I've seen almost all the iterations of this classic novel's film adaptations. The acting is solid by the cast. The screenwriting and direction is compelling. The only reason I have marked down the rating is because I feel there is not enough of it. I don't know if it was written that way or if too much was left on the cutting room floor. It's 69 minute run time is apparently not enough to do justice to the tale. It almost feels like it's rushed and cannot wait to get to the ending credits, particularly in the visitations of the spirits and their education of Scrooge. Scrooge seems to flip from "Bah Humbug" to "Merry Christmas" like an on/off light switch when his conversion should be more gradual. Maybe it's just picking at nits, but that aspect of the movie really bothered me. Hence, the 6 rating.

This is one of the fastest films ever to reach the screen. It started shooting in October and was in theaters in December. This production however is the standard in which all other versions since have copied. This was the first production to have the "Spirits" come in one night! It also fleshed out Bob Cratchit family more. This is also one of those film that the older it gets the better the film becomes.In case you don't know the story "Scrooge" is a cranky old man. He hates Christmas and people in general. He has more in life than the people that surround him and yet he is poor.This 1938 film is in black and white and that seems like a huge asset. The cast is perfect! If you have never seen this version then what are you waiting for?

I love this version. I have seen almost every variation of Charles Dickens Classic Tale. Some of course are great but many of the Television movies that do a twist on this story never really capture what this films has and that is "PLENTY OF Christmas SPIRIT" and is cast with good actors. Nobody here is CW material.We all know the story but this version did help set the standard and many films since this have used it as a template. The changes from the book that this film did was smart WHICH IS WHY the films that followed made the same change. This film should be seen on a very cold December Night with a nice hot cup of Hot Chocolate. It runs 69 Minutes and trust me it is the best version out there.

There's plenty of adaptations of A Christmas Carol out there and it's likely that, if you're going to delve into Christmas past, you may get no further than the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim. However, this one from 13 years earlier is also worthy of a look, even if it does take a few liberties with the story. I'm of the opinion that there's little point deviating too much from the source, as A Christmas Carol might just be the greatest spec script in English literature. Perfectly paced and with endless quotable dialogue, it really shouldn't be too hard to get a serviceable movie out of an adaptation. Perhaps that's why my biggest problems with this version are when it deviates from the source; such as Scrooge sacking Cratchett on Christmas Eve (making Bob Cratchett's toast to him the following day utterly bizarre), or the fact that Tiny Tim seems remarkably healthy for someone who has few Christmasses in their future. The largest oversight is the absence of Scrooge's lost-love Belle from the story, perhaps because it's the biggest indication of just why the old man is so bitter and miserly. Curiously, despite omitting this character, there's a bigger role for Fred's partner (his fiancée in this, rather than his wife). Why the film decides to focus on this couple without counter-balancing it with Scrooge's own sad love-story is a bit of a mystery. Aside from that, it's really not too bad. It tells the story well and doesn't look nearly as old as it actually is. But in a world of countless versions of this story, it is a little forgettable - neither bad enough to stick in the mind, nor interesting enough to join the ranks of Sim, Scott and the Muppets.