"Boys' Life" (December 1998)

Here's an cool illustration by Bill Cigliano for the December 1998 issue of "Boys' Life" magazine:

Not sure what's inside, but the characters we see on Scrooge's hat are intriguing, including the very Ann Rutherford-looking Ghost of Christmas Past!

Compare and contrast with the 1952 issue of "Boys' Life" we saw way back when!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

A Little More Post!

Speaking of "The Saturday Evening Post"  a few days ago, don't these guys on the cover of the December 8, 1923 issue look like they'd be scoffed at by Scrooge at the beginning of the book?

Norman Rockwell always did a great job!

Absolutely?

 And what's the deal with this ad?

I remember this campaign where the caption would be just "Absolut (Blank)."

Are they using "Scrooge" as some kind of hipster shorthand for Christmas? They can't be saying you're a Scrooge if you drink their product and/or give it as a gift, right?

Is it possible for a piece of two-word copy to have a plot hole?

No Christmas Spirit!

 This ad has an interesting take as it tries to make us feel sorry for Scrooge:

Is this a reformed Scrooge looking to buy a gift or unreformed Scrooge looking to drown his sorrows?

The Secret!

 So, now we know why old Fezziwig's Christmas parties were so merry:

Not judging!

No Pear Tree!

Here's the cover of the TV GUIDE issue from December 18, 1971 which includes the listing for the famous animated version of "A Christmas Carol" directed by Richard Williams:

It gets a mention on the cover, but this family was too popular to be ignored!

"The Cinema" - No. 38, Vol. III (July 2, 1913)

We jump ahead a few years with Seymour Hicks and leave the stage world to enter the movie world with this 1913 issue of "The Cinema," another British magazine.

This issue has a few items related to the 1913 silent film "Scrooge":

These show that the title of this 1913 release was originally "Scrooge," not "Old Scrooge" as is sometimes indicated these days.

"Old Scrooge" was the 1923 reissue of the 1913 "Scrooge." I think the original 1913 cut is lost, but we're fortunate to have the reissue still around.

This rundown of the 1913 film shows it's pretty similar to the reissue cut:

The movie seemed to play well in 1913, but I think it would have seem dated by 1923.

I'm sure we'll encounter Sir Seymour again in the future, but this is the end of our little walk down memory lane for now!

Cassell's Magazine (December 1903 - May 1904)

We stay way back in the early 1900s with (not-yet-Sir) Seymour Hicks for this story from Cassell's Magazine, which profiles him and his wife Ellaline Terris:

A good portrait of Hicks as Scrooge and it's interesting to read about him in his earlier days.

"The Sketch" - Volume XXXVI (October 23, 1901 - January 15, 1902)

Here's a fun little find from a 1901/1902 issue of the British periodical "The Sketch":

A rare chance to see what a stage version of "Scrooge" starring Seymour Hicks!

We see both Bob Cratchit and Fred offering a toast to Scrooge.

A couple of takeaways from the Fred picture: Fred's last name is Wayland and it looks like he has four kids!

And I find it it interesting that the Cratchit family has a sign reading, "God Bless Us, Everyone." It's reminiscent of the scene from the 1901 silent movie:

I had though the movie had that sign because we couldn't hear Tiny Tim say his line, but apparently it was all the rage to have such a sign in 1901!

Do I need to hang one up for my next Christmas dinner?

In any event, this seems to indicate that Seymour Hicks was calling his adaptations "Scrooge" from way back when, not using the title "A Christmas Carol."

This issue of "The Sketch" also includes this little profile of the woman who composed the music for the "Scrooge" show:

Not sure if it's gossip, but interesting!

Saturday Evening Post - December 15, 1934

This is a really cool depiction of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim as painted by Norman Rockwell for the "Saturday Evening Post" issue dated December, 15, 1934.

That is all. Carry on!