Though Dickens' frank sentimentality calls for broad treatment, Brian Desmond Hurst's direction is too often heavy as well.
Comment
12/05/08
A Christmas Carol (1951)
80 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 16
Rotten:4
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Consensus: It hasn't aged particularly well, but the 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens' timeless classic is perhaps the most faithful film version -- and Alastair Sim's performance as Scrooge is not to be missed.
Runtime: 86 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Ebeneezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) contentedly meanders through his life as a cruel miser until one fateful Christmas Eve when he is visited by three ghosts. The spirits show him how his behavior has... [More]
Starring: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Jack Warner, Hermione Baddeley
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst
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Reviews for A Christmas Carol
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Top CriticMoves through a brisk 86 minutes with just enough time to linger on poignant moments.
12/20/07
A bland, stodgy movie.
11/27/07
Top CriticOf the many film versions...this one from 1951 is the most faithful to the spirit of the book.
08/31/07
Alastair Sim's performance in Dickens' hoary holiday classic provided one of the defining moments of his career; the result is the definitive filming of the story, breathing life into the familiar plot while earnestly hewing to the author's vision.
12/04/06
Top CriticYou have what Scrooge himself might call 'Ho-hum-bug.'
06/24/06
What we have in this rendition of Dickens' sometimes misunderstood Carol is an accurate comprehension of the agony of a shabby soul.
03/25/06
Top CriticSadly this 1951 rendition has aged terribly.
12/11/05
No review available.
08/29/05
Most agree that Alastair Sim's 1951 spin as Scrooge is the best, and truest to the novel.
10/24/04
No review available.
09/10/04
No review available.
09/30/03
The story is a timeless classic and this is the best direction translation the cinema has provided thus far.
07/29/03
Dickens' most often filmed work benefits from the always engaging Alastair Sim.
02/20/03
The definitive version! Accept no substitutes! Sim is positively brilliant.
02/02/03
Still the best version of Dickens' Christmas classic.
01/27/03
No review available.
11/14/02
All in all, a beguiling festive treat.
06/13/01
Some of the more recent film versions of the story are considerably more sumptuous than this rather Spartan-looking production, but none of them do a better job of conveying the character of Ebenezer Scrooge or the themes of the story.
01/01/00
At a reasonably short 85 minutes, this is nevertheless a complete experience, and the strength and depth of its drama makes it the most memorable of any adaptation of the tale.
01/01/00
Top Critic1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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