Ebenezer Scrooge might be the most famous Christmas character after Father Christmas. Ever since Charles Dickens published his novella A Christmas Carol, the character has become a symbol of greed and misery but the irony is the story is actually about kindness and how one man can change for the better. He's become a staple of TV, film and stage. John Simm will become the latest to play the role on stage this season and as a result, we at FILMHOUNDS take a look, and rank, Scrooge from 10 – 1 on how redeemed each (famous) version is.
10. GUY PEARCE — A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2019)
Steven “Peaky Blinders” Knight's three-part adaptation of the novel is dark. Very dark. Jettisoned is any sense of festive cheer in favour of Marley's corpse being urinated on, backstories of child molestation and sexual humiliation, death by corporate negligence and, at its core, a thoroughly despisable Scrooge. Guy Pearce is his usual brilliant self, but the rewrites to make this bleaker than bleak make it more Grimm than Dickens. By the time we get to Scrooge's redemption, it's not only hard won but hardly there. Yes, he makes sure Tiny Tim doesn't die by drowning in a lake but the story ends with him still as he ever was, only with one less corpse on his soul. It's hard not to leave this gruelling three hours feeling like you should have watched Scrooge McDuck instead.
9. JIM CARREY — A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2009)
In Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture rendition, we get a cast of dead-eyed Uncanny Valley zombies with terrible mockney accents. The ace in the film's hole is making the three ghosts that haunt Scrooge all played by Jim Carrey also, as if manifestations of his own guilt. But the terrible animation and Carrey's desire to gurn in the lead role render this moot. Carrey's Scrooge is a middle-aged man's idea of an old man, and by the time we get to his redemption, it feels more like one old man's psychotic episode. It's not that he's changed, it looks like he's had a total mental breakdown as a result of sleep deprivation. All the notes are there, but Carrey mistakes mania for whimsy.
8. BILL MURRAY — SCROOGED (1988)
Bill Murray is at his most Murray in Richard Donner's modern update. As Frank Cross, Murray is a frantic but fun time. A TV executive who, when trying to mount the ultimate live version of the Dickens story, comes face-to-face with three ghosts. Murray does a good job of showing how hard Cross wants to avoid being redeemed, even when faced with his unhappy childhood. Murray shows hints of the human within when a homeless man dies that he had tried to help, but his happy ending also feels a little too manic, like a man falling into psychosis rather than a man finding the joy in life. It's fun to see Murray sing with everyone and to embrace life, but you never get the feeling this will last very long.
7. ALBERT FINNEY — SCROOGE (1970)
Casting a younger man to play Scrooge is a clever idea; it means the same actor can play the younger iterations of the man in the flashbacks. But it also means for most of the film your star will be caked in old man make-up. Finney, one of the finest actors of all time, puts his foot wrong by overplaying Scrooge's age. He's all hunched backs, and weird vocal ticks, which takes you out of the film. The musical element is fine, though the songs aren't great, but you do feel the palpable joy of Scrooge in his final musical number. This might be a caricature but when it's a musical, a little OTT is welcome.
6. KELSEY GRAMMER — A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MUSICAL (2004)
If Kelsey Grammer's rendition of the legendary character has its roots in Broadway, then it's no shock that at times the former Sideshow Bob sometimes plays to the back crowd. Grammer isn't terrible as Scrooge; he acquits himself to the depression of the character well, digging deep into his resonant voice for someone who is shutting himself off from the world. This TV special does, however, make excellent use of Grammer's ability to show pure joy. The sight of Grammer holding Tiny Tim aloft, howling with joy, is a sign that the once miserable old man is reborn and it genuinely feels like this is someone who has gone to the depths of his soul and changed. It's just a shame the songs are a bit rubbish.
5. PATRICK STEWART — A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1999)
Second only to maybe Simon Callow in his love for the role, Stewart's rendition has a history with the one-man stage play Stewart himself performed. Now put into a TV movie, Stewart is less a wizened old man than a stern authority. Pinching pennies is business, not cruelty, and shutting himself off is protection. Stewart takes a different route, making this Scrooge more a man with poor people skills, and a fear of regret than a miser. What makes this work is that when he does embrace the change, he's awkward. His reconciliation with his nephew Fred isn't all hugs and kisses. Here is a Scrooge who doesn't really know how to act, or how to show his repentance. It's a genuine showing of a man who wants to be kind but is getting used to it, and the performance is all the better for it.
4. GEORGE C. SCOTT — A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984)
George C. Scott as Scrooge is such an “of course!” idea that it's no shock that he nails the role. Scrooge is as strong-minded and robust as Scott is, a man who refused to even be nominated for an Oscar as he didn't believe it was a sport where you could win — he would in fact win for Patton and refuse to attend. That stern persona is put to excellent use in this adaptation. What shocks most of all is how well Scott plays the redemption. He's able to show pure joy and elation, things which he has never been known for on-screen. His Scrooge is one that not only wants to change, but feels that it is his duty to do so. Scott's relief at being alive is one the audience can feel through the screen, and his growing realisation that he can, and more importantly must, change is wonderful to see.
3. WILL FERRELL — SPIRITED (2022)
In Spirited we get a post-modern, tongue-in-cheek take on the story that sees a world in which the afterlife is one big Broadway musical where a team of ghosts work year-round to find someone to redeem. When this year's haunted Clint (Ryan Reynolds) goes awry, he finds himself with the Ghost of Christmas Present, who we learn is actually Ebenezer Scrooge; the only person before Clint to be classed as “irredeemable”. Ferrell is charming in the role, playing up not only innocence but a growing feeling that he was a fluke. The knowledge that he died two weeks after his redemption and that it might all be fake is genuinely interesting and Ferrell's showstopper Irredeemable captures his fear that he's not a good person. As he strives to be better, and to help Clint become even slightly less bad, is what elevates this uneven take of the story and makes it one worth checking out. It's clear even from the beginning this Scrooge is a resounding redeemable.
2. ALASTAIR SIM — SCROOGE (1951)
Alastair Sim played Scrooge many times, but his 1951 film might be the apex of adaptations. His fear, his anger, the sense that he was always this person beneath, but the time, regret and loss jading him is what makes Sim's take so perfect. His redemption isn't a total change, it's a reminder of the man he once was and that's what Sim does so well. He never overplays the humanity or the cruelty, balancing both until the final stretch when he's able to show that the ghosts got through to him. Sim, ever expressive, shows his glee at still being alive by simply grinning with emotion. It's the Scrooge to which all Scrooge's should be compared… except one.
1. MICHAEL CAINE — THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992)
Does it help that Kermit the Frog sees good in Michael Caine's Scrooge? Yes. But it's more than that. Even from the beginning, you get glimpses of the wit and the personality that made Caine's Scrooge someone people fell in love with. Caine plays the role with total sincerity, which means his mournful regret over losing his fiancé feels real, his joy at the Cratchit's feels real, and his growing terror as he's faced with a future where his death is cause for joy feels real. What works best is Caine's quiet “Why is it so quiet?” when faced with a Christmas where Tiny Tim is dead. His singing Thankful Heart isn't just fun, it's incredibly moving as Caine keeps his Scrooge rooted in the emotion. His small acts of kindness — giving to the charity he previously rebuffed, his gifting his mentors presents, his bringing the community together — they're all rooted in a feeling that he wants to be better and, more importantly, will. There's a reason his performance is so iconic: it's simply a truly redeemed Scrooge.
