Matt O’Connor
It’s Day 3 of the Beacon’s Christmas Movie Countdown. One of the most iconic Christmas stories ever told is the legendary tale of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The story has been adapted numerous times into plays, television shows and films. For our third film of this marathon, we’ll be taking a look at a much quirkier take on the original Dickens novella.
Directed by Richard Donner and released in 1988, Scrooged stars Bill Murray as crooked IBC President Frank Cross. Like with the previous versions of the story, Cross gets a surprise visit from a ghost of an old friend, his mentor Lew Heyward. Just like Ebenezer, Cross is also visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future. While most of the characters in the film fulfill the same roles as the ones in the original Dickens Christmas Carol, their motivations, personalities and characterizations are all very different and make for a completely different viewing experience.
Frank Cross goes through a very similar character arc as Ebenezer Scrooge did and has done so many times now, but Bill Murray’s performance makes for a Dickens adaptation unlike any other. Danny Elfman does a solid job with the score, capturing the fluctuating emotions present within the characters.
Although there were some creative differences between Murray and Director Richard Donner, they still managed to put together a solid film all around and one of the best versions of the legendary Dickens tale. You can currently stream Scrooged on Amazon Prime. That’s a wrap on day 3, and this Christmas train is moving right along!
