Tag Archives: Christmas

December 21, 2015 · 8:30 pm

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1974)

Twas the Night before christmasTWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1974) – The dumbest of all animated Christmas stories. Even as a little kid I wanted to kick this cartoon special’s cold, merciless Santa Claus between the legs over and over again.

When ONE dorky mouse writes a letter to the newspaper debunking Santa’s existence old Saint Nick shows a decided lack of Christmas spirit by pompously deciding that NOBODY in the town will get any gifts. The town constructs a massive clock that plays a butt-kissing song to try to appease the wrath of the power-crazed Dread Deity of Yule, Kris Kringle. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under humor

Tagged as , , , , , ,

December 19, 2015 · 8:38 pm

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984): STUMP THEATRE VERSION

PBSBalladeer’s Blog continues its annual orgy of versions of the Dickens classic as Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2015 resumes!  

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984) – Don’t be misled by the 1984 date, this is neither the George C Scott version NOR the French TV version which I first reviewed years ago. This is a taped stage performance that aired on Ohio Public Television station WNEO on December 22nd, 1984.  

Just to give you an idea of the psychotically obsessive lengths I sometimes go to to track down these obscure versions of the Carol: Years ago when I bought this it was one of the many productions not available on video. Nor was it to be found on E-bay or Amazon or any of the usual outlets.

By emailing various staff members at Kent State University (whose theatre department mounted this version) I eventually reached a kind individual. He stated that, though the university did not have copies of the production for sale he would ask around on the KSU faculty’s exclusive chat boards to see if anyone had a copy they may have taped off television back in 1984. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

December 15, 2015 · 11:52 pm

CHRISTMAS TIME ADVICE FOR LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

The symbol of the nonexistent Balladeer Political Party

The symbol of the nonexistent Balladeer Political Party

Welcome back to Balladeer’s Blog, the only site on the web that equally criticizes Liberals and Conservatives. 

ADVICE FOR LIBERALS – Pretend that these Conservatives you irrationally hate are really Muslim fanatics who treat women like slaves and want all gay people dead.

You cowardly hypocrites seem to have no problem refraining from EVER expressing one word of hostility about Muslim homophobes and misogynists, so go through December without saying anything about Christians and/or Conservatives that you would not say about Muslims and/or Islamists. And show their religion the same nauseating deference you gutless wonders show Islam. Continue reading →

18 Comments

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

Tagged as , , , , , ,

December 14, 2015 · 9:45 pm

CHRISTMAS CAROL OBSCURITIES

Ghost of Christmas PresentAren’t we all pretty fed up with the same versions of A Christmas Carol being rammed down our throats like Razzleberry Dressing every Christmas season while many of the clever but lesser known variations of the Dickens Yuletide classic languish in obscurity?

I’m one of those people who begin wallowing in the dozens of versions of this Industrial Age epic myth right after Thanksgiving and don’t let up until Christmas Day. With the obsessive and semi- psychotic zeal of a Trekkie or an X-Phile I purchase every offbeat variation and adaptation of A Christmas Carol that I can lay my hands on.

Drawing on the extensive, albeit geeky, expertise that I’ve gained in this subject over the years I’d like to spread the word about some of the versions of the story that can be found in the remote hinterlands of home video or audio.

This will be a look at variations of the actual Dickens story, set in London in the 1840’s. An entirely separate article could be written about adaptations of A Christmas Carol set in different time periods and locales, like Rod Serling’s anti-war parable Carol For Another Christmas, or the 1975 conservation short The Energy Carol or even the year 2000 Brazilian version depicting the Scrooge figure as a drug lord who repents. Just think of me as the Ghost of Christmas Carol Obscurities.

After reading this list you’ll hopefully conduct your own search for versions of the Carol beyond the limited world of Mr Magoo, Alastair Sim and George C Scott (“Dickens, you magnificent bastard! I read yer booooook!”) . 

The man all mimes aspire to be ... damn them.

The man all mimes aspire to be … damn them.

Marcel Marceau Presents a Christmas Carol (1973) – Marcel Marceau is possibly the only name that comes to mind if you try to think of famous mimes. In fact “Famous Mimes” would make for one easy  Jeopardy category because the response would always be “Who is Marcel Marceau?” Anyway, this BBC presentation featured Marceau acting out a pantomime of the Carol and playing every role.

This was accompanied by narration by another actor who once portrayed Scrooge, Michael Hordern. If you prefer versions of the Carol devoid of any and all speaking there are several silent movie Carols available out there.   Continue reading →

38 Comments

Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 8, 2015 · 9:49 pm

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1947): LEYENDA DE NAVIDAD

Leyenda de NavidadWelcome to another installment of Balladeer’s Blog’s annual orgy of versions of A Christmas Carol. This version was produced in Spain in 1947 (and was remade for Spanish television in 1966 ) and the Spanish language title is Leyenda de Navidad ( Legend of Christmas, of course).

The film was written and directed by Manuel Tamayo (who wrote the screenplay for the 1955 feature Tarde de Toros) This is a wonderful version for several reasons, not the least of which would be its well-done (for the time period) sets of 1843 London.

We’ll take the differences and similarities to other versions in order – 1. Scrooge has several people working for him for some reason, not just Bob Cratchit and NONE of them get Christmas Day off from this Scrooge  …

2.  Marley’s Ghost steps out of a life-sized portrait of the man that adorns the wall above a fireplace, and returns to that portrait after his standard warning about the 3 Ghosts …

3. Transportation through time with Continue reading →

12 Comments

Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 8, 2015 · 12:56 am

PRECIOUS FIND (1996) AND ENIGMA (1982) – TWO MORE BAD MOVIES SET AT CHRISTMAS TIME

Precious Find goodPRECIOUS FIND (1996) – This is a hilariously bad attempt to do a science fiction version of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. That description makes this movie sound much, MUCH better than it really is.

In the far future a lunar colony called Moon City is the jumping-off point for prospectors who travel to various asteroids trying to strike “precious finds” in the form of valuable metals and precious stones. The Christmas background adds to the fun in this UN-intentional comedy.

Rutger Hauer, whose performances run the quality gamut from Lawrence Olivier to Nicolas Cage, is very firmly in Cage territory in this bomb. Hauer plays Armond Crille, a former prospector who has given up hard work for the more lucrative trade of fleecing bored prospectors at the card-playing tables. Watching Rutger Hauer dance with the two hookers his character wins in the opening scene will have you rolling in the aisle with laughter.   

Brion James specializes in playing good-hearted simpletons and menacing simpletons. This time around he’s the good-hearted simpleton Sam Horton, whose eclectic musical tastes are his standout feature. 

Joan Chen portrays Camilla Jones, a spaceship captain with all the personality of the doorknob Chen’s character on Twin Peaks wound up getting her soul trapped in. Chen is around just because the filmmakers apparently decided they had to throw in a love interest, even though the film they’re imitating didn’t waste time with such nonsense. Continue reading →

12 Comments

Filed under Bad and weird movies

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

December 7, 2015 · 12:11 am

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: FRANK BAXTER VERSION

Frank BaxterBalladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon for 2015 continues! This time around I’m examining a 1965 production from California PBS station KCET. The title may not sound action-packed and appealing but Dr Frank Baxter was to the 1950s and 1960s what Carl Sagan and The Reduced Shakespeare Company were to later decades.

Just as The Reduced Shakespeare Company made the works of the Bard of Avon more accessible and therefore more popular among non-Shakespeare fans Dr Baxter’s Shakespeare on TV series inspired younger generations to take an interest in the works of the great Elizabethan playwright.

And like Carl Sagan’s series Cosmos made him a virtual rockstar of the scientific field Dr Baxter’s entertaining and educational Bell Laboratory  Science Series of film shorts made him enormously popular among teachers and students in every school that used those shorts as classroom aids. The Bell Laboratory Science Series educational shorts were so effective and beloved they were still being used in the 70s and 80s.

This black & white hour-long holiday special features Baxter at a Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

December 3, 2015 · 10:18 pm

A VERY SLIPKNOT CHRISTMAS

Call me a traditionalist but I got in the mood today for the 2008 Slipknot video bumpers for the Christmas season. If you ever fantasized about spending this holiday with Freddy Krueger or Maldoror then get ready for the kind of Yuletide spirit that can only be found in your classier psych wards. ENJOY THIS BIT OF NOEL NOSTALGIA: 

Continue reading →

11 Comments

Filed under humor

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

December 1, 2015 · 8:49 pm

DON’T OPEN TIL CHRISTMAS (1984)

DON’T ODon't Open 'Til ChristmasPEN ‘TIL CHRISTMAS (1984)

This is a British horror film about a lunatic killing people dressed in Santa suits for the holidays.

Britain’s scream queen Caroline Munro sings in a brief appearance and there’s the notorious scene where a Santa gets his penis sliced off by our killer and bleeds to death at a urinal.

Yes, it’s another joyously tasteless horror film using the Christmas season as its gimmick. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under Bad and weird movies

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

December 17, 2014 · 11:28 pm

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1981): AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER

American Conservatory TheatreChristmas Carol-A-Thon 2014 continues! 

This is a filmed presentation of the stage play by San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre and originally aired December 21st, 1981 on the Arts Channel. The adaptation was by Dennis Powers and Laird Williamson and starred William Patterson as Ebenezer Scrooge. The only real mistake this Carol makes is that it’s one of those versions that reads WAY too much into Scrooge’s relationship with his father, even making up beatings that are never mentioned in the Dickens original. Other than that this production features some very nice touches.

During the Christmas Past segment Young Scrooge (Thomas Harrison) and Belle (Janice Hutchens) are ice-skating under starlit skies while having their breakup scene, which livens up this often tedious bit of business. When the Ghost of Christmas Present (Lawrence Hecht) shows Scrooge the Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Tagged as , , , , , , ,