It is interesting to watch the manner in which these filmmakers of mid-century presented the four spirits that visit Scrooge in the early hours of Christmas morning. Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future are basically shown as mere reflections of sorts, very lightly translucent beings, and I must say this works fine, especially since this is a film of the heart in which special effects are largely incidental. I would have liked to see Marleys mouth drop open dramatically once he removed the sling on his head, but there were many little things such as this I looked for in vain in this particular adaptation. Of much more consequence, though, are the changes and additions to the script one finds here. As the film progresses, Dickens story is at times drastically rewritten. There are needless scenes, such as the one where Scrooge stops to eat on his way home, only to then take up a bowl of porridge once he arrives in his sitting room. We are shown the death scene of Scrooges beloved sister, non-Christmas scenes featuring the avaricious young duo of Scrooge and Marley (with the young Marley played by Patrick MacNee of future Avengers fame) making their way up in business, and other scenes Dickens never described directly. Most galling of all, at least to me, is the view we have of Scrooges one-time fiancés life as a mature woman; it could not be more different than the life Dickens describes to us.

There are many versions of this tale floating around out there including study books and animated movies. Of all these versions a few stand out. This is one of the versions that come to mind.
Made in the era of black and white, one can not help but shun any attempt to colorize it. The Alastair Sim version is a product of its day and he does a very good job of portraying Ebenezer Scrooge. He comes across as mean in his speech of “are there no work houses?” and stingy, displayed during his meal, upon hearing that more bread will cost he says, “No more bread.”
On Christmas morning he goes overboard with the maniacal laughter. This is probably emphasized to show his change of heart and to allow him to scare the maid. However it does distract from the story. The story is modified a bit but unless you have been reading the book you will not notice this. To tie his childhood memories of his sister to his present day nephew, they play “Barbra Allen” in the back ground (nice touch.)