For the most part, Scrooge (1970) is faithful to A Christmas Carol. It centres on Ebeneezer Scrooge (Albert Finney), a money-lender and miser with little concern for anything beyond making money. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley (Alec Guinness), who tells him of three spirits who will visit him to give him a chance at redemption.
Scrooge (1970) was the product of composer, lyricist, and playwright Leslie Bricusse, who had written such musicals as Stop the World--I Want to Get Off (with Anthony Newley) and Pickwick (with Cyril Ornadel), as well as the movie musical Doctor Doolittle. Given his earlier work on Pickwick, based on Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers, it should perhaps be no surprise that Leslie Bricusse would think of adapting A Christmas Carol as a musical.
Casting the lead role of Ebeneezer Scrooge would be all important to the success of the film. The role was first offered to Albert Finney. Albert Finney turned the role down, after which Richard Harris was signed to play the role. Richard Harris found himself tied up with the filming of his movie Bloomfield, and as a result he had to back out of Scrooge. The role was then offered to Rex Harrison, but it meant that the producers would have to buy him out of a play in which he was appearing at the time. Fortunately, Albert Finney reconsidered taking the role after having read the script. As mentioned earlier, Albert Finney was only thirty-four at the time he played Scrooge, younger than than Michael Medwin, who played Scrooge's nephew and was 46 at the time. Albert Finney had to spend over three hours in makeup in order to be transformed in to Scrooge.
Scrooge (1970) would prove to be be an unpleasant experience for Alec Guinness. In order to give the appearance that Jacob Marley's ghost was flying, Mr. Guinness had to be suspended in a harness for hours at a time. Ultimately, he developed a double hernia for which he had to have surgery. Amazingly enough, Alec Guinness never complained while he was on set, not even when he was in the harness. Other well-known British actors filled other roles in Scrooge (1970). Dame Edith Evans played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Kenneth More played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Because the Ghost of Christmas Present is a giant, as in the novel, and Kenneth more was 5' 7", he had to wear twelve inch stilts so he would tower over Scrooge. Laurence Naismith and Kay Walsh played Mr and Mrs Fezziwig, while David Collings played Scrooge's clerk Bob Cratchit.
Scrooge (1970) was filmed both on location in Buckinghamshire and in Shepperton Studios in Surrey between January and May 1970. Shepperton Studios included its own Victorian streets and many of the sets used on Scrooge (1970) had recently been used on another Dickensian musical, Oliver! (1968), that had earlier filmed at Shepperton. Cinematographer Oswald Morris worked on both films.
Scrooge (1970) was directed by Ronald Neame, who already had experience with film adaptations of Charles Dickens movies. He was a camera operator on a 1934 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop (1934) and hee produced director David Lean's adaptations of Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948). He made his directorial debut with Take My Life in 1947 and would go onto direct The Million Pound Note (1954), Gambit (1966), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), and The Poseidon Adventure (1972).
Scrooge (1970) premiered in Los Angeles on November 5, 1970. It had a Royal charity premiere at the Dominion Theatre in London on November 30, 1970. The movie most received positive notices from critics. Roger Ebert gave Scrooge three out of four stars and wrote, "The notion of Albert Finney playing Ebenezer Scrooge is admittedly mind-boggling, and so is the idea of A Christmas Carol being turned into a musical. But Scrooge works very nicely on its intended level and the kids sitting near me seemed to be having a good time." Charles Champlin in The Los Angeles Times also gave Scrooge (1970) a good review, calling it "a lovely movie."Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a more mixed review, writing, "It is absurd, sentimental, pretty, never quite as funny as it intends to be, but quite acceptable, if only as a seasonal ritual." Pauline Kael in The New Yorker gave a rather more negative review in which she described the movie as an "Innocuous musical version of A Christmas Carol, starring Albert Finney looking glum. The Leslie Bricusse music is so forgettable that your mind flushes it away while you're hearing it."
Regardless of what critics thought, Scrooge (1970) proved to be popular with audiences. When it opened in limited release in Los Angeles and Chicago, it grossed $36,000 in its first week. The film even set a record at the time for a week's gross at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. It ultimately made $3 million in rentals.
Scrooge (1970) would be nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Original Song Score, and Best Song -- Original for the Picture for "Thank You Very Much, It was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Art Direction.
Scrooge (1970) would be adapted to other media. In 1992, Leslie Briscusse adapted the film as a stage musical starring Anthony Newley. It opened at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham on November 9, 1992. In 2022, it was adapted as an animated feature film that was not particularly well-received.
Fifty-five years after its release, Scrooge (1970) continues to be popular. While there have been other musical adaptations of A Christmas Carol since, none have attained the popularity that Scrooge (1970) has. Scrooge (1970) still appears on local stations around Christmas time, as well as the occasional cable channel (it has aired on Tuner Classic Movies in the past). It is widely available on streaming services, and this year can be sen on Amazon Prime Video, Frndly, Paramount+, Plex, Pluto, the Roku Channel, and YouTube, as well as for rent at Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Google Play. Scrooge (1970) remains one of the most beloved adaptations of A Christmas Carol.
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