WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

marquisdeposa Some companies (Westlake Entertainment being one) have the complete version. 85% of the DVDs are the shortened 63 minute film. But the extra 15 minutes or so add some very touching moments, especially in the Christmas yet to come scene at the Cratchits. The editing process of the shortened version leaves gaps and unexplained situations. One is that Scrooge cuts his nose while shaving-waiting for the poulterer to bring the turkey for the Cratchits. The is why he has a cross of plaster tape on the tip of his nose. And of course the very ending of the film with Scrooge going to church is a nice touch. An excellent version and one of my top 3 choices of this beloved classic.

SimonJack Is it even possible that there could be a bad production of "A Christmas Carol?" The beloved tale of greed and meanness converting to kindness and charity is the most famous of all modern Christmas holiday stories. And the Charles Dickens classic has been performed thousands of times on stage and over the air, and many times on film. That answers the question I posed above. With such a great story and any effort to produce it well, a bad "Christmas Carol" production isn't likely to occur. But, surely, some must be better than others. For purposes of comparing film versions, what remains for us to be able to judge them is the differences in the script, in the technical production, in the cast and in the performances of the individual actors. This "Scrooge" is the first production of the Dickens classic on sound film. Its emphasis is heavily on the main character. And, for that reason, it is a good film to keep in a library, along with two other later versions. That's because of who plays Scrooge. Seymour Hicks was Ebenezer Scrooge before movies were made. That is to say, he was the actor known and renowned for his many performances of Scrooge on stage. He first played Scrooge in 1901. He specialized in the role, and as a young actor bore the criticism of not looking old enough. Hicks was an accomplished actor of comedy and drama. He is credited with having done thousands of performances of "A Christmas Carol" over the years. He made the first silent film, "Old Scrooge" in 1913. Hicks was the 13th English actor to be knighted. He was a prolific writer for the stage, with 64 plays and productions to his credit. He wrote comedy musicals for him and his wife to perform. His plays were so successful that he was able to build two theaters. The first, in 1905, was the Aldwych Theatre. In 1906, he built the Seymour Hicks Theatre – now called the Gielgud Theatre. Jerome Kern wrote the musical score for his first successful musical comedy – "The Beauty of Bath," in 1906. Hicks helped discover Alfred Hitchcock. During both world wars, Hicks entertained Allied troops in France and elsewhere. He twice received the French Croix de Guerre. In this production of the Dickens Classic, Hicks was 64 years old, and he naturally looked for the part. He surely is the darkest of all the Scrooge roles on film. He seems to be a sinister character who relishes his tyrannical nature. This film has the dark trappings of early films all around him. They add to the heaviness of the scene. But they also haze over the fringes of scenes and people. This film is 78 minutes in length. While Scrooge is the main character of the Dickens tale, his conversion comes about by what the spirits show him of other people. And this film doesn't develop those enough to give the story its full impact. Without that, and with the Hicks' Scrooge so hardened in his ways, it's not as convincing when his heart changes. The production values of the old print I have on DVD are not very good. Still, it is a worthy part of a Dickens movie collection for this early rendition of Ebenezer Scrooge by one of the early English actors to be known for the role.

utgard14 Not bad but not great version of the classic Dickens tale. Seymour Hicks makes for a very different Scrooge than most of us are used to seeing. Big bushy eyebrows, wild hair, and a permanent caveman expression on his face. He makes Scrooge appear more brutish than other versions. His Scrooge looks like the kind of guy you would see in films of the period that hung around the docks waiting to rob people. This is a darker Carol than most. A lot of stuff is either left out or is only alluded to rather than shown. I don't know...it's not one of my favorite versions, to be sure, but it is interesting and enjoyable enough. Give it a shot if you have seen other versions and like to compare. Otherwise, if this is your first stop for A Christmas Carol film, you'd be better off with the 1951 Alastair Sim version.

PamelaShort There are many films that have been made over the years of the classic Charles Dickens story about the miserly Scrooge and his miraculous transformation on Christmas Eve. This 1935 British version has quite an antique feel to it, especially when compared to the 1951 Alastair Sim film. This film moves quickly, but still faithfully portrays Dicken's tale adequately. Sir Seymour Hicks transfers precisely Dicken's portrait of the cantankerous old penny-pincher, who reforms after the visitations of four ghosts and guarantees a bright future for Tiny Tim and all the Cratchit family. I quite enjoyed Donald Calthorp's portrayal of Bob Cratchit, bringing dignity, patience and the gentleness of the man, whether at home with is loving family or in the cold cruel office of Scrooge & Marley, and finally bravely dealing with Tiny Tim's death in the ghost-vision scene being observed by Scrooge. As I previously stated the film has an antique feel, partially due to it's age and by technical standards it is not perfect. Nonetheless this " Scrooge " has it's own charms, is finely played, and carries on at a pace which nicely conserves the Dickensian's classic Christmas story. If you are very fond of early films, and A Christmas Carol, you may find this version entertaining and interesting.