A musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel. You would never guess Albert Finney was only thirty four years-old at the time of filming, and because of his age he was able to play Scrooge in the flashbacks, which the film greatly benefits from. His performance is excellent.
We get a real sense of who Scrooge is here, a right old miser! He threatens to confiscate his employee's market stalls, and even sings a catchy song called, 'I Hate People.' The Victorian sets are impressive and the musical numbers add something extra, 'Thank You Very Much,' is particularly memorable and very Oliver-esque (1968.)
The SFX has held up well over the years, see Ebenezer watching the ghosts flying towards him (excellent for 1970.) Finney plays the jubilant change well as he shops for toys for the Cratchit kids and does other charitable deeds. The usually great Alec Guinness hams it up badly as Jacob Marley. Enjoyable.
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OTHER CAST INCLUDES: Dame Edith Evans, Kenneth More, Michael Medwin, Laurence Naismith. DIRECTED BY: Ronald Neame. SCREENPLAY BY: Leslie Bricusse. RUNNING TIME: 113 minutes. CERTIFICATE: PG. UK / USA.
