If you got the chance to watch the 1923 British silent version of "A Christmas Carol" featuring Russell Thorndike as Scrooge, you'll probably agree that it had some interesting things going on, but is mostly unremarkable.
This movie is not really a good representation of the state of movies in 1923, as it seems more primitive than it should be. Although sound and Technicolor were a few years away from common use, mid-1920s cinema had hit a pretty good stride.
This movie seems rooted in the past, however, as it's set-bound and low budget, with competent, if not advanced special effects, running only about 27 minutes.
Such other 1923 releases as Harold Lloyd's "Safety Last" and Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" are light years ahead in technique and execution and still hold up as entertainment.
As is often the case, a lot can be said about what a particular movie isn't, but let's talk about what this one is.
It only has 27 minutes to tell the story, so you know a lot will have to be cut. As always, I'm intrigued by what makes the cut, what doesn't and what gets added.
What strikes me most about this particular adaptation is that things are sometimes out of order. I'll let you know what I mean as I go along.
The beginning scenes in Scrooge's office have all the elements you'd expect, with Bob Cratchit and the coal, Fred and (just one) charity solicitor. Our knowledge of the story fills in any gaps and it's easy to tell what's going on, although there are some inter-titles to help us.
This version features Fred and "Mrs. Fred" more than most and the first "out of order" instance involves them, as mixed in with the office sences is one of Fred, his wife and sister-in-law preparing for Chrostmas dinner.
Fred's dialogue is basically what he would say in the Christmas present sequence. We'll soon learn why he has to say it now.
Fred's wife sister is not plump, by the way, but we will also later see that she's the counterpart of the plump sister from the book.
Fred figures into the wackiest sequence of the move as well. When he leaves Scrooge's office, he meets an overgrown street urchin and gives him a coin.
So far so good, but when the kid starts singing outside Scrooge's office, Scrooge comes out and whacks him over the head with a big ol' ledger!
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| Who wore it better? |
I certainly don't condone such behavior, but he kid was obnoxious. He looks like an overage "Our Gang" kid. Mickey Daniels, maybe?
In any event, after the office closes, we cut to Scrooge already in his room. Marley's Ghost comes in and he's transparent in a decent if not groundbreaking special effect.
Marley's Ghost tells Scrooge the usual things, but they also seem out of order, as he mentions the spirits (on three successive nights) first, then talks about the chains, then talks about roaming the earth.
To add to the oddness, Scrooges tosses in his "gravy/grave" quip toward the end and asks, "Why do spirits walk the earth and why do they come to me?" after Marley's Ghost just told him!
Although Marley's Ghost said the first spirit would come the next night, he shows up pretty quickly.
He introduces himself as the Ghost of Christmas Past and he's tiny! Since they were using trick photography to make him transparent, someone had the good idea to shrink him too. I like it!
The movie's already half over by this point, so this spirit only gets the chance to show Scrooge one image from the past. It's the breakup with Belle, and it's just sort of projected in Scrooge's room. They don't leave the premises.
The spirit then puts on his little tiny cap and vanishes!
The next spirit shows up right away and Scrooge still hasn't gone to bed, so it must be the same night.
He's also transparent but giant. He bills himself as the "Spirit of Christmas Present," so he obviously did not coordinate with the previous spirit.
Now we know time is limited, but the spirit will at least show Scrooge the Cratchits having Christmas dinner so we can see Tiny Tim, right? Nope!
The odd thing with this scene is that the spirit says he will visit Fred and Bob "to-morrow" (although tomorrow would be December 27 if Marley knew what he was talking about) but he and Scrooge never leave the room and there are no visions! Scrooge pleads to this spirit, but he says he can't stay and poof! he's gone!
It seems like an odd choice to not have any mention of Tiny Tim at all. I imagine that 1923 audiences would have been disappointed.
But, the next spirit has already come through the wall and he "talks" (with the help of an inter-title)! Why he needs to talk in a strictly visual medium, we don't know.
He say he's the "Spirit of the Future," so he clearly did not get the memo!
He actually does bring Scrooge outside of his room and shows Scrooge his own grave.
Scrooge makes his final plea and is right back in his chair, grateful for the second chance.
Next we cut to Fred's house where we see Topper proposing to Fred's sister-in-law, who's still not plump! Fred and Mrs. Fred see this and congratulate them as they sit down to Christmas dinner.
I think this is a fun add-on, as I always think Topper is underrated and I don't like when he's presented as borderline creepy. He's very charming here.
At this point, Scrooge seems to be telling the offscreen maid that he'll let himself in. He does and Fred and his wife and sister-in-law and Topper welcome him warmly.
Scrooge also slips Fred a huge wad of cash as a present, so he's definitely welcome!
An inter-title seems to indicate that Scrooge meets with Bob Cratchit later on Christmas Day. Bob also won't mind, as Scrooge doubles his salary and serves him from the Christmas bowl of smoking bishop.
We would be all set, but just to keep things slightly off-kilter, now Scrooge says his "happy as an angel..." bit to Bob (instead of first thing Christmas morning when he finds he's back in is room).
We needed something, though, as Tiny Tim's famous line never gets in there!
So, what we have is an intertsing relic that's mostly for completists. There's nothing here for modern audiences and not much for silent movie fans otherwise.
But, as always, I'm glad that such things were made at all and still survive!
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