"Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost" (1901)

[valancy_s]

For an assignment, I'm trolling Youtube for early silent versions of A Christmas Carol. This one claims to be the earliest, from 1901. Only half of it (about 3 1/2 minutes) is said to survive, so I could easily tell you to go watch it, but I'll cut straight to the point instead - how awesome is the set decoration?

This is the Cratchits' house:

Comments

[litlover12]

Hee! That is cute. :-)

Did you hear that "Scrooge" has just been discovered to be only the SECOND oldest Dickens film available? A short film based on "Bleak House" has been found that's a little older.

[tinuviellen]

"A Merry Xmas" doesn't seem very 1901-y. Not that they didn't use the X substitute in the past...

[valancy_s]

Evidently they did. But yeah, it definitely doesn't seem very 1843-y...

As it turns out, though, the first usage on record dates back to 1551.

[tinuviellen]

Yeah, I've actually seen the x used in names (Christopher, Christina) in muster rolls for the 1600s. I'm sure it was a mark of respect. But there's something so modern feeling about those signs, and it! So funny and so cool.