Scrooge

(Ronald Neame, UK 1970, 113 min., 35mm)

Charles Dickens’s immortal classic comes to life in this musical adaptation with songs and music by Leslie Bricusse, who had recently done the same for the enormously popular Doctor Dolittle (1967). Albert Finney stars as the eponymous Ebenezer Scrooge, a cruel employer and misanthrope who would rather not have to deal with the Christmas holiday at all, and begrudges his sole employee the one day off. His fortunes change, however, when his cold heart and miserly ways are melted by the interference of four ghosts on Christmas Eve, including a performance by Alec Guinness as Scrooge’s late partner, Marley.