"Old Scrooge" (1923) - Part 2

So, let’s do a breakdown of the 1926 silent film “Old Scrooge,” which was a re-edited version of 1913’s “Scrooge,” which was Sir Seymour Hicks’s first celluloid excursion as that title fellow.

I’m not sure how much was changed for the reissue, but we’ll deal with what we have.

It runs about 40 minutes, so you’d think that would be plenty of time to get most of the story in. Did they?

Well, they got some of it in! You could actually come into this with no prior knowledge of the story and be able to follow what’s going on (thanks to a lot of inter-titles). I think this is the earliest version I’ve seen of which I’d say that. Most of the other silent versions are shorter and rely on us knowing the story.

Young Seymour Hicks, sans makeup, with his wife, Ellaline Terriss.

This starts off with just a title slide or two. There’s no cast listed, but we recognize Seymour Hicks. The rest of the players are not recognizable to me and even the IMDB doesn’t try to match the actors with their parts. Seymour Hick's real-life wife, actress Ellaline Terriss apparently is in this film as well.

We get some introductory material, including a “modern” shot of the birthplace of Charles Dickens, then we see “Dickens” sit down to write “A Christmas Carol.” You can just see him start to write “Marley…” before the shot changes.

We’re then introduced to Scrooge (with a lot of text from the book) as he heads to his office.

Our first look at him seems like a mug shot! He looks to me like someone who had escaped a chain gang or something. If they panned out, we’d probably see that he’s chained to Paul Muni!

But he’s a businessman known for his less than sunny demeanor, as he’s harassed by a bunch of kids throwing snowballs at him. They’re supposed to be carolers, but they seem to be more interested in bugging Scrooge. This put me in mind of the kids singing “Father Christmas” to Albert Finney in “Scrooge” from 1970.

When Scrooge’s nephew Fred makes his entrance in a bit, he actually gives them money, supposedly for caroling, but it looks like extortion!

Before Fred comes in, however, we see Bob Cratchit carrying Tiny Tim to the office. He lets Tim down and leaves him there while he goes in. Not sure what Tim is supposed to do all day. This makes me think of the scene in “A Christmas Carol” from 1984 when George C. Scott yells at Tiny Tim to stop begging in the early scenes.

I wouldn’t imagine this movie had any influence on those later productions, but it’s interesting. Hey, we could even say the opening part showing Dickens writing anticipates “The Man Who Invented Christmas!”

Before Cratchit goes in, Scrooge yells out the window and tells him to quit fooling around!

Fred comes in for his usual back and forth with his uncle. I don’t think we’re ever told his name is Fred, though.

A curious scene comes next as Cratchit introduces a poor woman in need of help. Scrooge naturally declines to help and talks about the prisons and surplus population and all to her. Bob does give her a coin while showing her out, however.

So, this must be instead of the standard portly gentlemen collecting for charity, right?

Nope, as after Scrooge yells at Cratchit for trying to sneak some coal, an actual charity solitor comes in and we get a little more Scrooge rhetoric.

I’m not sure why there are two scenes like that, but it does establish that this is one mean Scrooge!

When Cratchit is about to leave and Scrooge reluctantly gives him the next day off, Scrooge actually gives Bob a Christmas present. Granted it’s a new quill pen so he can “work better,” but still, a present is a present!

I think Scrooge stays in the office rather than going to his house, or perhaps he lives in the office. It seems pretty clear that he falls asleep, indicating that what happens next is a dream.

Scrooge hears some clanking and at this point the film is tinted red. An interesting effect.

Marley’s Ghost comes in. He’s transparent and wrapped up in a big sheet.

Marley’s Ghost says that he’s acting as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. I can understand them wanting just one ghost, especially since this was shot in 1913, but it seems odd for Marley’s Ghost to namedrop the other spirits if we aren’t going to see them.

Similar to some other silent versions, they don’t leave the room and the images are projected for Scrooge to see.

The past sequence first shows lonely Ebenezer at school with Fan coming to bring him home. Marley’s Ghost says that Scrooge abandoned Fan later in life. Wait, that’s different! Usually we hear that Fan had died at some point, which helped shut Scrooge off from other people. He abandoned her? And then insulted her son earlier that day!

We next have Belle, whom we see addressing the camera for the big breakup. We don’t see a younger Scrooge in that scene.

Meanwhile, old Scrooge is carrying on quite a bit as he sees these images.

Next, Marley’s Ghost says he’s acting as the Ghost of Christmas Present and shows Scrooge the Cratchits enjoying their Christmas dinner. We get the toast to Scrooge, Mrs. Cratchit squawks and Tiny Tim looks at the camera to say his famous line.

Scrooge asks about Tiny Tim and then we actually see him die! That’s disturbing!

Also disturbing is the writing on Scrooge’s tombstone, which reads “He Lived and Died Without a Friend.” I know I’ve seen that in another silent version. Do I really want to go back and find out which? Hmmm...

Scrooge winds up back in his room and the red tint ends. He yells out the window to the kid, then brings the kid inside. He asks him if he knows Tiny Tim and whether he’s still alive (predating Alec Guinness's similarly awkard question to Bob Cratchit in 1950)! This doesn’t faze the kid who said he’s alive, as he saw him “with his father tonight.”

This last remark seems to indicate that this is still Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning.

Since the kid (who’s actually pretty big) knows the Cratchits, Scrooge gives him some money to get the prize turkey and deliver it in a cab.

Now, oddest of all, Scrooge imagines himself enjoying the feast with the Cratchits. He’s not really there, but this imaginary Scrooge takes the liberty of kissing Mrs. Cratchit with the help of some handy mistletoe! Is Mrs. Cratchit played by Mrs. Hicks and this was a sly nod? I think that's fun, so I'm going with it!

Scrooge also mouths “God bless us, everyone” without an inter-title to tell us what he said.

Scrooge snaps out of his reverie and sees the gang of kids out the window, so he throws a bunch of money down to them.

The next inter-title tells us that he going to make a round of Christmas Eve calls, including letting Fred know that he’ll join them for dinner.

So, this was still Christmas Eve. What time did Marley come then? And why were those kids still hanging around in the street?

We skip ahead to the morning after Christmas where the inter-title tells us that Scrooge plays a “grim” joke on Bob Cratchit. If it’s grim to have your salary raised, give me some of that grim!

Scrooge quotes Tiny Tim and… scene!

So, what we have here is a fairly average silent movie, which would’ve passed muster in 1913, but must have seemed ancient to 1926 audiences.

As for 2020 audiences, there’s not much to offer to casual fans, but to a die-hard Scrooge buff, the younger Seymour Hicks makes it a must-see.

Just don't expect too much!