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{{short description|1908 silent film}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = A Christmas Carol
| name = A Christmas Carol
| image =
| image =
| alt = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
| alt = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
| caption =
| caption =
| director =
| director =
| producer =
| producer =
| writer = [[Charles Dickens]] (story)
| writer =
| based on = {{Based on|''[[A Christmas Carol]]''|[[Charles Dickens]]}}
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[A Christmas Carol]]''<br>1843 novella|[[Charles Dickens]]}}
| starring = Thomas Ricketts
| starring = Thomas Ricketts
| music =
| music =
| cinematography =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| editing =
| studio =
| studio =
| distributor = Essanay
| distributor = [[Essanay Studios]]
| released = {{Film date|1908|12|9}}
| released = {{Film date|1908|12|9}}
| runtime = 15 minutes
| runtime = 15 minutes
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = Silent film<br>English intertitles
| language = Silent film<br>English intertitles
| budget =
| budget =
| gross =
| gross =
}}
}}
'''''A Christmas Carol''''' is a 1908 silent film produced by [[Essanay Studios]] in [[Chicago]], and one of the earliest film adaptations of [[Charles Dickens]]' famous 1843 [[A Christmas Carol|novella of the same name]]. It starred [[Tom Ricketts]] as [[Ebenezer Scrooge]].
'''''A Christmas Carol''''' is a 1908 silent film produced by [[Essanay Studios]] in [[Chicago]], and the first American film adaptation of [[Charles Dickens]]' famous 1843 [[A Christmas Carol|novella of the same name]]. [[Tom Ricketts]] stars as [[Ebenezer Scrooge]] in the film, which is considered lost.


==Plot==
==Plot==
Scrooge goes into his office and begins working. His nephew, along with three women who wish for Scrooge to donate enter. However, Scrooge dismisses them. On the night of Christmas Eve, his long-dead partner Jacob Marley comes as a ghost, warning him of a horrible fate if he does not change his ways. Scrooge meets three spirits that show Scrooge the real meaning of Christmas, along with his grave, the result of his parsimonious ways. The next morning, he wakes and realizes the error of his ways. Scrooge was then euphoric and generous for the rest of his life.
No prints of the first American film adaptation of ''A Christmas Carol'' are known to exist,<ref>{{cite book |last=Guida |first=Fred |date=2000 |title=A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens's Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tLoMBDbUbIC&dq=1908+&pg=PA82 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland |page=70 |isbn=9780786407385}}</ref> but ''The Moving Picture World'' magazine provided a scene-by-scene description before the film's release.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 5, 1908 |title=Stories of the Films |url=https://archive.org/stream/movingor03chal#page/n465/mode/1up |magazine=The Moving Picture World |pages=458–459 |access-date=2016-02-06 }}</ref> Scrooge goes into his office and begins working. His nephew, along with three women who wish for Scrooge to donate enter. However, Scrooge dismisses them. On the night of Christmas Eve, his long-dead partner [[Jacob Marley]] comes as a [[ghost]], warning him of a horrible fate if he does not change his ways. Scrooge meets three spirits that show Scrooge the real meaning of Christmas, along with his grave, the result of his parsimonious ways. The next morning, he wakes and realizes the error of his ways. Scrooge was then euphoric and generous for the rest of his life.


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Tom Ricketts|Thomas Ricketts]]<ref name="AFI"/> as [[Ebenezer Scrooge]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Michael Glover |last2=Selzer |first2=Adam |date=2015 |title=Flickering Empire: How Chicago Invented the U.S. Film Industry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHCrBQAAQBAJ&dq=A+Christmas+Carol+1908&pg=PA3 |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=90 |isbn=9780786407385}}</ref>
*[[Tom Ricketts|Thomas Ricketts]]...Scrooge (uncredited)

==Production==
''A Christmas Carol'' was produced by the [[Essanay Studios|Essanay Film Manufacturing Company]] and released December 9, 1908.<ref name="AFI">{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=33327 |title=A Christmas Carol |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-02-06}}</ref>

==Reception==
"It is impossible to praise this film too highly", wrote ''[[The Moving Picture World]]'' magazine. "It reproduces the story as closely as it is possible to do in a film and the technical excellence of the work cannot be questioned. The photography, the staging and the acting are all of the best, and the story told is always impressive. … Such films cannot be too highly commended. They are a welcome relief from the riot of bloodshed which has marred the moving picture shows of New York and other cities far too long. Even though it costs a fortune almost to prepare such a film, it is quite likely that the public will patronize it sufficiently to make good the extraordinary outlay."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 2, 1909 |title=Comments on Film Subjects |url=https://archive.org/stream/moviwor04chal#page/11/mode/1up |magazine=[[The Moving Picture World]] |page=11 |access-date=2016-02-06 }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[List of Christmas films]]
* [[List of ghost films]]
* [[List of ghost films]]
* [[List of American films of 1908]]
* [[List of American films of 1908]]
* [[List of A Christmas Carol adaptations]]
* [[List of A Christmas Carol adaptations|List of ''A Christmas Carol'' adaptations]]

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{IMDb title | id=0233449| title=A Christmas Carol}}
* {{IMDb title | id=0233449| title=A Christmas Carol}}
* {{tcmdb title|id=567904}}
* {{AFI film|33327}}


{{A Christmas Carol}}
{{A Christmas Carol}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Carol (1908 film), A}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Carol (1908 film), A}}
[[Category:1908 films]]
[[Category:1908 films]]
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[[Category:1908 lost films]]
[[Category:1908 short films]]
[[Category:1900s ghost films]]
[[Category:American Christmas films]]
[[Category:American Christmas films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
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[[Category:Black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films based on A Christmas Carol]]
[[Category:Films based on A Christmas Carol]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1840s]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1840s]]
[[Category:American silent short films]]
[[Category:American silent short films]]
[[Category:Essanay Studios films]]
[[Category:Essanay Studios films]]
[[Category:Lost American films]]

[[Category:Lost fantasy films]]
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{{short-silent-film-stub}}
[[Category:Lost horror films]]
[[Category:1900s Christmas films]]
[[Category:1900s American films]]
[[Category:Silent horror films]]
[[Category:1900s English-language films]]
[[Category:Silent American fantasy films]]
[[Category:English-language short films]]
[[Category:1950 and before films about time travel]]
[[Category:English-language Christmas films]]

Latest revision as of 13:07, 25 December 2024

A Christmas Carol
Based onA Christmas Carol
1843 novella
by Charles Dickens
StarringThomas Ricketts
Distributed byEssanay Studios
Release date
  • December 9, 1908 (1908-12-09)
Running time
15 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

A Christmas Carol is a 1908 silent film produced by Essanay Studios in Chicago, and the first American film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name. Tom Ricketts stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in the film, which is considered lost.

Plot

[edit]

No prints of the first American film adaptation of A Christmas Carol are known to exist,[1] but The Moving Picture World magazine provided a scene-by-scene description before the film's release.[2] Scrooge goes into his office and begins working. His nephew, along with three women who wish for Scrooge to donate enter. However, Scrooge dismisses them. On the night of Christmas Eve, his long-dead partner Jacob Marley comes as a ghost, warning him of a horrible fate if he does not change his ways. Scrooge meets three spirits that show Scrooge the real meaning of Christmas, along with his grave, the result of his parsimonious ways. The next morning, he wakes and realizes the error of his ways. Scrooge was then euphoric and generous for the rest of his life.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

A Christmas Carol was produced by the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company and released December 9, 1908.[3]

Reception

[edit]

"It is impossible to praise this film too highly", wrote The Moving Picture World magazine. "It reproduces the story as closely as it is possible to do in a film and the technical excellence of the work cannot be questioned. The photography, the staging and the acting are all of the best, and the story told is always impressive. … Such films cannot be too highly commended. They are a welcome relief from the riot of bloodshed which has marred the moving picture shows of New York and other cities far too long. Even though it costs a fortune almost to prepare such a film, it is quite likely that the public will patronize it sufficiently to make good the extraordinary outlay."[5]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Guida, Fred (2000). A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens's Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 70. ISBN 9780786407385.
  2. ^ "Stories of the Films". The Moving Picture World. December 5, 1908. pp. 458–459. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  3. ^ a b "A Christmas Carol". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  4. ^ Smith, Michael Glover; Selzer, Adam (2015). Flickering Empire: How Chicago Invented the U.S. Film Industry. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780786407385.
  5. ^ "Comments on Film Subjects". The Moving Picture World. January 2, 1909. p. 11. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
[edit]
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