I don’t recall seeing a film or play version of “A Christmas Carol” before I read the book in junior high school in 1970. I had an English teacher with a strong affinity for Charles Dickens, so we read and studied his work, including his best known novels: “Great Expectations” and “A Tale of Two Cities.”
His words painted vivid images of foreign places and fascinating characters, but the plot of “A Christmas Carol” was especially appealing to me because of its social justice themes, and its story of redemption everyone can love.
1938 Hollywood version
I’ve now seen numerous film versions of the novella, but just this week I saw the first U.S. film adaptation released in 1938 by MGM Studios. A British film version titled “Scrooge” was the first with sound in 1935.
Unlike the Brits’ film that didn’t show the ghosts (you only hear their words), the Hollywood adaptation probably scared a few people with what would have been innovative special effects for the time.
Both films must have resonated with viewers suffering through the Great Depression or the Great Slump as it was called in the United Kingdom. The divide between poor and rich was far wider and more stark than today.
