A Christmas Carol (1908 film)

1908 silent film

A Christmas Carol

Based on| A Christmas Carol
1843 novella
by Charles Dickens
Starring| Thomas Ricketts
Distributed by| Essanay Studios

Release date

* December 9, 1908 (1908-12-09)

Running time

| 15 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| Silent 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]

* Thomas Ricketts[3] as Ebenezer Scrooge[4]

## 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]

* List of Christmas films
* List of ghost films
* List of American films of 1908
* List of A Christmas Carol adaptations

## 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.

## External links[edit]

* A Christmas Carol at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol

Characters|

* Ebenezer Scrooge
* Bob Cratchit
* Mr. Fezziwig
* Tiny Tim
* Jacob Marley
* Ghost of Christmas Past
* Ghost of Christmas Present
* Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Films|

* Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost (1901)
* A Christmas Carol (1908)
* A Christmas Carol (1910)
* Scrooge (1913)
* The Right to Be Happy (1916)
* Scrooge (1935)
* A Christmas Carol (1938)
* Scrooge (1951)
* It's Never Too Late (1953)
* A Christmas Carol (1960)
* Scrooge (1970)
* A Christmas Carol (1971)
* An American Christmas Carol (1979)
* Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
* Scrooged (1988)
* The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
* A Christmas Carol (1997)
* Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001)
* A Carol Christmas (2003)
* Springtime with Roo (2004)
* Chasing Christmas (2005)
* A Christmas Carol (2006)
* An American Carol (2008)
* Barbie in a Christmas Carol (2008)
* Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
* A Christmas Carol (2009)
* The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011)
* Scrooge & Marley (2012)
* A Christmas Carol (2020)
* Spirited (2022)
* Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)

Television|

* The Christmas Carol (1949)
* A Christmas Carol (1954)
* Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)
* Carol for Another Christmas (1964)
* A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978)
* The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
* Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979)
* Rich Little's Christmas Carol (1979)
* A Christmas Carol (1982)
* A Christmas Carol (1984)
* Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)
* A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
* Ebbie (1995)
* Ms. Scrooge (1997)
* An All Dogs Christmas Carol (1998)
* Ebenezer (1998)
* A Christmas Carol (1999)
* A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000)
* A Christmas Carol (2000)
* A Christmas Carol (2004)
* An Easter Carol (2004)
* Karroll's Christmas (2004)
* Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
* Nan's Christmas Carol (2009)
* "A Christmas Carol" (Doctor Who) (2010)
* It's Christmas, Carol! (2012)
* Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale (2013)
* A Hearth's Warming Tail (2016)
* A Christmas Carol (2019)

Musicals|

* Scrooge (1992)
* A Christmas Carol (1994)
* Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge (2002)

Plays|

* A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future (1844)
* A Christmas Carol (1988)
* Fellow Passengers (2004)
* A Klingon Christmas Carol (2007)
* A Christmas Carol (2017)
* A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (2021)

Soundtracks|

* A Christmas Carol (2009)
* Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2011)

Other|

* Adaptations of A Christmas Carol
* Batman: Noël (comic)
* "Green Chri$tma$" (single)
* The Misadventures of the Wholesome Twins (2005 musical)
* The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017 film)
* Ebenezer and the Invisible World (video game)

Related|

* John Leech (illustrator)
* List of Christmas films

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