Tinseltown Talks: By Dickens, 1938’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ is the best

In television adaptations or parodies alone, the transformation of a miserly Ebenezer Scrooge-like character has been reworked in episodes of classic animated series featuring characters such as The Flintstones, Bugs Bunny and Mister Magoo.

On film, a silent version of “A Christmas Carol” was produced as early as 1908 featuring the prolific British-born actor Tom Ricketts as Scrooge.

What also makes this adaption stand apart for me is the appearance of real-life husband and wife team of Gene and Kathleen Lockhart who co-star as the Cratchits.

“When MGM made the movie and my parents were hired, they asked if I wanted to be one of the children,” she recalled.

Every Christmas, the Lockhart clan would gather with friends and perform the story in their living room from a script June’s father adapted.

“I do remember feeling quite nauseated on the set one day from something I had eaten the night before,” she recalled.

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