Your favorite screen version of A Christmas Carol

[Hegemony]

One additional small pleasure of the 1951 version is that the young Jacob Marley is played by Patrick Macnee, who was John Steed in the classic 1960s show The Avengers. The scene is so short it's almost a cameo. And Bob Crachit was played by Mervyn Johns, who was the father of Glynis Johns, who was Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, so that family had classic films sewn up.

[kaysixteen]

Mr. Magoo.

[Anselm]

I will speak for all of Gen X here and say that Scrooged with Bill Murray is the best one.

[mamselle]

A missing song from one of the versions has been recovered:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55232499

i'm always puzzled when something like this is said to be "too confusing" for children.

They usually understand (and deal with the need for) values-based decisions a lot earlier than we give them credit for.

M. 

[onehappyunicorn]

Muppets and Scrooged for me.

[clean]

I'm preparing a talk on Dickens' A Christmas Carol and am struck by the many, many on-screen versions it's inspired. My particular favorite is the 1951 movie Scrooge, with Alastair Sim as the lead. So, fellow forumites, name your favorite version!

"It isnt Christmas until we watch A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim"  says my father every year.  So I suppose that I have seen them all, but I do seem to like this one the best. 

(and want there one with "The Fonz"? (Henry Winkler?)

(And YES, there was in 1979 "An American Christmas Carol".)

[lillipat]

Bit of a tangent here, but given the passion with which people advocate for the 1951 Alastair Sim version, I'd really like to know WHY that one is a favorite?  I've seen it (many times) and it's fine, but I'm not in love with it over several of the other versions.  Actually, there are aspects of many that I really prefer (a particular actor, a particular scene, cinematography, costuming, details lifted accurately from the book, details not in the book but that add so much to the storytelling, etc. etc.).  Not wanting to quarrel with anyone, but genuinely wishing to know . . .

[sinenomine]

Bit of a tangent here, but given the passion with which people advocate for the 1951 Alastair Sim version, I'd really like to know WHY that one is a favorite?  I've seen it (many times) and it's fine, but I'm not in love with it over several of the other versions.  Actually, there are aspects of many that I really prefer (a particular actor, a particular scene, cinematography, costuming, details lifted accurately from the book, details not in the book but that add so much to the storytelling, etc. etc.).  Not wanting to quarrel with anyone, but genuinely wishing to know . . .

I love his joyous giggling in his transformation and how sweetly he reassures his charlady, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is super-creepy, and I enjoy Scrooge and Marley's backstory.

[fourhats]

Muppets. Followed by John Denver's Christmas album with the Muppets. My grown kids still play that album in their adulthood.

[mamselle]

You mean the one with, "You Fill Up My Stockings...."?

M.

[Hegemony]

Alastair Sim is just so winning to me. His joy at the end is contagious. "A most excellent boy!" I think why one particular movie has more impact than others is basically an indefinable thing. But clearly the Alastair Sim version has impressed many people as the most affecting version, and my guess is that all of those people would say "There's just something about it that makes it a delight to watch. My favorite scene is ..." It's kind of like my attempts to explain the appeal of chocolate to a friend who doesn't like chocolate.  Obviously some opinions will differ.

[hmaria1609]

I read and own a paperback edition of The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford, published 2008. The book tells the story of how Charles Dickens came to write and self-publish "A Christmas Carol" novella. It's the basis of the 2017 movie starring Dan Stevens as Dickens. To coincide with the movie's release, the book was reissued with a new cover and the novella. This is the edition I own.
The adaptation of The Man Who Invented Christmas is available on DVD and online.