A Christmas Carol (1938)

I love this movie so much

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is a great film. It is very spooky. In an adaptation of the Dickens classic, 3 ghosts haunt a miser on Christmas eve. If you like ghost stories then you need to see this movie. This movie has a great story line. It also has great acting. It also has great special effects. This one of the best fantasy movies ever. This a great film. The book is a great book. It has a great moral. This one of the best ghost stories of all time. The movie is a must see. Great movie great movie great movie. The 1951 version is better, but only a little bit. The 1986 version is better. But only a little bit. See this movie. It is a great movie. It is a true classic.

Where is Fezziwigs' party? Scrooge and Belle's break-up? Fen's childbirth? All missing from this fast-paced version of the all too familiar story. Leo G. Carroll does a fine job as Marley's ghost. Some humorous scenes including snowball fights and an ice "slide" in front of the church. Just as Scrooge's past life starts to bog-down, Scrooge makes blonde Ann Rutherford (dressed in a white flowing gown with a golden tiara) disappear! A very short past! Christmas present is a bit better. A church scene with Fred and his fiancé and Bob Cratchit's family replaces the miners singing in the earth quite nicely. A wonderful dinner with Bob and family. The grim reaper future ghost is mute here, not that scary at all. The ending is done quite nicely with everybody (Fred and Scrooge, etc.) all stopping by at Bob's house. Yes, Scrooge gives to the poor, Bob gets a raise, and Fred becomes Scrooge's partner. Of course we all know that Tiny Tim will be alright too! A great cast including 3 Lockharts and Reginald Owen plays a wonderful Scrooge. Only 69 minutes. Very short and sweet and well-worth your time. Others will point out the other "missing scenes" but it all makes for a very pleasant version that won't give the little ones bad dreams.

Not the best version of A Christmas Carol(one of Charles Dickens' most famous, best and most accessible stories)- the Alastair Sim and George C. Scott versions, the 1994 Jetlag and 2001 animated films are the only versions below average- and is not perfect. The Ghost of Christmas Past section is too brief and should have been much more- more time, more detail-, the reason why Scrooge seems to have repented too soon in this version, and Terry Kilburn's Tiny Tim is too healthy and overwrought, the character should have a lot of pathos but Kilburn seems to be trying too hard. There is still a lot to like though. The Ghost of Christmas Present section is very heart-warming, definitely of the Three Ghosts sections the one with the most heart, and the one of Christmas-Yet-to-Come will have youngsters diving under the covers, the people in the section observing and commenting on the situation are quite realistically drawn. While not lavish or big in budget, the film still has splendid period detail and shot in lovely black and white. The special effects are not too shabby, though not award-worthy. The whimsical music score, mean-meaning script, heartfelt message that gets its point across and the ceaselessly entertaining and poignant storytelling are other selling points. And the acting is fine on the most part. Reginald Owen does make a great account of himself as Scrooge(if not quite embodying the character like Sim did), while Leo G. Caroll is very spooky if soft-spoken Jacob Marley and Barry MacKay is possibly the best and most likable Fred on screen. Lionel Brahurn's Ghost of Christmas Present is wonderfully jovial, Ann Rutherford is utterly beguiling though deserving of more screen time and Gene Lockhart appeals in how humble he is. Overall, warm, charming and entertaining though not definitive. 8/10 Bethany Cox

In the 1970's KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angles would play this film on Christmas Eve at 11:00pm. My parents would be mad because my two sisters and I would be watching this in oldest My sister's room. It was a tradition that we did for years (Keeping my parents up well past Midnight on Christmas Eve I am sure was very hard on them). This version was my introduction to the story of Mr Scrooge and II will forever hold dear in my heart because it is a favorite Christmas Memory! Its not the gifts that I got it was just watching and enjoying this film with my sisters. Now there have been better adaption however this version is very well made and there is something about this Old B/W movie that will always bring a smile in my heart. To me its not Christmas unless I get a chance to watch this version. I hope one day my sisters and I can watch this again together on Christmas Eve. To me that would be a perfect Christmas gift.