More TV!

Here's another TV GUIDE ad:

This is from 1985, so it would be the second airing.

My main takeaway is that I didn't realize they were doing closed-captioning that far back!

"General Electric Theater" - December 15, 1957

"The Trail to Christmas" (December 15, 1957) 
"General Electric Theater"
Director: James Stewart
Scrooge: John McIntire

We keep going with Jimmy Stewart for just a bit longer as we come across an episode of the ""General Electric Theater" TV series from 1957 titled "The Trail to Christmas."

Apparently the episode is a reworking of "Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol" episode from "The Six Shooter" radio series!

The show still exists, but it's not available for viewing right now, but we'll see what happens.

James Stewart directed the episode and relates the western version of A" Christmas Carol" as a character named "Bart" (he was Britt now he's Bart, so not exactly like the Maverick brothers!).

The Scrooge role is enacted by John McIntire, the veteran character actor (he had appeared in "Winchester '73") who gained his greatest fame when he replaced the late Ward Bond as wagonmaster on the long-running TV series "Wagon Train" starting in 1961.

The "Jake Marley" character is played by Will Wright, another character actor with a lot of credits, including appearing on "The Six Shooter" radio series. His best-known Christmas-related role is as Ben Weaver, the Scrooge-like store owner in the 1960 Christmas episode of "The Andy Griffith Show." 

We last saw him here, drinking punch with Ozzie Nelson while Ricky sang "Jingle Bells!"

The most intriguing casting, however, would be Sally Fraser as Belle. If that seems familiar, it's because she played Belle opposite Fredric March in the 1954 "Shower of Stars" adaptation. That can't be a coincidence!

Hopefully this show becomes available at some point. The rights may have something to do with the host of "General Electric Theater" shown at the top of the page.

Isn't he the guy who portrayed Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1952's "The Winning Team" with Doris Day? Did we ever find out what happened to him?

A Little More 1930s!

Here's an ad from "The Saturday Evening Post" issue of December 26, 1936:

Of note is that this is the broadcast in which John Barrymore filled in for Lionel due to Lionel's wife passing away the day before. That was a last-minute change, so it wasn't reflected in the ad.

I think it's interesting that the ad copy uses the word "pathetic" to describe Tiny Tim.

Here's what the dictionary says:

pa·thet·ic

Learn to pronounce

adjective

1. 1.

   arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness.

   "she looked so pathetic that I bent down to comfort her"
2. 2.   miserably inadequate; of very low standard.

        "he's a pathetic excuse for a man"

They're going with the first definition, but I think in 2022 the second is more common but we really don't think of Tiny Tim that way!

And here's the 1935 ad for the show:

I've always liked that depiction of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim!

"The Red Skelton Hour" (December 14, 1965)

"A Jerk of All Trades" (December 14, 1965)
 The Red Skelton Hour
CBS Network

Moving from the odd Scrooge/Emmett Kelly mashup, we move to a more typical use of the Scrooge character, this time involving legendary comedian Red Skelton.

On the Christmas episode of "The Red Skelton Hour," as broadcast on CBS TV in 1965 was a skit featuring Red as a curmudgeonly newsstand proprietor named "E. Scrooge."

This was the "Silent Spot" segment of the show, Red being an expert pantomimist (like Emmett Kelly).

Here are some stills:

As I mentioned, this is a more common use of Scrooge in a modern setting - a mean-spirited surrogate rather than the actual Victorian-Era Ebenezer Scrooge.

In addition to Tallulah Bankhead (seen at the top with Red as the jerk), a guest star on this episode was pianist Horst Jankowski, who performed his hit "A Walk in the Black Forest."

As a bonus, let's listen to that great record: