A few more thoughts on the World Record Club's recording of "A Christmas Carol" from 1960...
I think it's an interesting take, with the choral and orchestral numbers mixed in, but I think those tend to bring the story to a halt in some instances.
I'm not an aficionado of choral music by any means, but the Bach Choir seems to do a good job. It's a prestigious group, so I'm sure it's high quality.
I do like the orchestral pieces and the background music from the Jacques Orchestra quite a bit. This group was led by Reginald Jacques, but he doesn't get any label credit otherwise.
David Willcocks is listed as the conductor and he and Reginald Jacques were collaborators, with Willcocks taking over as director of the Bach choir from Jacques sometime around when this project was recorded in 1960, so who knows who did what?
Both gentlemen were very accomplished, with David Willcocks in particular having a stellar career!
As for the actors, the fate of the project rests on Bernard Miles and I think he does a great job as the narrator and Scrooge.
I like his delivery as narrator especially, as he has sort of a folksy manner. His accent seems quite pronounced to me. I think I've seen it described as "rustic."
He did a lot of stage work in England over a long career, but also made a number of movies. Mostly British or with British ties, including Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much."
The role of his that I'm most familiar with is his stellar performance as "Joe Gargery" in David Lean's 1946 version of "Great Expectations."
I know I've mentioned this film a few times as a lofty standard for movie adaptations of Charles Dickens works and it really is!
In a movie filled with many brilliantly realized characterizations, Miles as Joe stands out.
Fun fact: Tony Wager, the actor who plays young Pip in that film, also appears in a bit role in a couple scenes in "Scrooge" from 1950!
He's the young man who was working for Fezziwig when Scrooge and Marley take over the business. Scrooge "generously" extends his employment - for a shilling a week less!
The rest of the cast on this recording do a good job.
An odd typo on the original record label and jacket is George Roubicek's last name misspelled as "Rougicek."
He has some cool credits on his résumé with roles in "You Only Live Twice," "The Spy Who Loved Me" and the first "Star Wars" movie, though, so he got the last laugh anyway!
All in all, there's plenty of talent at work in this project. I think it's just so oddly assembled!
Always good to have different versions and I like this one, but it's not definitive.
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