A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, was first published in 1843. This has long been one of my favorite books, with me rereading it every year at about this time. I can quote many of the significant passages due to so much exposure. Since movies came into the picture, there have been many adaptations of this famous story on screen. My favorite of all of these productions is by far the 1951 version starring Alistair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. I believe all the other Scrooges pale in comparison.
Somehow, I don’t have a copy of this famous film, but we can always find it on television or streaming. But this year it did not show on TV, and the only version that we could rent was a colorized one. I am a purist when it comes to old films, and I prefer the black and white versions to colorized ones. We enjoyed watching this movie depiction of the classic story, as usual, but for me something was missing in the colorized version.
First of all, the film tended to jump and the voices did not always match up with the mouths in the scenes. And there was something about the darker moments of the film that lost something when color was added. The dreariness of Ebenezer Scrooge’s life was less dismal when you add color to it.
But it is still one of my favorite productions of the holiday season. If you have not seen the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol, I highly recommend it. But I will be purchasing a black and white version on disk to enjoy over future Christmas holidays.
Stay groovy…
Susie
Harmonious Groove 