A Christmas Carol (1938)

Directed by Edwin L. Marin. Starring Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Barry MacKay, Kathleen Lockhart, Ann Rutherford, Lionel Braham, Leo G. Carroll, Lynne Carver, Ronald Sinclair.

Adequate early sound film retelling of the classic Charles Dickens novella suffers from “studio backlot” atmosphere, but the storytelling is agreeable. As miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, Reginald Owen can’t hold a guttering Victorian candle to Alistair Sim or Albert Finney (heck, Bill Murray runs rings around him). Purists are apt to decry the dropping of one key supporting character—Scrooge’s fiancée—from the Ghost of Christmas Past segment. Acting debut for a young June Lockhart (her real-life parents, Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, also played her onscreen parents).

60/100