Stan Freberg is not buying Micky and Peter's mother/son disguise!
Of (perhaps) note is that in the very next episode, "Monkee vs. Machine," the character played by Stan Freberg says "Bah! Humbug!" at one point, channeling his Mr. Scrooge!
Davy Jones goes Cratchit with Butch Patrick!
And on the Christmas episode from 1967, the holiday-challenged youngster portrayed by Butch Patrick also says "Bah! Humbug!"
Good to know "A Christmas Carol" is so well-known within the Monkee-verse!
Back to Ronald Sinclair in his per-MGM days while stilled billed as Ra Hould, we come across his one starring picture for Republic, 1937's "Dangerous Holiday."
Said dangerous holiday is taken by Ronald's character, who is a violin prodigy (named Ronnie!) with a bunch of greedy relatives!
The movie follows his relatively mild adventures on the road before he reunites with his reformed family.
The movie isn't really much, but Ronald/Ra is has a very likeable presence which carries the film and he does acquire an awesome dog, whom he names Hercules!
I see a few references here and there to Ronald being a violin prodigy in real life, hence this vehicle for him, but that article from the "Times Colonist" says he was an able pianist with no mention of the violin. I presume if he had been a prodigy, that article would've said so.
Guinn "Big Boy" Williams gives good support as a genial gangster who befriends Ronnie.
And it's always interesting to see Hedda Hopper as an actress (she plays Ronnie's stepmother here) before she became an influential (and evil!) gossip columnist known for wearing wacky hats!
As with "Boots and Saddles," you can see why MGM grabbed him as last-minute Freddie Bartholomew replacement for "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry."
I guess he was disposable to MGM once the settled things with Freddie, as Ronald only appeared in the one additional film for MGM (the previously mentioned "A Christmas Carol")
By the same token, MGM didn't seem to know what to do with the growing Freddie either!
As my custom after watching a musical from the 1930s or 1940 is to listen to the studio recordings (if any) of the songs from the film, so it is with "Boots and Saddles," the 1937 Gene Autry movie featuring Ronald Sinclair, young Scrooge from 1938's "A Christmas Carol."
Gene recorded a couple of the songs that he sang on the movie for the Brunswick umbrella of labels, which show up on Vocalion, Melotone, Conqueror, Perfect, etc.
The records on these budget labels were extremely popular with Gene's fans in rural areas.
So, here's Gene with the more-or-less title song, "Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle":
Gene also sang "Ridin' the Range" in the movie:
The lyrics of that song don't make the cowboy life sound like too much fun, but it helped convince Ronald's character to want to save the ranch!
Also featured in the movie was "The One Rose (That's Left in My Heart):
That particular song has its roots as a Hawaiian number, but has been performed in all sorts of styles over the years in addition to country versions like Gene's.
I'm particularly partial to the 1937 hit version by the great Larry Clinton band with vocalist Bea Wain on Victor Records:
Continuing to dig up additional movies featuring Ronald Sinclair, the child actor who portrayed young Scrooge in MGM's 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol," we come across "Boots and Saddles" from Republic Pictures in 1937, the western with Gene Autry referred to in the clipping from last time.
The Autry vehicle features Ronald Sinclair (still billed under his sort-of real name Ra Hould) as a young British earl who inherits the ranch of which Gene is the foreman.
Will Gene transform the lad into a real westerner and save the ranch? Watch the movie and see!
If you like one Autry movie from the 1930s, you probably like them all, but this one stands out for a couple of reasons.
One is the somewhat different story element of the British lad going West.
Future Wild Bill (standing, in yellow shirt) doesn't look too concerned!
Another is that the villain is portrayed by Gordon Elliott, who just the next year would star as Wild Bill Hickock in Columbia's 1938 serial "The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok." That was such a success that he became a major Western star billed as Wild Bill Elliott!
He was a good actor and makes a good villain, with the thin little mustache and all and it's fun to see such a stalwart cowboy star in that manner!
Gene plays his usual version of himself and has his usual sidekick Smiley Burnette as Frog Millhouse with his usual antics.
Judith Allen gives the movie a little zip as Gene's love interest and Guy Usher as Judith's father gives good support as well.
Ronald/Ra isn't given too much to do past the setup of the story, but he does a good job and has some fun scenes with Smiley.
Easy to see why MGM snatched him up when they needed a quick Freddie Bartholomew replacement!
On the trail of Ronald Sinclair, the child actor who portrayed young Scrooge in MGM's 1938 adapatation of "A Christmas Carol," this article from the November 13, 1937 issue of Canada's "Times Colonist" newspaper has a ton of information:
Not too hard to read, I hope!
Some of the content was probably made up by the MGM publicity department, but it mostly sounds accurate.
I can totally understand why MGM changed his name to Ronald Sinclair, but I don't get why anyone thought "Ra Hould" was a good name for a child actor in the first place, whether it was his real name or not!
I had previously made an effort to watch movies featuring Barry MacKay, who portrayed Fred in MGM's 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol," as for years I only knew him from that one role.
So, when the 1937 MGM movie "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" popped up on TCM, I thought I should take a closer look at Ronald Sinclair, who was featured in that film and also played young Scrooge for MGM the next year.
"Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" is basically a programmer, but just about any MGM film from the 1930s has good productions values and good performers and this is no exception.
The most notable thing from an historic standpoint is that "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" is the first movie in which both Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney appear!
That combination of stars is one of the greatest in movie history, but it's more happenstance that they're both in this movie, as they don't play opposite each other, if you will, and only interact in a couple of scenes. They do work well, together. though!
Judy is billed first in the cast listing, which would be the only time she was billed over Mickey, but Mickey wasn't quite MICKEY ROONEY yet.
The lead role in the movie is actually played by Ronald Sinclair and he's the (puppy) love interest for Judy here and he's also the first actor you see on screen at the start of the credits!
That may seem odd to have an unknown such as Ronald featured so prominently, but as you watch the film, it's obvious that he's playing a part that was meant for the then-popular Freddie Bartholomew.
As I understand it, Freddie had an aunt who was his guardian and said aunt often locked horns with the MGM brass. Presumably MGM had "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" ready to go as a vehicle for Freddie with up-and-comers Mickey and Judy in support, but had to cast a different lead due to aunt trouble!
With this in mind, the trailer for the movie is quite intriguing:
Freddie was back in the fold to film the trailer. I don't buy for a second that he's happy that his "pal" is in the movie instead of him, just as I don't buy that Lionel Barrymore handpicked Reginald Owen to replace himself as Scrooge!
Whatever the case, I think Ronald Sinclair is very good in "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry," holding his own against Mickey and Judy, but I guess MGM didn't need him once they smoothed things over with Freddie Bartholomew, as his only other appearance in an MGM film is in the small role of young Scrooge.
As for "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" itself, it's a fun movie, only about 80 minutes long, so it doesn't outstay its welcome. I don't know if I'd say it's a "gripping drama of extraordinary goodness," though!
This is only Judy Garland's second film for MGM, following her breakthrough role in "Broadway Melody of 1938," and she's quite delightful. Oddly, she only gets one song, "Got a New Pair of Shoes," but she sings that one song multiple times!
As I mentioned, Mickey Rooney wasn't a big star yet, but you can see this kid had the goods. I kind of prefer him in the somewhat-shady secondary roles he played before the "Andy Hardy" persona took over, but he was good in whatever role he played.
Sophie Tucker plays Judy's aunt and she tosses off some great one-liners. I understand that she wasn't pleased with the direction in which MGM was pushing her (i.e. non-singing Marie Dressler-type parts), but she's a pro and interacts quite well with the kids.
Sir C. Aubrey Smith plays Ronald's grandfather and he's always awesome, but I don't think his title drop from the trailer is in the movie!
And one more thing as evidenced by the poster at the top of the page. For such a prestigious studio, MGM had dreadful artwork on their theatrical posters!
Back in my day, if your grandmother offered you candy, it would be ribbon candy!
Had the it been this brand...
...I would've eaten it all so I could keep the box!
Looking at said product, I somehow imagine Stan Freberg's "Mr. Scrooge" thinking up the name!
They don't seem to make the "Tiny Tim" brand anymore, but the Washburn company is still in business, so are the grandmothers of today still buying that stuff?
Here's a fun press photo showing Fredric March and Christopher Cook on the set of "Shower of Stars" in 1954:
What's often wacky, though, are the captions. This one reads:
LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 1: CBS television special holiday presentation, Chryslers Shower of Stars, adaptation of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. Pictured Left to right: Fredric March (as Ebenezer Scrooge) and Christopher Cook (as Tiny Tim, a crippled boy). December 23, 1954. Los Angeles, CA. Image dated October 1, 1954.
It's funny that they feel the need to explain the Tiny Tim character, but not Ebenezer Scrooge! Thanks for letting us know!
Edmund shows Gwenn (center) shakes hands with a member of the cast of a play that the blind children also gave at the party. Ted Donaldson, stage starlet, who plays "Tiny Tim" in the Dicken's play, is seated to left of Gwenn, who plays "Scrooge".
Yup, that's definitely Edmund Gwenn and Ted Donaldson, but in what presentation were they playing Scrooge? Was it at the same party? Did it happen on December 19?
I need to know when and where to set my time machine!
