"Joy to the World" - AFRTS (195?) - Part 3

Before we leave the US Navy's "Joy to the World" program as recorded by the AFRTS, we need a few thoughts about the star, Otto Kruger, and the host, Robert Paige.

I'm very familiar with Otto Kruger (1885-1974) from his appearances in many movies from the golden age of Hollywood.

He had an urbane manner that I thought was best suited for him to play villains hiding under a veneer of respectability. We know he's evil, the hero knows he's evil, but nobody else believes it!

My favorite such role of his was in "Saboteur" (1942), my vote for most-underrated Alfred Hitchcock movie:

Another good role like that was in "Tarzan's Desert Mystery" (1943) - a good flick:

And "Murder, My Sweet" (1944):

Just a few from a fine resumé!

As for Robert Paige, I'm also familiar with his work, mainly from the time that he was under contract to Universal Pictures in the 1940s.

As a contract player player at Universal, he was bound to pop up in an Abbott & Costello movie and a horror movie.

He did appear with A & C in "Pardon My Sarong" (1942):

And with Lon Chaney, Jr. in "Son of Dracula" (1943):

These were among his many movies for Universal. I think he's very good although the roles don't usually give him much to work with, "Son of Dracula" being a notable exception.

He's very pleasant as a light leading man, but Hollywood was full of those guys in the 1940s.

It must have been interesting for him to meet up with that certain comedy team once again in "Abbott & Costello Go to Mars" (1953):

This movie (which is very underrated!) was maybe just a short time before the AFRTS show in question?

Bob Paige's role here as host for the US Navy program reminds me of Bill Lundigan on "Shower of Stars" in that you have someone whom the audience knows from having seen them in movies, even if they weren't big stars. Not the worst gig in the world!

I like both Otto Kruger and Robert Paige as performers and was glad to hear them pop up on this intriguing artifact from the AFRTS!

"Joy to the World" - AFRTS (195?) - Part 2

If you got the chance to listen to the 1950s-era AFRTS recording of the US Navy's "Joy to the World" featuring Otto Kruger as Ebenezer Scrooge in an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," you may be thinking it's déjà vu all over again.

This experience is a bit different from the AFRS show with Basil Rathbone which incorporated the 78 rpm recording of "A Christmas Carol" into the show, but there was something very familiar... 

It didn't take me long to realize that Otto Kruger was speaking the same words that Ronald Colman had spoken on his recording of "A Christmas Carol" from 1941!

As it goes along, yes, definitely it's the same script. Hey, why not? 

But I do wonder how many service personnel had heard Mr. Colman's recording over the years and were wise to this!

As for this recording itself, it doesn't sport the high production values of the Colman version and does not have anywhere near the cast.

I have no reason at all to doubt host Robert Paige when he says the supporting cast are members of the Navy from Pensacola and their families. They do seem amateurish, but I'm sure they had fun and the show is pleasant.

Ronald Colman's album had a supporting cast of top radio actors, so it's not a fair comparison, but there you go.

As for Otto Kruger, he does a good job and has a good voice, but if you compare him to Ronald Colman, well, no one can beat Ronald Colman in the voice department!

One thing I will say is that Otto Kruger's voice sounds like it was recorded separately from the supporting cast. The quality is different. I'm guessing he recorded his lines and the Pensacola folks recorded their lines and someone mixed them together.

That's just one mystery about this recording.

The main one is that I can't determine when it's from. Neither the AFRTS announcer nor Robert Paige mention the year.

The biggest clue is that it was presented by the AFRTS rather then the AFRS. The extra T for television was officially added in April of 1954, so this program is no earlier than the Christmas season of 1954. I wouldn't imagine it's a lot later than that, but who knows? Otto Kruger was around until 1974 (and Robert Paige until 1987), so there's not much of a clue there.

And why is the show called "Joy to the World" and not "A Christmas Carol?" 

I can't find any references to this show anywhere, yet here it is! It's all a mystery!

Paging Nick Carter!

"Joy to the World" - AFRTS (195?) - Part 1

We jump ahead an indeterminate number of years and find that the AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) is now the AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service)!

But, they were still spreading holiday spirit, as with this recording of the US Navy's "Joy to the World" show, which features an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" starring Otto Kruger as Ebenezer Scrooge.

Give it a listen:

Next: "Now, wait a minute, isn't that...?"

"The Billboard" (January 1, 1944)

We hang around Christmas 1943 for just a bit longer and swing back to "A Christmas Carol" with this blurb from the January 1, 1944 issue of "Billboard" magazine:

An extremely early television adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" - how cool is that?

Unfortunately, once the show was broadcast, it was lost into the ether. Live shows were not able to be recorded then, as I don't think they were even doing kinescopes (filming the broadcast from a monitor) back then.

But we're fortunate to at least be able to read a review by someone who saw it. Thanks, Wanda Marvin!

I'm not familiar with William Podmore, who portrayed Scrooge and did the adaptation, but a little research shows he was a British actor who seems to have performed on stage more than in movies.

In fact, the only name I recognize from the listed cast is Lon Clark, whom we heard in his role of "Nick Carter" on the radio series not too long ago.

As far as Christmas 1943 goes, the big hit and future standard was this classic recording:

A beautiful song, even more evocative in its original context of WWII.

As far as the cover of "Billboard" at the top, good to know that "orks" were doing so well!

That's Les Brown on the cover, so let's skip ahead a couple of years to 1946 and dig his plattering of "The Christmas Song":

That vocalist showed some promise. Whatever happened to her anyway?

"The Voice of Firestone" (December 20, 1943)

Since we're hanging around 1943 and just ran into Metropolitan Opera star Richard Crooks, and since we're always in the Christmas spirit around here, why don't we stay and listen to Mr. Crooks on a "The Voice of Firestone" episode, as broadcast on NBC on December 20, 1943? (Rhetorical question!)

Give it a listen:

What a nice show! Beautiful music!

Firestone really got into the Christmas spirit! At the top of the page is an awesome comic book giveaway featuring stars from Walt Disney!

Included is Little Hiawatha, star of a 1937 "Silly Symphony" and then appearing in comic books:

And then look at all these cool gifts you could purchase at your Firestone dealer in 1943:

Firestone was still at it when I was a kid with a series of Christmas LPs such as this one, which everyone seemed to have back in the day:

Young Scrooge sighting!

Harvey Firestone, Jr.: Not a Scrooge!

"A Christmas Carol" - AFRS (1943) - Part 2

If you got a chance to listen to Basil Rathbone as Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1943 AFRS recording of "A Christmas Carol," you might have experienced a bit of déjà vu.

After the AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) announcer introduces the show, we hear the very familiar (to me anyway) tones of Harlow Wilcox setting the scene.

My first thought is that sounds a lot like the 1942 Columbia Records recording. As Harlow talks some more and we hear a music sting then Basil Rathbone and Elliot Lewis (as Fred), I know this is that recording!

That's actually not much of a surprise, as the AFRS did a great job of assembling programs from various sources for service personnel who were starved for entertainment from home and this record set is of the highest quality, as good as if not better than a radio broadcast.

The recording had been released by Columbia just a year before. I wonder if any of the soldiers had heard the records before going in the service and recognized them as the source of the AFRS show. In any event, I'm sure everyone enjoyed it.

To round out the program, we hear the great Metropolitan Opera star Richard Crooks sing Schubert's "Ave Maria." The announcer says, "Richard Crooks joins the orchestra to sing for you..." but I'm fairly certain that they used this record from 1939:

Whatever the source, it's a lovely recording.

Richard Crooks was well-known at the time among certain radio listeners for his singing on "The Voice of Firestone," the long-running radio series featuring classical music.

I think the general perception of WWII soldiers and sailors in a musical sense is that they were jitterbugging big band fans. And while the big bands were the top musical stars of the day, there were also a lot of classical music fans who were in the service.

I'm sure there were listeners who were thrilled to hear some "real" music as part of this special AFRS Christmas program!

So, a solid Christmas program assembled by the AFRS. Not entirely unlike how they repurposed an episode of Lionel Barrymore's "Mayor of the Town" radio series into the Christmas episode of "The Globe Theater" AFRS series.

Fun fact: "The Globe Theater" host Herbert Marshall was a member of the London Scottish Regiment of the British Army during World War I and at various times the regiment also included future Scrooges Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Claude Rains!

"A Christmas Carol" - AFRS (1943) - Part 1

Because we never really stray from Basil Rathbone, here he is as Ebenezer Scrooge in this AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) recording from 1943.

Give it a listen:

Next: Hey, wait a minute, isn't that...?

"When Love is Gone" (2017) - Meredith Braun

"When Love is Gone" (2017) 

Meredith Braun

Stage Door Records

And while we're on the subject of "When Love is Gone" from "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992), here's a newer studio version by that film's Belle, Meredith Braun, from 2017.

Give it a listen:

Very nice!

"When Love is Gone" (1992) - Martina McBride

"When Love is Gone" (1992)

Martina McBride

BMG Kidz

Kate Winslet as Belle's song "What If" makes me think of Belle's song from "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992), "When Love is Gone, which we all know was deleted from the theatrical movie shortly before release (as discussed here).

But it doesn't make think of the song as sung by Meredith Braun as Belle, but rather the studio version as sung by country star Martina McBride and played over the end credits.

So, let's give that one a listen:

Why did they cut that again?

"What If" (2001) - Kate WInslet

"What If" (2001)
Kate Winslet
Liberty EMI Records UK

As mentioned, Kate Winslet's "Belle" character has a big power ballad in "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001.

The song "What If" was also released as a single and was very successful in Europe.
Here's the music video:

As you can see, there's footage of Kate singing interspersed with clips from the movie. There's also a live-action Belle, but you never quite get a good look at her, so it makes me wonder if it's actually Kate Winslet or a stand-in! 

Hmmm...

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001) - Part 3

A few words about the cast and characters in the animated feature "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001...

Top-billed is Simon Callow, not the biggest name in the cast, but he does play Scrooge. I think he does a solid job. 

He also plays a live-action Charles Dickens in the theatrical bookends, which are not part of the U.S. straight-to-video version, but my DVD does include them as extras.

The theatrical (for the U.K., I guess) opening has Dickens arriving in Boston in 1867 to perform one of his public readings of "A Christmas Carol." He spots a mouse then apparently changes the story to incorporate the mouse, which he names Gabriel.

It's odd to have the "real" Dickens introducing a version that takes its share of liberties with the book.

In any event, Scrooge is somewhat youngish here. He's balding, but his hair is still brown. I think he says it was 20 years earlier that he had broken up with Belle, so he's not ancient.

Kate Winslet voices Belle, who is given a much larger role here, but she was/is a huge name, having hit the big time a couple of years earlier with her starring role in "Titanic" (1997).

She's a great actress with a great voice, so no complaints! She gets a big power ballad titled "What If" that shows off her vocal chops as well.

Nicolas Cage is the other big name in the cast. Is it me, or does the cover art from the video edition above make Scrooge look like Nic Cage? Is it to trick Cage fans into buying it?

At any rate, Cage voices Marley's Ghost here. I think he's a good performer, but this role doesn't really suit him. Perhaps to use Cage a bit more, Marley's Ghost pops up in the future, sort of like Alec Guinness in "Scrooge" (1970).

Why do I think the colon in the title of this thing makes it sound like a Nicolas Cage movie?

Rhys Ifans, who's also pretty well-known at least British-wise, plays Bob Cratchit here. He does a good job. 

This Bob Cratchit is very tolerant and appreciative of Scrooge. One of the added plot points here is when Tiny Tim was caroling outside of Scrooge's office, Scrooge threw a bucket of cold water on him, causing his pneumonia to worsen. Bob even forgives Scrooge for that during his Christmas toast!

The other performer to get star-ish billing here is Jane Horrocks, also well-known in England. She voices the Ghost of Christmas Past. 

The character is presented quite well, with the spirit in the now familiar persona of a young woman, but she morphs into an older woman periodically, kind of like the book.

The other characters are voiced well, but I'm not always crazy about the character design. In particular Fred just looks odd to me. Partly is that he's dressed more like a hobo than a gentleman!

This will never be my favorite version, but I think the cast is quite good on the whole.

I'll watch it again someday!

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001) - Part 2

So, "Christmas Carol: The Movie" from 2001 always struck me as another one of those straight-to-video adaptations that get a couple of name actors to do some voice work in an attempt to zhuz up a run-of-the-mill production.

Like would it be distinguishable from the 1997 animated version?

And what's with the weird title? This is The Movie? Haven't they're been a zillion other movies of this story already? And how come there's no "A" in there?

But, if you're gonna call yourself a completist, you have to put your money where your mouth is and sometimes suffer through some less-than-stellar productions.

Literally in this case, as I plunked down a few bucks for a DVD of "Christmas Carol: The Movie" and gave it a watch.

You know what, though? I enjoyed the thing!

It keeps the basic story elements, but adds something of a framing story featuring Belle, who is given a much larger part here, befitting the voice casting of the 2001 version of Kate Winslet.

I won't give any spoilers about the Belle story, but I thought it was well-handled. I will say I think it's inspired by "Alice," the Belle stand-in from 1951's "Scrooge" (the one with Alastair Sim that I may have mentioned once or twice).

It also gives a bigger part to Old Joe, who is presented here as actually evil, rather questionably opportunistic.

Most of the incidents from the book are included, but the dialogue is pretty much changed entirely, with only a couple of echoes of the book.

The order of some of the incidents has changed, but the most notable is that Marley's Ghost appears to Scrooge in his office before he goes home. Not sure of the point of this, especially as it weakens the impact of Scrooge seeing Marley's face in the knocker later in the story.

I'm sure a point of contention with a lot of viewers is that a fair amount of screen time is given to a pair of sentient mice. One of them is named Gabriel and Scrooge is actually kind to him throughout the movie.

The other mouse is not named as far as I could tell, but this one is a but smarter than Gabriel. Not sure if it's a boy or girl. They give me something of a Chip and Dale vibe.

Having wacky animal sidekicks naturally makes me think of Debit, Scrooge's pet dog in that 1997 animated feature.

I stand by my thoughts that although Scrooge showing kindness towards a pet softens his character somewhat, I don't really mind the idea. Actually here it makes me think that Scrooge doesn't like people, but since mice aren't people, he doesn't hate them.

Toward the beginning of the movie, while still in the office, Scrooge gives a piece of cheese to Gabriel, but makes sure that he blocks Bob's view so Bob won't see the kindness.

This shows that Scrooge does still have some good in him, though he doesn't want anyone to know, so his conversion is not strictly out of left field. 

I must say that this Scrooge is something of a hard sell, though, as he needs a couple of ghostly reminders on Christmas morning to get him to toe the line!

I didn't think the character design or animation in this movie were anything great, but serviceable enough. Some good music and effects, though, especially during the scenes with the ghosts.

I particularly liked the Christmas Yet to Come sequence, which was spooky and surreal.

It kept my interest for the 70-ish minutes of the story and I'm glad I watched it!

But, as always, your mileage may vary!

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001) - Part 1

"Christmas Carol: The Movie" (2001)

Director: Jimmy T. Murakami

Scrooge: Simon Callow

We turn now to a more straightforward adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" with this somewhat pretetntiously titled animated feature from 2001.

Here's the trailer:

Next: Let's discuss!

"Scrooge's Rock 'n' Roll Christmas" (1984) - Part 2

In case you were wondering, yes, Virginia, there was a soundtrack album for the 1984 "Scrooge's Rock n' Roll Christmas" TV special!

Actually, albums, as there are different variations.

Such as this one:

And this version that doesn't mention the special on the front cover, but has a big thing about it on the back:

And this Japanese issue that doesn't mention the special at all:

Most disturbing, however, is the one at the top of the page, with a rather unappealing drawing of Jack Elam as Scrooge! Who would ever buy that?

Next!

"Scrooge's Rock 'n' Roll Christmas" (1984) - Part 1

"Scrooge's Rock n' Roll Christmas" (1984)
Director: Lou Tedesco
Scrooge: Jack Elam

So, this made-for-TV or straight-to-video or whatever Christmas special is pretty rough!

The set-up is that Scrooge is working in his office when a "girl" comes in, mistaking the office for a record store.

Seeing that Scrooge doesn't like Christmas, she attempts to change his mind by showing him "rock and roll" artists performing Christmas songs in a magic snow globe.

That's about it!

The odd thing is that the roster of artists have nothing at all to do with the current state of popular music in 1984 (or 1983, which is the copyright date).

They're name artists, but they were at their peak in the 1960s and/or 1970s.

The list:

The Association

Bobby Goldsboro

Mike Love (of the Beach Boys)

Mary McGregor

Paul Revere & the Raiders

Merrilee Rush

Three Dog Night

Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean)

All of these artists were successful and I'm familiar with their work, but they were all past their primes by the 1980s.

Their relative merits and relationship to rock and roll are discussions for another time!

There's also a newcomer named Bridget, but I don't know who she is.

Anyway, it's all very strange. The musical acts are very disconnected from the "story," but Mike Love does show up in "real time" at Scrooge's office, also mistaking it for a record store!

Otherwise, I wouldn't be shocked if the other performers had no idea that their little holiday videos were going to be used for this particular special. I wonder if they were part of some "oldies" package tour and that's why they were all together (sort of). It would have been a fun concert to see them perform their hits of 10-20 years before!

As far as the story, apparently it is Ebenezer Scrooge in the office, as he namedrops Bob Cratchit as his employee and says, "God bless us, everyone" at the end.

But it's unclear what the time and location are. The girl is very American, but when she mentions Paul Revere, Scrooge says something about him being "from the colonies," implying that they're not in America, but probably England.

Everything seems to take place in the present, but there's no explanation as to why Scrooge is in the present.

I realize this is way more analysis than this needs and it's probably futile to try and make any sense of it!

Jack Elam was an excellent performer, alternating between villainous and comic roles over a long career, and he's not bad here, but he's given nothing to work with. He would have been really good in a comic version of "A Christmas Carol."

"The Girl" is played by Lee Benton, with whom I'm not familiar. Her biggest acting role seems to have been as a regular on "The New Mike Hammer" TV series with Stacy Keach. I used to watch that show sometimes, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember her "Jenny" character.

The material of this special is weak, so it's hard to judge Lee's acting skills, but she tries to sell it, although I think she appears a bit mature for the role. 

In an event, this is a strange artifact and if you don't have OSD, steer clear!