Tag Archives: Christmas

December 15, 2014 · 10:30 pm

THE STINGIEST MAN IN TOWN (1953)

The Stingiest Man in Town (1953)THE STINGIEST MAN IN TOWN (1953) – CHRISTMAS CAROL-A-THON 2014 continues! For several years only the soundtrack for this terrific musical was available because the bulk of the video from this television production was missing. A few years back all the video was restored so this Christmas season treasure can finally be enjoyed in its entirety.

Most people are only familiar with the 1978 Rankin-Bass Cartoon version of The Stingiest Man in Town, which chops the story down and omits or shortens a few songs. Here in all its glory is the original live 1953 production from December 23rd, rebroadcast in 1956, hence the 1956 date on some copies. Basil Rathbone stars as Scrooge, Johnny Desmond plays Nephew Fred, Martyn Green plays Bob Cratchit and Vic Damone appears as the young Ebenezer Scrooge at Fezziwig’s party. 

Many of the songs in this musical have become Christmas song standards and people are often amazed that The Stingiest Man in Town is where the songs originated. An Old Fashioned Christmas, Listen to the Song of the Christmas Spirit, Yes, There is a Santa Claus, and Birthday Party of the King are among the Continue reading →

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December 8, 2014 · 9:01 pm

THE CHRISTMAS CAROL (1949): CAROL-A-THON 2014 CONTINUES

1949 A Christmas CarolTHE CHRISTMAS CAROL (1949) – This relic from the VERY early years of television was a syndicated production. It was also one of THREE productions of the Carol to hit the airwaves in 1949.

This version’s biggest claim to fame is the on-screen presence of a bearded (despite the picture to the right) Vincent Price as the story’s narrator. For my fellow bad movie geeks the one and only Robert Clarke portrays Nephew Fred to Taylor Holmes’ Scrooge. Price is the very best element of the production, which is so haphazard that it repeatedly presents Scrooge’s first name spelled “Ebeneezer” instead of “Ebenezer” like it should be.

All things considered, this is a reasonable (but bland) presentation given its brief 25 1/2 minute running time and technical limitations. With no special effects the tableau of Marley’s Ghost walking through a solid door is accomplished by Continue reading →

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December 4, 2014 · 3:58 pm

CHRISTMAS SEASON ADVICE FOR AMERICAN LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

puck1Welcome back to Balladeer’s Blog, the only site on the web that equally criticizes those childish fanatics called Liberals and Conservatives. Here’s some Yuletide advice for those two groups of zealots who continue to tear the country apart by putting their respective political party ahead of the nation.

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 →

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December 2, 2014 · 8:44 pm

SCROOGE’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS (1983): CAROL-A-THON 2014 CONTINUES

scrooges rock and rollTime for another post in Balladeer’s Blog’s annual orgy of entries on various versions of THE Christmas tale. 

Scrooge’s Rock & Roll Christmas grows on me more and more each time I watch it. It’s value as a version of A Christmas Carol is virtually nil, but it features some wonderful renditions of a variety of Yuletide songs along with some striking wintry scenery. Most sources list this made-for- tv special as a 1984 production, but the actual copyright date on the VHS copy I tracked down says 1983, so that’s what I’m going by. If it first aired in late December 1983 it’s almost a 1984 product anyway so I can see where the confusion might come in.

A better title for this 45 minute novelty item would be Have Yourself A Has- Been Little Christmas since it features appearances by several rock singers who were already two decades past their days as chart- toppers. The premise of this telefilm is that a young lady looking for a record store (and how old does THAT sound these days) instead finds the establishment to be occupied by Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Jack Elam … yes, Jack Elam.

Through some Twilight Zone style shenanigans our heroine – called simply The Girl in the credits – is face-to- face with the actual Scrooge from 1843. It’s pointless to wonder if Scrooge & Marley’s establishment was in the same building that the record store (snicker) is now located in or if The Girl was transported back through time when she entered the place or what. It’s all just a half-assed excuse to have our heroine teach the crotchety Scrooge about the  Christmas Spirit by using her magical snow-globe to show him videos of aging rock singers performing holiday standards. No, I’m serious. 

The segments featuring hilariously lame dialogue between Ebenezer and The Girl serve as bridges between each of the videos, like a Continue reading →

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December 1, 2014 · 8:10 pm

CHRISTMAS SEASON TURKEYS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

ELVESRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are very familiar with my Bad Movie page. Laughing at bad and weird movies is one of the great joys of life so I often post holiday-themed looks at cinematic turkeys around Halloween and Thanksgiving. The Yuletide season has its fair share of turkeys as well, so enjoy this examination of more Christmas season bombs than even Henry Kissinger ever dreamed of. In keeping with my blog’s overall theme I will exclude overexposed movies like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and the Mexican film Santa Claus. Visit my Bad Movie page if you want full-length reviews of the following flicks.  

Christmas MartianTHE CHRISTMAS MARTIAN (1971) – This Canadian flick is dubbed into English from its orginal French so viewers get treated to the Old School bad movie fun of the actor’s lip movements rarely matching the words being said. An annoyingly whimsical and whacky Martian gets stuck in Canada at Christmas time. A young brother and sister help the alien visitor repair his Ed Wood- level spaceship and save him from suspicious Canadian authorities. Yes, it all seems … reminiscent … of the much-later movie E.T. but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. (?)

The Martian overdoes the zaniness factor to such a degree that even Charles Nelson Reilly would have told him to tone it down a little. He also wallows in a Canadian candy treat that looks a lot like Reese’s Pieces. Just sayin’. Randy and Richard on The Texas 27 Film Vault showed this in the 1980’s. 

SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY (1972) – Ever want to see Santa Claus sweating so much that his red pants cling to his butt tightly enough for his crack and each buttock to stand out wide and proud? THIS is the movie for you! (And please stay away from children.) Santa’s sleigh crash-lands in Continue reading →

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November 28, 2014 · 8:13 pm

CHRISTMAS CAROL-A-THON 2014 BEGINS WITH THE 1923 SILENT FILM VERSION

Christmas Season is upon us! Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember that from the Friday after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day I conduct a yearly Christmas Carol-A-Thon in which I examine some of the out of the way versions of what I consider to be THE Christmas story! As always I will mix in new reviews with some popular hits from the past. 

A Christmas Carol (1923)

A Christmas Carol (1923)

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1923) – Not only am I an enthusiastic fan of this Dickens story but I’m also a lover of silent movies. There were plenty of adaptations of A Christmas Carol in the silent era but this one has got to be the most disappointing. By the 1920’s the art of silent filmmaking was at its creative peak with many of the masterpieces of the pre-sound era premiering during the decade. This British film adaptation is an undeniable bomb which sucks the soul out of the story as effectively as the 1910 Edison Company version. 

At least the 1910 version had the excuse of coming out when silent movies were still finding their way creatively, but this 1923 Hi-Mark production is an embarrassment and a definite step backward in the storytelling technique of silent films. This film was screened only at museums in England for several decades before finally being released on home video in 2007. The lack of exposure built up a certain mystique around this movie and its British pedigree enhanced the feelings of anticipation surrounding its release.

Watching the film quickly disillusions anyone expecting the usual 1920’s silent movie magic. There are Continue reading →

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December 25, 2013 · 5:12 pm

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1981): CAROL-A-THON 2013 CONCLUDES

American Conservatory TheatreMERRY CHRISTMAS! As always it’s hard to believe a whole year has gone by since the conclusion of Balladeer’s Blog’s previous Christmas Carol-A-Thon. This Fourth annual affair comes to a close with a look at the American Conservatory Theatre’s 1981 version, titled simply A Christmas Carol.

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 →

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December 22, 2013 · 10:04 pm

CHRISTMAS TURKEYS FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG

ELVESRegular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are very familiar with my Bad Movie page. Laughing at bad and weird movies is one of the great joys of life so I often post holiday-themed looks at cinematic turkeys around Halloween and Thanksgiving. The Yuletide season has its fair share of turkeys as well, so enjoy this examination of more Christmas season bombs than even Henry Kissinger ever dreamed of. In keeping with my blog’s overall theme I will exclude overexposed movies like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and the Mexican film Santa Claus. Visit my Bad Movie page if you want full-length reviews of the following flicks.  

Christmas MartianTHE CHRISTMAS MARTIAN (1971) – This Canadian flick is dubbed into English from its orginal French so viewers get treated to the Old School bad movie fun of the actor’s lip movements rarely matching the words being said. An annoyingly whimsical and whacky Martian gets stuck in Canada at Christmas time. A young brother and sister help the alien visitor repair his Ed Wood- level spaceship and save him from suspicious Canadian authorities. Yes, it all seems … reminiscent … of the much-later movie E.T. but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. (?) The Martian overdoes the zaniness factor to such a degree that even Charles Nelson Reilly would have told him to tone it down a little. He also wallows in a Canadian candy treat that looks a lot like Reese’s Pieces. Just sayin’.

SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY (1972) – Ever want to see Santa Claus sweating so much that his red pants cling to his butt tightly enough for his crack and each buttock to stand out wide and proud? THIS is the movie for you! (And please stay away from children.) Santa’s sleigh crash-lands in Continue reading →

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December 14, 2013 · 5:16 pm

A CHRISTMAS CAROL AS READ BY DR FRANK BAXTER (1965)

Frank BaxterBalladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon for 2013 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 1950’s and 1960’s 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 70’s and 80’s.

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

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December 12, 2013 · 11:22 pm

THE TRAIL TO CHRISTMAS (1957): CAROL-A-THON 2013 CONTINUES

Jimmy Stewart westernWelcome back to Balladeer’s Blog’s Fourth Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon, during which I examine various obscure and/or forgotten versions of the Dickens classic.

THE TRAIL TO CHRISTMAS (1957) – This is a fun western-style adaptation of the venerable Dickens story. The Trail to Christmas originally aired as a Yuletide episode of G.E. Theater on December 15th, 1957.  That means this black & white wonder has an introduction by G.E. Theater‘s usual host Ronald Reagan and as an added bonus this Cowpoke Carol was directed by Jimmy Stewart himself!

Stewart also starred in the half-hour story as Bart, a cowboy who encounters a little boy named Johnny Carterville (no, not Jebediah Springfield – Johnny Carterville) in the desert around Christmas. The boy has run away from home, bearing a grudge against his parents and feeling disillusioned about the holiday season of love and giving. To set Johnny straight Bart tells him the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, adapting it to the American West to give the youngster familiar points of reference. Stewart’s radio show The Six Shooter once did this same basic story under the title Brit Ponset’s Christmas Carol. 

Ebenezer Scrooge (John McIntire) owns a ranch in this version of the story with Bob Cratchit (Sam Edwards) as his long-suffering ranch-hand. Will Wright portrays Scrooge’s late partner “Jake” Marley, Dennis Holmes plays Tiny Tim and Continue reading →

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