Vincent Price & A Christmas Carol, 1949 Television

This obscure version of A Christmas Carol replaces A with The in the title calling it The Christmas Carol. It was produced for television in 1949. I first came across this version more than 25 years ago when first put in VHS. I purchased it on the spot. Knowing nothing of this version at the time, I thought I hit a goldmine. The most I got from the outside of the VHS case was that it was A Christmas Carol and Vincent Price was billed on the box. An obscure TV version of A Christmas Carol and Vincent Price? “Too cool!” I thought. I probably anticipated too much from it, setting myself up for a letdown.

The most this watered down half-hour version has going for it is Vincent Price as the narrator. Not only is there an introduction where Price begins to narrate the story from the novella, he gets to be seen doing narration, reading from the text, between scenes; it is not always mere voice-over.  Very personally, a bright spot here is Price quoting G.K. Chesterton in his introduction!

Most of the remaining cast is mediocre. Taylor Holmes plays Scrooge, oddly spelled here as Ebeneezer with an extra “e.” With an extensive list of supporting credits, this performance could be used to confirm why Mr. Holmes never seemed to move beyond small, supporting roles. He plays Scrooge with an American accent. He’s weakest near the end of the story as the reformed Scrooge. There is nothing that feels like enthusiasm. Whenever I watch this I get the impression of someone who can’t wait for what he is doing to be over and is simply going through the motions.

The majority of the other roles are done with American accents. There are a few attempts to sound English by some performers and at least one actress that actually is English.

Most of the characters are fairly traditional but bland. The Ghost of Christmas Past’s robe looks like a sheet made into a costume. The Ghost of Christmas Present’s costume would be passable but the character seems strange without his beard. The beardless ghost wouldn’t be so distracting with better acting (such as the beardless Ghost of the Present in the 1935 version).

I’ll make a small note of interest here to Queenie Leonard, the actress playing Mrs. Cratchit. She was an English born actress and cabaret performer, hence the authentic accent. She had a very respectable and varied career as a performer. This wouldn’t be the first time she played Mrs. Crarchit in a television production. She would later play the role in the 1954 musical television version of A Christmas Carol.

After Vincent Price, what I personally like in this production is the inclusion of the Mitchell Choirboys. Their singing is used throughout the story and helps keep it from being a total bore. This professional boychoir had a long and extensive list of credits during their existence from 1934 – 2000. They still have a website.