Import

A Christmas Carol (Renown; United Artists) is a serviceable new edition of Charles Dickens' evergreen story,* arriving from Britain in time for the holiday trade. Several cuts below the best British film versions of Dickens (Great Expectations, Oliver Twist), the picture at times may tax a moviegoer's seasonal good will. Though Dickens' frank sentimentality calls for broad treatment, Brian Desmond Hurst's direction is too often heavy as well. Able Character Actor Alastair Sim is the dependable old brandy that gives this plum pudding a lift.

He plays the succulent part of Scrooge with delightful gusto, whether barking at charity solicitors, cringing before ghosts, demoniacally fleecing a business associate or lavishing favors on a startled Cratchit. Sim gets his best support from Kathleen Harrison, who expands the Dickens vignette of Scrooge's glum charwoman into a life-size comic portrait. Sample: the hilariously ghoulish scene that shows her cheerfully plying the rag & bones man with Scrooge's deathbed effects.

* Filmed at least four times before, most recently by M-G-M in 1938.

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