Shutterstock / Yuganov Konstantin©What’s your favourite Christmas movie? Among the contenders must be one of the screen adaptations of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. It was first published on December 19, 1843 and, even in his wildest dreams the author couldn’t have imagined its enduring appeal.
From musicals to movies, Christmas just isn’t complete without being reminded of Dickens’ very special festive message about greed, compassion and forgiveness.
Scrooge’s Love Interest
And, in our bumper December 17 issue, writer Holly Crawford revisits her youth and recounts a very special trip to the cinema with her parents to see “The Muppet Christmas Carol”. Full of nostalgia for her favourite Christmas movie, Holly was therefore delighted to interview Meredith Braun. Meredith was just nineteen years old when she won the role of Belle, Ebenezer Scrooge’s one-time love interest.
Belle sings “When Love Is Gone” in the movie. However, as Holly discovered, “It was deemed too sad for children, and the number was cut from the cinematic release. It was reinstated for the VHS version, but cut again in some subsequent DVD and streaming releases.”
Meredith also recounts what it was like working on the set of the magical movie. Michael Caine was both “charming and supportive” she says, adding he could also “impressively cry on cue.” So, the behind the scenes look at the making of the movie is a real festive treat not to be missed.
Find out more about Meredith.
Played Scrooge
No doubt many families will be sitting down to watch the classic movie again this year. And many actors have played Scrooge over the years. Here, Holly lists a few who took on the role:
- Thomas Ricketts – “A Christmas Carol” (1908)
- Seymour Hicks – “Scrooge” (1913)
- Bransby Williams – “Scrooge” (1928)
- Reginald Owen – “A Christmas Carol” (1938)
- Alastair Sim – “Scrooge” (1951)
- Basil Rathbone – “A Christmas Carol” (1956 and 1958)
- Albert Finney – “Scrooge” (1970)
- Bill Murray – “Scrooged” (1988)
- Patrick Stewart – “A Christmas Carol” (1999)
- Christopher Plummer – “The Man Who Invented Christmas” (2017)
- Jim Carrey – “A Christmas Carol” (2009)
- Tim Curry – “A Christmas Carol” (1997)
- Kelsey Grammer – “A Christmas Carol” (2004)
- Simon Callow – “Christmas Carol: The Movie” (2001) and “A Christmas Carol” (2018)
- Guy Pearce – “A Christmas Carol” (2019)
- Sally Dexter – Ms Scrooge – “A Christmas Carol” (2019)
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Copyright of DC Thomson.
Grab your copy of the Christmas bumper issue in most major supermarkets and newsagents, or buy online. You can subscribe to The People’s Friend to make sure you get every issue delivered straight to your door and never miss an issue again. Find out more about what you can find in the latest bumper issue for reading over the holidays.
Yvonne McKenzie I work on the Features team and admit to being nosy, so I love looking after the Between Friends letters and finding out all about our lovely readers. I also look after our health copy and enjoy writing about inspiring people that help make the articles in the magazine so interesting.
