Bah, Humbug: 5 Better Scrooges Than Jim Carrey -- and 5 Worse Ones
Five Scrooges Worse than Jim Carrey
Seymour Hicks (1935's Scrooge): Hicks gets the benefit of the doubt, to some extent -- this was an early talkie (although he had previously played the role in a 1913 silent film), and most of the acting here is fairly broad, even next to Carrey's performance.
Bill Murray (1988's Scrooged): Yes, Murray's manic climactic monologue is a great moment in Christmas movie history. But to get there, you've got to sit through a whole lot of mugging and overacting. Bill Murray is a comic genius, no argument here, but this doesn't rank among his best work.
Cicely Tyson (1997's Ms. Scrooge): You would think this legendary actress -- reteamed with the man who directed her Emmy-winning performance in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman -- would really nail this, but her Ebenita Scrooge sounds like a bizarre cross between W.C. Fields and the obscene phone caller from the original Black Christmas. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your definition), no video is available.
Tim Curry (1997, animated): Here's a case where casting a pull-out-the-stops actor to play Scrooge doesn't end well. The fact that this chintzy cartoon version has Scrooge accompanied by a bulldog on his journeys through past, present, and future doesn't really help either.
Kelsey Grammer (2004's A Christmas Carol: The Musical): Everything about this TV movie is garish and overdone, so in a way, Grammer's scenery-chewing performance fits right in. One can only explain his subsequent appearance in the Tea Party propaganda "comedy" An American Carol as an attempt to take his revenge on poor Charles Dickens. No embeddable video available, but watch it here.
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Comments
i'm remember loving billy murray's scrooge as a kid.
"The bitch hit me with a toaster!"
I thought Patrick Stewart was pretty good as Scooge too. That being said, I propose a moratorium on any takes on this story till 2034 (when the story turns 200) It's been done to death.
What? No Mr. Magoo for one of the best? Oh Movieline, you've NOT done it again!
I always recalled greatly enjoying Bill Murray as Scrooge....However, the best Scrooge will always be Scrooge McDuck hands down
"The songs aren't up to the usual Muppet standards..."
What are you talking about?
I've never heard anyone disparage the music in The Muppet Christmas Carol. The songs are wonderful and heartwarming-some of the best Christmas songs ever featured in a children's film.
I love Michael Caine as Scrooge, but I agree with Bluus: no list of the best Scrooges can ever be complete without Scrooge McDuck.
I think Patrick Stewart should have made the top 5. I do agree with Allistar Sim in the #1 spot. He's the one I think of when I think of Scrooge.
UMM, THEY MAKE MONEY ON IT, SO HOW IT DOES IN THE BOX OFFICE AND YOUR OPINION ON IT ISN'T REALLY NEWS. IT WOULD BE AWESOME IF ONE DAY A NEWS TOPIC SAID "THIS JUST IN WHAT WE THINK ISN'T GOLDEN AND WE'RE ONLY GRASPING FOR STRAWS BECAUSE WE HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO SPEAK OF SO THERE FOR WE SUCK." LOL
Bah! to this list. Rowan Atkinson's Ebenezer Blackadder in 1988's Blackadder's Christmas Carol is by far the best "Scrooge" ever portrayed.
Does anyone remember Henry Wrinkler in "The American Christmas Carol"? I thought he did a pretty good Scrooge. I really enjoyed that movie. Hey he's the Fonz!!
No Scrooge McDuck??? But he even had the name!
Henry Winkler's "An American Christmas Carol" really is an overlooked gem. Shame the DVD is so pricey on Amazon. (Cheap if you only want the VHS tape version....)
Albert Finney's version is my ultimate Scrooge. I never get tired of watching that version.
Totally agree. The songs in A Muppet Christmas Carol are fantastic.