The famous doorknocker scene in "Marley's Ghost," a life model magic lantern version of "A Christmas Carol," made in 1880. Courtesy Ann Hecht Collection.

Film expert's book tells of 'Scrooges' past and present

After telling the tale of "Scrooge" in his 1843 story "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens became so closely associated with the winter holiday that upon hearing of his death in 1870, a British street vendor reportedly said, "Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?" In fact, retelling the story, which Dickens called his "Ghostly little book," has long been an annual Christmas tradition. In film and television productions showing varying degrees of loyalty to the book, the miser-turned-philanthropist Ebenezer Scrooge has been portrayed by everyone from the actor Alastair Sim (in the most popular film version) to the television cartoon character Mister Magoo. Tony Randall and Jack Klugman performed a variation of the Dickens tale on "The Odd Couple" sitcom; Jim Henson's Muppets starred in one adaptation of the story; and some versions have even featured a female Scrooge. Both the classic and unconventional adaptations of Dickens' most popular tale are documented in a new book by Fred Guida, a longtime film consultant at the Yale Center for British Art and a self-described "Dickens devotee." The book, titled "A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: Dickens's Story on Screen and Television," chronicles over 150 "Carol" adaptations -- from shows for the magic lantern in the pre-screen era, through silent films and the earliest "talkies," to the most recent renditions. The work includes a foreword by noted film scholar and Dickens authority Edward Wagenknecht and contains rare photos from some "Carol" renditions. While doing research for the book, Guida also helped turn up two previously "lost" film versions of "A Christmas Carol" -- a 1922 British silent short titled "Scrooge" and a 1947 Spanish version titled "Leyenda de Navidad" ("Christmas Legend"). Guida says he came upon these long-lost versions only because he wanted to "avoid the easy route of recycling the existing body of information" on "The Christmas Carol" and instead view every production of the tale that he was writing about. He began informal research on the topic about 10 years ago, and devoted the last five years to tracking down every film and television version he could get his hands on. He spent countless hours in the Sterling Memorial Library, running through microfilms of various early 1900 trade publications and other resources, and visited other libraries throughout the country in search of material. He made telephone calls across the globe, sometimes begging television networks and movie production companies to sell him video copies of their films -- shelling out as much as $600 for a single copy. He also placed advertisements in various film magazines, where he requested such adaptations as a Scrooge-theme show from the 1970s' "Sanford & Son" television series. His quest even took him to Spain, where Guida hoped to learn more about the lost "Leyenda de Navidad," which he considered the "Holy Grail" of cinematic versions. "I thought it was interesting that there was a foreign language version out there and I really wanted to see it," he explained in a recent interview. After Guida's repeated requests for information on "Leyenda de Navidad," the Filmoteca Española in Madrid finally uncovered a 16 mm print of the film, a shorter version of the 35 mm original. No copies of the original are known to exist, according to Guida, and the 16 mm print had been misplaced for some 30 years. "It was a satisfying discovery because the film turns out to be very good," says Guida, who is also an adjunct professor of film history at Connecticut and Quinnipiac colleges. "In a way, it anticipates the Alastair Sim film [produced in 1951] in that it gets into the psychology of the character of Scrooge and tries to explain him." The 1922 British short version of the "Carol" that emerged through Guida's research is held by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The film was among a collection of untitled works and "Carol" materials donated to the library in the 1970s and was in the form of an abridged nitrate print, which couldn't be viewed. Guida convinced the library to make a new 35 mm preservation print, which he then studied. After comparing what is known about other lost "Carol" versions from the silent era and identifying the actor who starred as Scrooge, Guida was able to get his theory that the film was the 1922 British version confirmed by the British Film Institute in London. While glad that his detective work paid off, Guida admits that the rediscovered British adaptation was disappointing. "Such heavily truncated 'Carols' are always a bit frustrating to watch since so much of the story is necessarily passed over," he explains. Guida's interest in Dickens' works was ignited during his childhood when he saw "David Copperfield" on television. He later saw the Alastair Sim version of "A Christmas Carol" and became hooked on Dickens' literature and movies that derived from it. "Dickens wrote in such a vivid, detailed style and even the structure of his works is so well-suited for film," says Guida. "It's as if he were writing for movies." In "A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations" Guida notes that his favorite adaptations of the tale are the 1951 Alastair Sim version and a 1984 television version starring George C. Scott. He's also unashamed to admit that he is very fond of the 1970 musical film starring Albert Finney, which many critics hold in disregard. "I think it's an unsung classic," says Guida, who also enjoys "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," produced in 1962, which he contends is one of few animated versions with any merit. The film historian notes that his favorite adaptations, like Dickens' original, convey both "the upside and the downside" of the Christmas holiday. "While showing a lot of joy, warmth and family festivity, the best 'Carol' adaptations lean a little more on the darker side," Guida comments. "When the Sim version first came out, some critics considered it too dark. But Dickens' story has a dark side to it, and the lesser versions of the 'Carol' whitewash that side -- the issues of social justice and social criticism that are in there." He dislikes adaptations that "trash" or belittle Dickens' message in "A Christmas Carol," which is "that we all have the potential to lose sight of what is important in life, and that we all have the potential to be redeemed," Guida says. He counts among his least favorites the 1988 movie "Scrooged" starring Bill Murray and a recent Beavis and Butthead variation on the theme. Yet, Dickens' ideas or themes emerge in most adaptations, he notes. "There are cowboy versions, cartoon versions, sitcom versions and even a hard-core pornographic version called 'The Passions of Carol,'" says Guida. "No matter what is done with the material, there is something of Dickens' original that usually manages to survive." At the Yale Center for British Art, Guida helps to select movies for the museum's various film series and often serves as a projectionist. "I've seen some of the same faces every year for the past 15 years at the center's annual screening of the Alastair Sim version of 'The Christmas Carol,'" Guida says. "I'd bet that 99 out of 100 people could tell you the story of Scrooge, even though I'd be surprised if half of them have read Dickens' book," he adds. "He served us an eternal feast with that story, and I've no doubt there will be many new adaptations to chronicle in a second edition to my book." Further information on Guida's book is available on www.dickensachristmascarol.com. -- By Susan Gonzalez T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Yale boasts three Rhodes Scholars Bulldog coach, players cited for championship season Interior Secretary will push to expand U.S. parks Finding sheds new light on the alphabet's origins Squash courts refurbished with alumnus' gift Sons' gift establishes visiting professorship Mandelbrot is appointed Sterling Professor Former YSN dean is new master of Silliman College McCain vows to reform government, military as president Gary Hart warns of impending attack on U.S. mainland Exhibit features children's books by Connecticut authors Art Gallery exhibit explores mysterious prints Students' new creation protects children from loaded handguns Former tennis star wins prestigious Silver Anniversary Award Former Bulldog urges Bears to enjoy life off playing field Film expert's book tells of 'Scrooges' past and present Architects in training tackle Shanghai project in China Studio Nathan Jacobson, noted for work in abstract algebra, dies Sheffield Fellow to discuss 'Internet Learning' Community invited to help build labyrinth Study questions who is choosing oophorectomy option Grant from HHMI will support graduate education in sciences Talks will explore relationship between faith and science Sights of the Season Security Procedures for Recess . . . 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