Today I’m going to review THE most classic holiday story ever put on Christmas DVDs: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. By far the best adaptation of this tale is the 1951 movie Scrooge. It is generally perceived to be the definitive version.

You all probably know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge who is known as the meanest person in London. He overworks and underpays his humble clerk, Bob Cratchit, whose little son, Tiny Tim, is crippled and may soon die. He also has nothing to do with his nephew, Fred, because his birth cost the life of his beloved sister. He even made it into Kindertrauma’s list of 12 movie characters not to invite to your holiday party.

On Christmas Eve Scrooge gets visited by three ghosts and is given one last chance to redeem himself and learn the meaning and the magic of Christmas. They show him the past, present and future of his existence and the people around him, especially those who managed to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in their hearts.

What is especially remarkable about this Dickens adaptation is the performance of Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. His facial expressions, the loss of love, the pity we sometimes get to see a glimpse of. All of that adds to a vulnerability we never saw in other Scrooges. I don’t know who’s responsible for that but this is the first Christmas Carol movie that tries to show us more of Scrooge’s past. During the Ghost of Christmas Present sequence, the film reveals that Scrooge’s girlfriend from his younger days, Alice, works with the homeless and sick. Also in this adaptation it is revealed that his mother died while giving birth to him, causing his father to always resent Ebenezer for it. All this and lots of minor details add depth to the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. He is the main interest of the movie, hence the title.

Come Christmas morning, we celebrate with Scrooge because we know him. His acts of humility and generosity come from a familiar soul and we are touched by them. Aided by a wonderful cast and careful adherence to Dickens’ original dialog and concept, it has deservedly become one of the classic Christmas DVDs.