Sir Michael Hordern as Scrooge
I haven’t had a chance to write anything new today, but this is a posting which I wrote for my Costume Drama Reviews blog (which I’m not currently updating, although I may return to it if time allows), a couple of years ago, about the 1977 BBC version of A Christmas Carol starring Sir Michael Hordern as Scrooge and John Le Mesurier, best-known as Sergeant Wilson in the much-loved comedy series Dad’s Army, as Marley. I think this is only available on a Dutch DVD or as part of the Charles Dickens BBC Collection.
This is a very small-scale version, packed into just an hour, but I liked it very much – I grew up in the 1970s, and often enjoy adaptations made then. Director Moira Armstrong has made a number of other costume dramas, including some episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford. This short film has a feel of the original illustrations, and also I think all the dialogue in Elaine Morgan’s script is taken from Dickens’ original words. Sir Michael had earlier played Marley in the famous Alastair Sim version (Scrooge, 1951). I get the feeling Sir Michael has great fun as Scrooge, speaking his most outrageous lines in the early scenes with a gleeful wit, and then also making his gradual transformation believable. Le Mesurier doesn’t have very much screen time but his vagueness works well for a ghost, and the special effects are good for the period, I’d say.
John Le Mesurier as Marley
There is a fine support cast – June Brown, famous as Dot in EastEnders, has a chilling cameo as Mrs Dilber, the horrible woman who steals the shirt from Scrooge’s corpse in his vision of the future, while others to watch out for include John Salthouse as the young Scrooge, Zoe Wanamaker as Scrooge’s sweetheart Belle, Bernard Lee as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Tracey Childs, who starred in a BBC version of Sense and Sensibility, as Scrooge’s sister, Fan, and Zelah Clarke, who later starred in a version of Jane Eyre, as Martha Cratchit. I’d recommend this to anyone who gets a chance to watch it.
I’m not familiar with this version. Thanks for recommending.
Thank you, it’s definitely worth seeing if you get a chance.
Judy—
Another splendid addition to Dickens Decemeber. I was aware that Hordern played Marley in the 1951 version, but sad to say I have not yet seen this 1977 BBC production. With a solid lead and fine supporting turns I’m sure this will be every bit as decent as you attest. At some point I hope to see it.
Sam, thank you – Hordern does a great job in this and I do hope you get to see it some time!
[...] of Marley’s ghost (played by Michael Hordern, who went on to play Scrooge himself in a TV adaptation in the 1970s). One of the film’s window scenes I mentioned earlier is a horrifying sequence where Scrooge [...]