very accomplished. If you Google him, you'll see all sorts of great photos.
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| My editor likes this one! |
Old LIFE magazines have fun ads in them, including some for products that don't exist anymore. I'd buy this one, though:
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