A Journey Back to 1938

So, around the holidays, TCM always shows MGM's 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol" with Reginald Owen. Certainly makes sense!

I usually either record it or watch it "On Demand" as that's easier than digging out  the DVD or whatever.

This particular version is not overly well-regarded and I have certainly taken it to task, but if I get past what it's not, I do enjoy it as a bit of fluff.

TCM showed it as part of a Dickens block with the David O. Selznick produced MGM blockbusters "David Copperfield" and "A Tale of Two Cities" from 1935 and David Lean's brilliant "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist" from 1946 and 1948, respectively.

The 1938 "A Christmas Carol" suffers mightily in such company (1951's "Scrooge" can stand with them), but take it away from those other ones and it's a pleasant diversion.

"All-Star" Barry MacKay's Fred is awesome and Gene Lockhart's Bob Cratchit is outstanding too. They carry the movie, offsetting Reginald Owen's somewhat cartoonish Scrooge and the miscasting of Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim.

Wait, did I go full-circle and start "dissing" the movie again?

Oh, well...