USA, 1916
5 reels
black and white
silent
An American fantasy film directed by Rupert Julian and based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Plot Summary
Miserly London businessman Ebenezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his dead business partner Marley, who warns him that three more ghosts will appear during the night trying to show Scrooge the error of his ways. As the night wears on, he’s visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. But will even they be enough to soften old Scrooge’s heart?
Credits
Crew
Director: Rupert Julian
Bluebird Photoplays Inc.
Script: E.J. Clawson
Novel: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Director of Photography: Steven Rounds
Cast
Rupert Julian (Ebenezer Scrooge)
John Cook (Bob Cratchit)
Claire McDowell (Mrs Cratchit)
Francis Lee (Tiny Tim)
Harry Carter (Jacob Marley)
Emory Johnson (Fred, Scrooge’s nephew)
Roberta Wilson (Caroline)
Francelia Billington (Scrooge’s sweetheart)
Mrs Titus [real name: Lydia Yeamans Titus] (Mrs Fezziwig)
Wadsworth Harris (The Ghost of the Past)
Richard Le Strange (The Ghost of the Present)
Tom Figee (The Ghost of the Future)
Alternative Titles
Scrooge the Skinflint – UK title
References
Periodicals
Exhibitor’s Trade Review (23 December 1916) pp.192, 210 – review
Motion Picture News (23 December 1916) p.4017 – review
Motion Picture News (30 December 1916) p.4236 – review
Moving Picture World (30 December 1916) p.1974 – review
Moving Picture World (6 January 1917) p.135 – review
New York Dramatic Mirror (23 December 1916) p.26 – review
Wid’s Film Daily (21 December 1916) p.1188 – review
Books
A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens’s Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television by Fred Guida p.173 – credits
Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.403 – credits
