I used to love this film but

Watching it again at the weekend it missed out too many of the important pieces from the book.

In the first instance there was no Carol Singer at his counting house. This is important as it shows a mellowing of Scrooge when he is with the Ghost of Christmas Past. When looking at himself in the school reading, he says 'poor boy' he dries his eyes and when asked what's the matter by the spirit he says !"nothing, there was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that's all"

Another important omission is he doesn't follow Marley to the window when he departs. At that point in the book he witnesses the futility of the condemned spirits to interfere for good with mankind. This would surely have left a deep impression on Scrooge, but Marley just floats out of the window, and Scrooge bolts it after him.

With the ghost of Christmas Present, he asks is there something emanating from the lamp with strange powers but the spirit just confirms there is. He does not illustrate the power of 'peculiar flavor' that is sprinkled from the torch and again we lose this important part of the book. Indeed one of the most powerful parts of the book is the end of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Ignorance and Want. He does not point out that ignorance is the one to beware most of all. Also there is no perceptible aging to the second spirit and there is no reference made to this.

With the third spirit, at Old Joe's we have only Mrs Dilber and Old Joe, there are missing two more important characters from the book. A critical scene brushed over. The scene with the corpse under the sheet comes before the scene at Old Joe's in the film, but in the book is after Old Joe's. This make more sense. However when Scrooge demands to be shown some compassion and depth of feeling associated with the man's death we are transported to the Cratchits and Tiny Tim's demise. We are not taken to the scene where the young couple are saved from ruin by the impending demise of Scrooge.

There are a number of other changes which spoiled the film for me, which is a shame as George C Scott is great in the role.





Where they burn books, at the end they also burn people. Heinrich Heine