Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

A Christmas Carol Blu-ray Movie Review

A Kinder, Gentler Scrooge

Reviewed by Michael Reuben November 12, 2014

The 1951 filmed version of A Christmas Carol starring Alistair Sim is probably the most famous today, but for many years the best known release was the family-friendly adaptation originally released by MGM in 1938. Lionel Barrymore, who had played the part on radio for many years, was originally scheduled to star but had to drop out for health reasons. He was replaced by Reginald Owen, a character actor of many faces, including the cannon-firing neighbor of the Banks family in Mary Poppins.

While Owens's Scrooge is appropriately mean and delivers the miser's classic sentiments with conviction, the script tones down or omits many of the darker elements of Charles Dickens' story. The spirit of Jacob Marley (Leo G. Carroll) rattles his chains but doesn't bring any otherworldly companions to terrify his old partner, as he does in Dickens' story. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Ann Rutherford, whose girlish looks couldn't be further from Dickens' character) skips over Scrooge's transformation from a happy youth into a tight-fisted cynic in a few sentences; the fiancée who left him is never mentioned. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Lionel Braham) magically makes peace among feuding citizens, but shows Scrooge nothing of "Want" and "Ignorance". The Ghost of Christmas Future (D'Arcy Corrigan) leads Scrooge to his grave, but the thieves who plunder his corpse are omitted.

The result is to make Scrooge's conversion somewhat easier than Dickens wrote it. Show the old man how good life can be, and he suddenly becomes the happy fellow he once was. It's a tribute to Owens's skill as an actor that he manages the transition as well as he does. In a revision that would be copied by many future film adaptations, all of the spirits visit in one night, whereas Dickens had them arrive on three successive nights, then the clock miraculously wound back to give Scrooge a chance to "redo" Christmas.

A Christmas Carol Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray provides a solid presentation of this black-and-white classic, featuring solid blacks and well-delineated shades of gray. Although the presentation may not provide the almost three-dimensional clarity of some of the best B&W transfers, it nevertheless shows impressive detail in the idealized recreation of Victorian England and the crowded scenes of happy Christmas gatherings. The average bitrate of 24.93 Mbps is generous by Warner standards and is sufficient for a classic 1.37:1 film with pillarbox bars.

A Christmas Carol Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's original mono track is presented in lossless DTS-HD MA 1.0. The dialogue is clearly rendered, as are such essential sound effects as Marley's chains, ghostly moans and lively celebrations. The score by Franz Waxman (Sunset Boulevard ) has surprisingly broad dynamic range for a film of this vintage.

A Christmas Carol Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Jackie Cooper's Christmas Party (480i; 1.37:1; 9:02): A 1931 MGM short with cameos by some of its biggest stars.



• Peace on Earth (480i; 1.37:1; 8:50): A 1939 MGM cartoon reflecting the strong antiwar sentiments that prevailed in the U.S. after World War I.



• Judy Garland Sings "Silent Night" (480i; 1.37:1; 1:43).



• Trailer (480i; 1.33:1; 2:47): Narrated by Lionel Barrymore.

A Christmas Carol Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A fine presentation of a holiday perennial. Recommended.