A Christmas Carol

 

A Christmas Carol

1984

Director- Clive Donner

Cast- George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, David Warner, Angela Pleasence, Edward Woodward, Michael Carter, Roger Rees, Michael Gough, Lucy Gutteridge, Joanne Whalley

            

    Some may question my inclusion of this venerable, and some might say tired, Christmas story in a horror blog, but I assure you, that this is a legitimate horror film. The story is familiar to everyone who speaks the English language. Elderly miser, Ebineezer Scrooge, hordes his wealth while those around him suffer, freeze and starve. On Christmas Eve he is visited by various ghosts who show him the error of his ways, giving him a chance to turn his life around.

            

     There are many good versions of this story. Two of my favorites are the Disney version with Scrooge McDuck and The Muppet Christmas Carol. This version, though, is far and away the best. George C. Scott turns in such a great performance. His Scrooge isn’t just greedy. He’s cynical. He’s a man that started out hopeful and romantic, but as a result of a few bad choices has turned inward over the course of his life.  He appears in every scene and as such has to carry the movie and he does just that. But the film doesn’t just rely on Scott. He is surrounded by a stellar cast (see below), all lending their expertise.

           

     Christmas used to be a time for telling ghost stories and this film definitely qualifies.  The film has very creepy moments and in general conveys a feeling of bleak cold. I’m not sure if the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future qualify as “ghosts” in our modern sense of the word. Modern occult vernacular would probably classify them as elementals. Scrooge’s partner, Jacob Marley, though, certainly qualifies as a ghost. And of course, in every version of the story, the best part is when The Ghost of Christmas Future appears, foreshadowing Scrooge’s death and damnation. This movie is no exception. Interestingly, that scene was shot in St. Chad’s Church in England. The tombstone they used for Scrooge’s grave actually still stands in the Church’s graveyard to this day.

            

     As for whether or not this movie is horror, just check out it’s bona fides. George C. Scott starred in Stephen King’s Firestarter, the supernatural thriller The Changeling and turned in an excellent performance in the highly recommended Exorcist 3. Bob Cratchet is played by David Warner .Among his many genre credits, he starred in, The Omen, Waxwork, The Company ofWolves, The Unnamable 2, H.P. Lovecraft’s Necronomicon, Penny Dreadful and others.  Scrooge’s ghostly partner, Jacob Marley, was played by Frank Finlay who played Van Helsing in the BBC version ofDracula and played a similar role in the sexy-space vampire movie, Lifeforce. The Ghost of Christmas Past, Angela Pleasance, starred in From Beyond the Grave (along with David Warner) and is also the daughter of Donald Pleasance. The Ghost of Christmas Present, Edward Woodard starred as the protagonist in one of the greatest horror films ever, The Wicker Man. The Ghost of Christmas Future, Michael Carter starred in American Werewolf in London and was the monstrous entity in The Keep (and was also Bib Fortuna in Return of the Jedi). Michael Gough, who plays one of the philanthropists that Scrooge snubs starred in the original Hammer vampire film, Horror of Dracula.

     

    Not horror related, but proof that the film has a solid cast, Scrooge’s nephew was played by Roger Rees who played the Sherriff in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood Men in Tights. Lucy Gutteridge, who played Scrooge’s lost love starred as Hilary (she whose bosoms defy gravity, in the hilarious Top Secret). Joanne Whalley who played Scrooge’s sister also played Sorsha in Willow. Director Clive Donner, though not a horror director, also directed the David Niven horror-spoof Vampira and the weird Christmas musical, Babes in Toyland starring John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves.