A Christmas Carol (1977): Television movie, 58 minutes; director Moira Armstrong; writer Elaine Morgan; featuring Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, Bernard Lee, Zoë Wanamaker, Patricia Quinn, Michael Mulcaster

I'm not sure why this adaptation is so obscure. It's forgotten even on lists of A Christmas Carol versions or in summaries of the lead actors' works.

Maybe because it was created for TV and it's short, just under an hour while most Christmas Carols run ninety minutes to two hours, leading to judgments that this adaptation must cut out much of Dickens's story.

It does make some big edits. They may seem more drastic though because the adaptations it's compared to are often guilty of padding Dickens to stretch the story to theatrical length.

Even so, it's intelligently cut. This Christmas Carol keeps the focus on Ebenezer Scrooge and downplays the home life of his clerk Bob Cratchit, nephew Fred and their families, as well as skipping over much of Scrooge's romantic past with Belle.

And it stars the inestimable Michael Hordern, a longtime fixture of British classical stage and screen. Hordern had previously played the smaller role of Scrooge's deceased partner Marley in the 1951 adaptation as well as in the 1971 animated version. He seems born to have stepped up to the leading role here. He quickly becomes the emotional core, the heart, of this production.

It's also fitting the one supporting character that does stand out in this later adaptation is Marley. English journeyman actor John Le Mesurier is given the screen time to create the most memorable Marley since...well, since Hordern's.

Or it would be memorable if anyone remembered the film. Perhaps the obviously low-budget effects, compared to other more lavish productions, gives viewers pause. Or perhaps the staginess of this movie that sometimes seems more like a play dooms this Christmas Carol to the past.

But to quickly get to the earnest essence of Dickens's novella, without a lot of frills, the 1977 made-for-TV movie serves well.

— Eric

Critique • Text • At the movies

1935, 1938, 1951, 1970, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1988, 1997