A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951)

Alistair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951). Director: Brian Desmond Hurst. NOTE: The colorized version, which I watched, is also known as Scrooge.

Ebenezer Scrooge (Alistair Sim) is a tightwad and rather heartless individual whose only response to the holiday season is "humbug!" On Christmas Eve the ghost of his late partner, Marley (Michael Hordern), appears to him, warns him that he's facing a dark future, and tells him that three more ghosts will appear, those of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Days to Come. Scrooge sees visions of his past and the pivotal events that shaped him, such as selling out his employer, Fezziwig (Roddy Hughes)  and losing the love of Alice, (Rona Anderson), the only woman he wanted to marry. He sees the plight of the poor and his own future, as well as that of his employee, Bob Crachit (Mervyn Johns) and his crippled son, Tim (Glyn Dearman). With these increasingly depressing visions, the true spirit of Christmas -- practicing kindness instead of cruelty -- finally takes possession of Ebenezer Scrooge.

"God bless us, everyone." Tiny Tim

A Christmas Carol is a wonderful movie, bolstered by a superb performance from Sim [The Belles of St. Trinian's], great supporting performances, a fine Richard Addinsell score, and superior direction from Hurst.  Every time the film comes near to being a trifle cloying, the next second I'd have a lump in my throat. In other words, you don't need to be Christian or even religious to enjoy and be moved by this picture and Charles Dickens' great story. George Cole plays young Scrooge; Patrick Macnee [The Avengers] is Marley as a young man; Hermione Baddeley is Crachit's wife; Kathleen Harrison is the hysterical Mrs. Dilber; and Ernest Thesiger is notable as Marley's anxious undertaker. Hurst also directed the dull Hungry Hill.

Verdict: Beautiful! ***1/2. 

THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS

Claude Rains and Ann Todd

THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS (1949). Director: David Lean.

Professor Steven Stratton (Trevor Howard) has always been in love with Mary (Ann Todd), and vice versa, but she's afraid of losing her identity and freedom in a romantic match with him and marries the wealthy Howard Justine (Claude Rains) for practical reasons instead. Years later, Mary and Steven reignite their passion and Mary's marriage almost ends, but she decides to stay with Howard. In what could only be termed an improbable and utterly amazing coincidence, Mary and Steven inadvertently wind up in adjoining rooms in the same resort at the exact same time, leading a disbelieving (of their innocence) Howard to file for divorce, even though Steven has since married another. This leads to some powerful and emotional sequences as husband and wife face the worst crisis in their lives, and an older-but-wiser Mary must make a supreme sacrifice. With direction from David Lean [Doctor Zhivago], and a script by Eric Ambler (from one of H. G. Wells' non-science fiction stories) The Passionate Friends isn't as good as Lean's earlier romantic drama Brief Encounter, but comes close. The performances by Claude Rains and Ann Todd [The Paradine Case] are simply superb, and Trevor Howard, while a cut below the other two, is also excellent. (It is probably because of the strength of the cast that it was decided not to use different actors for the varying ages of each character.) The film also boasts outstanding cinematography by Guy Green, and a fine score by Richard Addinsell, as well as a quite moving conclusion. The film is so good and so well-acted, in fact, that one can forgive the incredible coincidence that leads into the dramatic events that follow.

Verdict: Superior romantic drama with top talents involved. ***1/2.

THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE (1961)

THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE (1961). Director: Jose Quintero.

This first film version of Tennessee Williams' novel, with a screenplay by Gavin Lambert, stars Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty as Karen and Paolo. Both of them give good performances – it is actually one of Beatty's best -- but the picture is stolen by a superb Lotte Lenya in the expanded role of the lizard-like if oddly likable Contessa. [It is explained that she is originally from Budapest, unlike the Contessa in the novel, to account for her accent.] Coral Browne also scores as a somewhat more sympathetic Meg, who seems to genuinely love and care for Karen [who almost goes off to New York with her at the end]. The dopey screen persona that Jill St. John affected at that time works perfectly for the small role of the film actress who attracts Paolo. Jean Marsh appears as a young woman smitten with Paolo; she seems terrified of Beatty in an early party scene, but is all over him in sexy fashion in a later scene in a restaurant. Bessie (The Lost World) Love and Ernest (Bride of Frankenstein) Thesiger have small roles in a party scene at the end. It is a half an hour into the running time before Beatty is given a close up, which is not a problem so much as the fact that he is not given enough scenes to show off the charm that wins over the cautious and dignified Karen Stone.

Unlike the novel, the movie isn't that sympathetic to Karen, perhaps reflecting the mores of the time. Instead of "Romeo and Juliet," Karen's final performance was changed to "As You Like It," and her husband is made twenty-five years older, perhaps to explain why she requires and is amenable to a lover so much younger. Ironically, the film still has some daring elements, such as the [generally unnecessary] narration at the opening that talks of how the Spanish steps are a place of "assignation" and just on that word shows a middle-aged man talking to a man in his twenties. However, the Baron, who was briefly referred to in the novel as one of Paolo's earlier keepers (although it is suggested that Paolo kept the man sexually at bay), while also seen briefly in the movie, is not linked to Paolo in the film version. Finally, at the end of the film, as in the novel, when Karen throws her keys down to the dark, handsome Angel of Death who has been following her all around Rome, Vivien Leigh simply seems too cool and strong to want to commit suicide by inviting Death into her home. Excellent score by Richard Addinsell. Remade for cable in 2003.

Verdict: Still a fascinating movie with some fine performances. Lenya rules! ***1/2.