"A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team - Day 23

We're getting near the end of our countdown of the members of the "A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team, so we land on the second biggest character - Bob Cratchit!

Bob features in the beginning and end "real time" segments as well as the Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come scenes, so he has a big impact.

I find that Bob Cratchit portrayals are all over the place in various adaptations, but I've said before that a good Bob to me is a humble and loyal employee. He knows he needs his job, but I don't think he's resentful, or else he wouldn't raise a toast to "the founder of the feast" at his family's Christmas dinner.

I think a lot of Bobs argue with Scrooge too much, which is something that up with which Scrooge would not put!

So, who makes a really good Bob from a notable adaptation that hasn't been represented yet? Donald Calthrop from the 1935 British production "Scrooge," starring Seymour Hicks as Scrooge:

I know I've said before that he looks like he stepped out of the pages of an old edition of "A Christmas Carol" but he acts the part in addition to looking the part:

Donald Calthrop is another actor that I really don't know outside of this part. He's in quite a few British films - I don't think he was ever in a US production - from the silent era up through his death in 1940.

But he certainly left his mark as Bob Cratchit!

"Scrooge" (1935) Lobby Cards and Stills

We're still in lobby card mode as we turn our attention to another notable British film version of "A Christmas Carol" titled "Scrooge," this one the 1935 effort starring Sir Seymour Hicks.

Actually, lobby cards from this film are hard to find, but there's the one above and this one below, both from the American release through Paramount Pictures:

There are some stills from the movie too, including these interesting portraits of the major players:

Fun to see these. They're clearer than prints of the movie that are kicking around!

Scrooge (1935) - Part 2

Let's take a look at the cast and characters of the 1935 British movie "Scrooge."

Leading the way, of course, is Sir Seymour Hicks as Scrooge. He had apparently been playing Scrooge on stage since 1901 and had even made a short, silent version in 1913, which we'll dig up soon, So, he certainly knew his way around the role. It shows and he's terrific.

He also plays young Scrooge in the Christmas Past segment, but I would not say he's particularly convincing. I guess he looks younger, but certainly not young. No Albert Finney!

I presume this film was sold to British audiences on the strength of Hicks's fame as Scrooge, but I can't seem to dig up any original British advertising. The original titles have his name above the title in huge letters, but without the Sir appellation.

The ads from 1935 that are kicking around seem to be from the American release, as they credit Adolph Zukor and Paramount, rather than Julius Hagen and Twickenham Studios, the actual British producer. Those American ads don't give Hicks special billing (though they do give him the Sir) and lump him in with Donald Cathrop, who played Bob Cratchit. I'm guessing that's because they couldn't sell the movie to American audience based on Seymour Hicks and not because Donald Calthrop had a big American following!

In any event, Donald Calthrop does make a great Bob Cratchit. He literally looks like he could have walked off the page of an earlier edition of the book. Maybe it's the one that the mysterious hand is flipping through during the credits!

Tiny Tim here is played by Phillip Frost. He's OK, doesn't look all that sick, but not too healthy either. The part's not built up here, so he doesn't wear out his welcome.

Belle has interesting casting here. She's played by Mary Glynne, who was 40 at the time. Not that she looks old, but she's more mature than the usual Belle. I'm guessing that's because young Scrooge, as mentioned, doesn't look too young himself! She does a good job in her two scenes.

 The other assorted characters seem well-cast, with Old Joe and that bunch being extremely creepy!

So, what about the ghosts? Well, that's where things get really interesting! You actually only see one ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Present. The others are presented in other manners, which we'll get into next time.

The Ghost of Christmas Present has a different look from what we're used to seeing, particularly that he has no beard. He does look like some depictions from various editions of the book, however. The actor, Oscar Asche, has kind of a weird delivery, pausing at odd times. Sometimes he's pausing to take another bite of a drumstick, which is wacky fun!

On the whole, I think everybody's pretty well-cast here. This production, however, is another one in which I'm not familiar with the actors from other movies, so I buy them in their roles. I watch a ton of movies from the 1930s, but they're almost always from Hollywood. These guys seemed to be exclusively in British films, some in quite a few.

The lone exception is Maurice Evans, who appears in the Christmas Past sequence as "A Poor Man." Years later, he popped up on American TV as Samantha's father on "Bewitched" and The Puzzler on "Batman" then played perhaps his most remembered role, Dr. Zaius in the first two "Planet of the Apes" movies. Some fun stuff there!

So, we have a good cast. What are they given to work with?