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Parents' Guide to

A Christmas Carol (1951)

By Scott G. Mignola, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

The classic book brought to life.

Movie NR 1951 86 minutes
A Christmas Carol (1951) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 3 parent reviews

thebluewhale
thebluewhale Adult
May 21, 2012
age 8+

the best a christmas carol.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
lynxandwolf
lynxandwolf Parent of 8-year-old
January 8, 2011
age 8+

A great antidote to the cynicism surrounding Christmas.

This is a wonderful movie, a classic. The story of Scrooge's redemption and return to life "among the living" as someone who keeps the messages of kindness, gratitude, and charity towards his fellows is one that has been obscured by countless re-tellings and absorption into pop culture. There are two deathbed scenes, and the climactic scene where Scrooge faces the reality of his own death, and they are sad (for different reasons), but I wouldn't prevent my son from watching them. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is presented as a black-robed faceless figure, Death-like, and this can be frightening for younger children. Also, there is a scene where the Cratchits, including the children, have a round of gin punch, but there is no drunkenness or inappropriate behavior--this is just a matter of historic and textual accuracy.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In this classic Charles Dickens adaptation, Ebenezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) is too busy collecting debts on Christmas Eve to be bothered with making merry. He scoffs at those who would help the less fortunate, refuses his kind nephew's invitation to dinner, and berates his own underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, for wanting the following day off. That night, he's visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, and three spirits who show him his past, present, and dreadful future in order to convince him of his wrongdoing. Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man, and makes good his promise to carry the spirit of Christmas in his heart all year round.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Aided by Noel Langley's (The Wizard of Oz) insightful script and some truly phenomenal performances, director Brian Desmond Hurst gave us a grand Christmas present with this film. It's inarguably the best version of Dickens' immortal tale of greed and redemption ever to be captured on film. Alastair Sim breathes depth and complexity into Scrooge, showing us a man bewildered at times by his own cruel nature; it's like an unshakeable illness he's come to accept over the course of his life. Resigned to his lonely fate, he resists the spirits who might save him, telling them he's beyond help.

Maybe it's that conviction, the utter dourness he exudes, that makes the ghosts especially hard on this Scrooge. Marley shrieks lamentably and bangs his chains for attention. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows him painful scenes that no other version has presented: a heartbroken young Ebenezer at the deathbed of his beloved sister; his and Marley's evolution as shrewd and tyrannical businessmen; a dying Marley telling Scrooge with his last faint breath that they were wrong, to save himself. Sim's transformation at the end is the most dramatic you'll ever see, hilarious and touching and insanely energetic.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how people overcome bad habits. Why do we have them? Did Scrooge have good reasons for being hurt and emotionally stunted? How do you deal with that pain?

  • How does this version compare to other productions of the classic tale?

  • Why is this story considered a classic?

Movie Details

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