Back to Gruel!

That's obviously not Ebenezer Scrooge shown above, but the 1833 British lithograph does give us some insight as to why Scrooge was earing gruel on Christmas Eve!

For more info, check out this entry on the Library of Congress website!

Did they really have a cure for the common cold back then?

Thumbs Up!

Here's a fun collectible:

It's a thimble from Staffordshire!

If you trust pre-reformed Scrooge to protect your fingers!

Lurking About!

Bransby Williams always seems to be lurking about, doesn't he?

Here he is in character as Scrooge on this postcard from 1907:

Pretty neat!

A Vision!

Here's an interesting editorial cartoon from 1886:

That's the ghost of Benjamin Disraeli showing the vision to not-really Scrooge.

I don't really "get" it, but I dig it!

"A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" (2017) - Part Two

If you got the chance to watch the BBC presentation of "A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong," I hope you found it as amusing as I did.

Derek Jacobi before things go wrong!

I thought it was clever how it started off like a legitimate production with Sir Derek Jacobi as Scrooge, then went off the rails, sort of like a Spike Jones record. You could probably trick someone if they didn't know!

You may recall that we heard Derek Jacobi in an audio adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" a while back, but he was narrating as Charles Dickens rather than playing Scrooge.

The Dame tells the Sir how it is!

The narrator here is Dame Diana Rigg (still lovely at 80-ish), who within the context of the show is the aunt of one the cast members, Sandra (I think!), played by Charlie Russell.

It's a little confusing to me, as the actors are playing fictional actors in the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and there's a series of these takeoffs. There's some backstage "drama" dealing with the actors' personal lives mixed in, but I was able to follow along pretty well!

The cast does a good job of playing the comedy straight, if you will. They act like they're sincere about trying to put on a good show and never seem like they're intentionally sabotaging it.

I was especially amused by Jonathan Sayer as Dennis who can't remember his lines as Bob Cratchit and has them written all over the set.

Good fun and a surprisingly faithful adaptation.

As I said before, worth a watch!

"A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" (2017) - Part One

"A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" (2017) 

Director: Richard Boden

Scrooge: Derek Jacobi

I've been aware of this BBC show for a while, but didn't get the chance to watch it until I saw it was available (with ads) on YouTube.

Here's the link if you wish to indulge:

Or if you're not sure, here's a snippet to give you a bit of an idea about the show:

I'll give you a chance to check it out, then discuss a bit. (SPOILER: I think it's worth a watch!)

"A Christmas Carol" (2021) - Frith Street Films - Part 2

A few words about the 2021 multi-media adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" from Frith Street Films...

I admit that I wasn't really sure what was going on at first, as the characters dance around a lot and their lips don't move although we hear them talking.

Then it dawned on me that we're seeing what the littlest girl is imagining as her grandmother reads "A Christmas Carol" to the family. This accounts for the different look of various sets and old pictures popping up here and there.

I rewatched the beginning and it all made sense! We see the kids setting up a toy theater (theatre?) and cutting out pictures including the John Leech illustrations from the first edition.

I hadn't watched those videos from yesterday's post before watching the movie, so I had to figure it out myself!

In any event, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't know what to expect and I honestly wasn't expecting much, but I thought I'd at least give it a look as I have Amazon Prime anyway, but it held my attention and was well worth my time.

I quite liked the narration of Siân Phillips as the grandmother!

It kind of played like an audio dramatization with illustrations and the audio portion is a very faithful adaptation with only a few changes here and there.

The biggest addition, and a fascinating one at that, is the Cratchit children talking about Martha making hats and needing to ride a train to get home for Christmas dinner. And then we see Martha and some other girls making hats! I like it!

An intriguing aspect of the film is the various vintage (and vintage-looking) pictures that pop up to help illustrate the story.

This one really caught my eye:

Is that really how lighthouse keepers got their provisions? Yikes! I never knew! So, this was educational too!

A nit-picker (and there's some of that in me) would say that not everything we see looks like it would spring from the mind of a little Victorian girl, but I'm willing to go with the flow!

I think this film was a good kick-off to the Scrooge-watching of the season. An appetizer, if you will, before the main course of Sim and Magoo and the other perennials!

"A Christmas Carol" (2020) - Frith Street Films - Part 1

"A Christmas Carol" (2020)

Frith Street Films

Director: Jacqui Morris

Scrooge: Simon Russell Beale

Let's kick off December with a relatively new version of "A Christmas Carol, this one from 2020!

It's kind of a blend of different styles and hard to describe.

The trailer gives some of the flavor:

And here's a featurette with more background:

I don't remember having heard of it previously, but it popped up on Amazon Prime, so I gave it a watch!

Note that the video says it will be in theaters in 2021, but most sources say it's from 2020, so I'm going with 2020. I can say it's streaming in 2022 and that's what really matters!

Next up: The critique!

The Gramophone Company - "Bob Crackett Telling Of Scrooge" (1908) - Bransby Williams - Part 2

If you got a chance to listen to Bransby Williams's record "Bob Crackett Telling of Scrooge," I'm sure you think it's interesting!

I don't at all get the odd spelling of Bob Cratchit's last name on the label, but I think it lends even more odd charm to the proceedings!

Bransby doesn't really change his delivery much when portraying Bob rather than Scrooge, but it's interesting to hear the story from Bob's perspective.

It makes sense that Bob tells us what happened at the beginning and end, as he was there. And he fills in the gaps with what Scrooge would have told him over that Christmas bowl of smoking bishop!

And, of course, in keeping with the other Williams records, it's all explained as a dream!

The Gramophone Company - "Bob Crackett Telling Of Scrooge" (1908) - Bransby Williams - Part 1

"Bob Crackett Telling Of Scrooge" (1908)

Bransby Williams
The Gramophone Company

Bransby Williams returns once again with this 1905 Gramophone Monarch Record.

Give it a listen:

Next: A discussion!

Nothing New!

Just to show that things have been around longer than you think, this ad is from 1913:

So, it wasn't the men in the grey flannel suits who started linking "A Christmas Carol" with the other kind of spirits!

That "Other" Dickens Musical!

So, "Oliver!" the 1968 film version of the musical adaptation of "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens popped up on TCM as part of the 31 Days of Oscar, which is only natural, as it racked up six of those statuettes including Best Picture.

I know I saw "Oliver!" when I was a kid and didn't really care for it (I think I resented it as supposedly being good for me from a cultural standpoint - I was more excited to see "The Love Bug") and I don't think I've seen it since, so I thought why not watch it as I'll probably enjoy it.

But, you know, I didn't think it was that great. Not bad, but not brilliant.

I think my main beef was that I didn't like the songs all that much (sorry, Lionel Bart!) and I felt like the story kept grinding to a halt for a production number that had nothing to do with said story. For example, why were The Artful Dodger and Nancy singing "I'd Do Anything" at the hideout?

Perhaps it's obvious where I'm going with this, but I do think the songs in 1970's "Scrooge" fit better and don't slow down the proceedings.

I realize that "Oliver Twist" is a much longer book than "A Christmas Carol" and it needs to be pared down, but I felt like "Oliver!" just basically took the adaptation from David Lean's 1948 film version and shoehorned the songs in. And it can't compare to that classic!

On the plus side, I thought the performances were good with Ron Moody and Jack Wild standing out and deserving of their Oscar nominations, although they kind of come off as wacky comedy relief!

Of course, I associate Jack Wild with "H.R. Pufnstuf," a bizarre Saturday morning show from my distant youth!

Interestingly, "Oliver!" gets a rating of 7.4 on the IMDb whereas "Scrooge" gets 7.5. Hmmm...

Bransby Williams Returns!

Way back when (here) I had been wondering if the recording on this Bransby Williams LP from Decca Records were new recordings or reissues of his old 78s:

I think I have the solution, which is based on this 1949 LP on London Records:

I'm presuming the London album is a U.S. issue of the British Decca album, which presumably had originally been released in 1949 or earlier.

In any event, the Scrooge cuts are extremely similar to the 78s with some slight differences:

Of course, the LP I have access to is so scratchy that it might as well be from 78s, but I think those are new recordings using the same basic script from his old "My Sketches from Dickens" book.

Whatever the case, I always enjoy hearing Mr. Williams!

First Edition!

For the 100th "Random" post, here's an interesting little video of actor Simon Callow at the Charles Dickens museum with a first edition of "A Christmas Carol":

Pretty cool, but it makes me nervous that he's not wearing gloves!

The "Real" 1931 Broadcast!

Having beaten the "Mystery Broadcast" of "A Christmas Carol" into the ground, I thought it appropriate to talk about what we know of the real BBC broadcast of December 24, 1931.

Here's the listing from the December 188, 1931 issue of "Radio Times":

So, what we know is that there was a "Christmas Eve" show that ran for about an hour and part of said show was an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" titled "Scrooge" with Malcolm Keen in the Scrooge part.

This is exactly how I want my early 1930s British actors to look!

Things get extremely intriguing with Malcolm Keen, as he was apparently featured in two early TV adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" as well!

The first was an episode of "Fireside Theatre" from December 25, 1951 in which Mr. Keen portrayed Marley's Ghost opposite Ralph Richardson as Scrooge!

The next year on December 24, 1952 Keen played the part of Scrooge himself on an episode of the "Kraft Theatre" series!

I don't know if either of those TV versions are still out there, but I'd love to see them!

Back to the 1931 broadcast, it's interesting that the adaptation itself is called "Scrooge," which seem so British, as the 1935 Sir Seymour Hicks, the 1951 Alastair Sim and the 1970 Albert Finney movies were all named "Scrooge."

Of further note, the narrator on the Mystery Broadcast does not refer to that adaptation as "Scrooge" per se, so that's another strike!

On the other hand, the 1931 broadcast and the Mystery Broadcast both have a character named Alice. Hmmm...

I think we need that time machine to ever have a chance to hear the 1931 broadcast!

Bonus 78s - Sailing Along!

If you've been paying attention, you'll know it's time to hear some recordings of the songs from 1938's "Sailing Along" starring Jessie Matthews! 

Jessie cut the four main songs from the movie for British Decca backed by Peter Yorke and his Orchestra.

Here's the coupling of "Souvenir of Love" and "Trusting My Love":

And here's "Your Heart Skips a Beat" backed with "My River":

Sounds good!

Decca also had Sidney Lipton and his Grosvenor House Orchestra record "Souvenir of Love" and "Trusting My Luck" with the great Al Bowlly on vocals:

Al Bowlly was just a great singer. He's best-known for his many recordings with Ray Noble both in England and the U.S.

RCA had British bandleader Roy Fox record the same two songs (flipping them as the A and B sides) which they released in America on the Bluebird label:

To top it all off, RCA also had the musical director of "Sailing Along," Lou Levy, record all four songs on two sides on their British His Master's Voice label featuring vocalists Gerry Fitz Gerald and Eve Becke:

Lou Levy worked on a ton of British films including the Alfred Hitchcock classics "The 39 Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes."

Lots of good recordings of the "Sailing Along" songs!

Barry MacKay 101 - Lesson 6!

After having enjoyed "Gangway" with Jessie Matthews and Barry MacKay, I thought it appropriate to watch their third and final screen pairing - "Sailing Along" from 1938!

It's also Barry's last movie in England before going Hollywood for MGM's "A Christmas Carol" later in 1938.

"Sailing Along" is another fun movie with Jessie and Barry still displaying good chemistry, but it's a bit different from "Evergreen" and "Gangway" in a few ways.

A big difference is that their characters already know each other when the movie starts, so they don't "meet cute" as is often the case.

They argue a lot and profess not to like each other, but if you've ever seen a movie before, you know that couples who argue that much must really love each other. In the movies at least!

Another difference is that Jessie is given a polished song and dance man to perform with, as opposed to having Barry sing a little and dance a little.

The singer/dancer in question is American Jack Whiting, who was mainly a stage performer, making only a handful of movie appearances. His only other movie of the period is Paramount's "Give Me a Sailor," also from 1938, a Martha Raye/Bob Hope vehicle in which Jack is cast as Hope's brother!

Funny that Jack Whiting has those two movies from 1938, but one's American and one's British, yet they both have "sail" in the title!

Whatever the case, he's quite good here in "Sailing Along," which gives him a better chance to showcase his musical skills than "Give Me a Sailor" does.

Jack's character is also a romantic rival for the affections of Miss Matthews, an idea not present in the first two movies.

Also different is the setting, as a lot of the action takes place on a barge, Barry's character being the son of a barge owner, with Jessie the foster daughter of the same owner.

Said barge owner, the Skipper, is played by Frank Pettingell, whom we remember from his 1959 recording of "A Christmas Carol."

Second (but much smaller than Jessie Matthews) billed is Roland Young, whom I've always enjoyed in the many movies in which I've seen him.

He has a British stiff-upper-lip mumbly delivery that enhances the one-liners he gets to toss off.

Roland Young's main Dickens connection is his terrific performance as Uriah Heep in MGM's 1935 adaptation of David Copperfield," in which he cast against type but delivers the goods.

Also on hand in "Sailing Along" is Alastair Sim, playing another wacky side character as he had in "Gangway."

Watching these movies definitely gives me context for Barry MacKay, but it's also enlightening to see Alastair Sim early in his career playing very eccentric characters. You wouldn't think he be giving an acclaimed performance as Scrooge as dozen or so years later!

Here's a clip from the VCI's DVD of "Sailing Along":

All in all a fun flick!

That's "Love Is Not a Joke" in Italian!

Bonus 78s - Gangway!

Since I was just talking about the 1937 movie "Gangway" starring Jessie Matthews and Barry MacKay and since I never pass up the opportunity to listen to some 78rpm records, let's hear some of the songs from the movie!

The film's main four featured songs all had studio recordings by Jessie Matthews on British Decca, backed by Jay Wilbur and his Band. 

Here's the title song:

What's interesting is that although it's the title song, within the context of the movie it's a song that Jessie's character had heard in a stage production and she performs it for a co-worker. So, it's sort of from the movie but sort of not, you know?

The flipside is "Lord and Lady Whoozis" (which was sung as a duet with Barry in the movie):

Interesting to note that the Australian label says the song is from the film "Sparkles." That's the name of the jewel thief whom Jessie is suspected as being. I wonder if that was the original pre-release title.

Another duet in the movie was "Moon or No Moon":

And then there's the snappy "When You Gotta Sing You Gotta Sing":

I always enjoy tap dancing sounds on records and if you're going to namedrop Fred Astaire in the lyrics, why not?

I like the very 1930s sound on those records. Jessie's singing style seems very much of the period as well, kind of in the Deanna Durbin and Snow White (from the Disney film) family.

I don't think that these records of Jessie Matthews were released in America, but Decca did have American releases of the versions of the same four songs recorded by popular British bandleader Ambrose, whom we heard with "Winter Wonderland" not too long ago.

Here's "Gangway" featuring vocalist Evelyn Dall:

For the flipside, this version of "Lord and Lady Whoozis" keeps it as duet, with Sam Browne and future star Vera Lynn:

Then Sam Browne gets a solo vocal on "Moon or No Moon":

And the Manhattan Trio (per the original British label) sings "When You Gotta Sing You Gotta Sing":

I like these Ambrose records a lot, as I'm partial to dance band records anyway, and they offer a nice contrast to Jessie Matthews's versions.

Good 1930s fun!

Barry MacKay 101 - Lesson 5!

While virtually hanging around the 1930s and realizing that it's been over a year since our last Barry MacKay lesson, I thought it was time to watch another of his movies!

So, I tracked down "Gangway" from 1937, his second co-starring film with Jessie Matthews, following 1934's "Evergreen."

This is another British musical from Gaumont Studios and it's a lot of fun!

It has a mistaken identity plot, which is so common in 1930s musicals and I can see this being adapted for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers without too much trouble.

Jessie plays a newspaper movie reviewer who gets mistaken for an international jewel thief by most of the rest of the cast, including Barry as an inspector from Scotland Yard. 

Alastair Sim and Nat Pendleton provide the comedy relief

The movie is something of a spoof of American gangster movies and American actor Nat Pendleton is a riot as the main gangster, spouting gangster-lingo in a way that British filmmakers would think Americans actually talk!

Also on hand is Alastair Sim in an early role as a wacky insurance investigator.  In a movie filled with screwball characters, he's the screwiest!

Mr. Sim looks younger than he did as Scrooge, but he still doesn't look young, despite being only 37 at the time. Some people never looked young!

So, how's Barry MacKay here? He's very good and has great chemistry with Jessie Matthews.

She's a way better singer and dancer than he is, but the numbers are staged in a way that he does what he does and more or less stays out of the way while she is showcased.

Jessie Matthews is definitely the star attraction here and she's billed in huge letters above the title, but Barry's role is also pretty big.

Here's a promo clip from VCI's DVD release:

VCI offers a number of Jessie Matthews movies in nice prints!

Small font or not, at least Robert Young's name is on this lobby card!

In the meantime, I had also seen Jessie Matthews in 1936's "It's Love Again" opposite Robert Young and I'm officially a fan!

Silhouettes!

 This edition from Alma Classics has an interesting cover:

Those particular silhouettes wouldn't be in the same frame at the same time, but whatever!