Before there was film or TV, there were stage versions of A Christmas Carol, and the two I'm talking about today came out in 1844, just weeks after the book was first published. Clearly, this story was a hit right away. What did the very first adaptations of the story like?

Full text of plays

A Christmas Carol; Or, The Miser's Warning! by C.Z. Barnett

A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future, A Burletta in Three Staves by Edward Stirling

Audio version of the Barnett play

It's the second half of my Christmas Carol Hot Takes episode, and we've got some truly hilarious Letterboxd reviews this time around. In this one, I cover everythng from 1978-1992, as well as An American Carol. I struggle with vague metaphors, a truly shocking take on Bill Murray, and people who don't like the Muppets.Have Christmas Carol hot takes for a future episode? Feel free to leave them, and I'll cover them.

The poster and first trailer for Johnny Depp's Ebenezer dropped today, and a lot of people are wondering what I think. I decided to release an episode explaining how I will be approaching this, in light of the allegations against Johnny Depp. After that, I break down the trailer.

Content Warning: I talk about the allegations against Johnny Depp and how they affect my approach to talking about the film, but I do not talk abou them in detail.

On this episode of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol Podcast, I'm going through Letterboxd reviews that go against the norm. I'll be reading 1/2-star and 1-star reviews of unpopular versions, and 4 1/2-star and 5-star reviews of unpopular version. Just a fun diversion from the standard show! In fact, there were so many reviews that this is simply part 1. Stick around until the end, where I talk a bit about what Season 3 of the show will look like.

Have Christmas Carol hot takes for a future episode? Feel free to leave them, and I'll cover them.

For nearly 20 years, Lionel Barrymore played Ebenezer Scrooge on the radio, and some of these broadcasts survive. I'm covering these two decades, while also reviewing the existing broadcasts. From Orson Welles to the Hallmark Hall of Fame, Barrymore played Scrooge on multiple networks in various time slots, and with various scripts.

Sources used in this episode:

Radio Hall of Fame blog

Comet Over Hollywood

Jim Ramsburg's Gold Time Radio

It's another episde about a non-Christian holiday. It was only a matter of time until beloved children's media franchise Veggie Tales did their own take on A Christmas Carol. However, 1) It's not about Christmas and 2) It came at a time when the frachise was going through major changes. Has it unfairly gone under the radar?

Video about the history of Veggie Tales

I'm wrapping up my series on the silent adaptations of A Christmas Carol with two adaptations from the 1920s (and a bit on a lost version from 1916). Plus, I wrap up this mini-series as a whole. I promise we'll be back with Christmas Carols with sound next month. The special effects continue to evolve here, with some quite impressive ghost effects.

Source:

A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations by Fred Guida

Last time, we looked at the very earliest versions of A Christmas Carol, from an incomplete silent version to a version we only know about in writing. This week, I'm looking at two complete versions from the 1910s, one of them starring Seymour Hicks, who would more famously play the part in 1935. We're still firmly rooted in the stage, but we do start to see these evolving as films.

This week, I'll be releasing episode 2 of my Silent Christmas Carols series. Plus, I've recorded a bonus episode about one of my favorite actors, who passed away last week at 95. Robert Duvall brought such humanity to every role, whether it was the star of the show or one of the supporting players. It's very laid-back and off-the-cuff, and I just wanted to talk about some of my favorite performances.

I started this podcast with the sound versions, but there were plenty of A Christmas Carol adaptations before the advent of sound film. On this episode, I'm covering the first three: Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost (1901), A Christmas Carol (1908), and A Christmas Carol (1910). One is incomplete, one is lost, and all are pretty short, but they are also all interesting steps along the way on the long road of A Christmas Carol adaptations.

Sources:

A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations by Fred Guida

Dickens on Screen

J.C. Buckstone

Moving Picture World