In An American Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge becomes Benedict Slade (Henry Winkler), an elderly, temperamental New England financier who fires his assistant, Mr. Thatcher (R.H. Thomson), only to be visited by three ghosts who warn him to change his uncompassionate ways. Winkler is sporadically effective in the role, but his professional supporting cast and a good period production help him carry the load. Shout! Factory has treated it to an above-average Blu-ray that even includes a recent interview with the star.
An American Christmas Carol (1979)
Studio: Shout! Factory (produced by Smith-Hemion Productions)
Year: 1979
Rated: NR
Length: 97 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Resolution: 1080p
Languages: English Mono
Subtitles: None
MSRP: $16.99
Original Broadcast Date: December 16, 1979
Disc Release Date: October 9, 2012
Review Date: October 22, 2012
The Movie:
3/5
Since Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, the moral redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge has attracted scores of actors, from Reginald Owen to Alaistar Sim to Albert Finney to Michael Caine to Patrick Stewart to Jim Carrey, to jump at the chance to portray the crotchety old miser whenever Hollywood decides to re-adapt it for either the large or small screens. In 1979, the then 34-year-old Henry Winkler, who was at the height of his phenomenal fame as Happy Days’ Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, doffed his leather jacket and donned make-up to age himself about 30 years for ABC’s Americanized—though shot in Canada—made-for-TV movie of the classic story.
Set in a small New England town on Christmas Eve 1933, Ebenezer Scrooge has become Benedict Slade (Winkler), a crochety, lonely banker who forecloses on a black sharecropper (Dorian Harewood) and an elderly bookstore owner (David Wayne) while giving children pamphlets extolling the virtues of hard work and thrift. Slade’s assistant, Mr. Thatcher (R.H. Thomson) objects to his business practices and loses his job as a result. As Slade attempts to read the copy of A Christmas Carol the old man gave him, he rips it up and dismisses it as a pack of lies. After that, he gets a warning from the ghost of Jack Latham (Kenneth Pogue), his deceased business partner, but Slade believes it to be smoke and mirrors (making a very funny in-joke about the make-up in James Whale’s Frankenstein). The three ghosts that visit him show him what he used to be like: a kind, loving, hard-working man with a lot of innovative business ideas. At least he was until the love of his life, Helen Brewster (Susan Hogan), left him.
While the film a welcome change of pace for those who only know his sitcom work, Winkler is much better in the scenes of the younger Slade than he is as an older man, where he plays the role with a bizarre accent that’s not quite New England, but not quite New York. Perhaps it would be interesting to see him take on the role today. On the other hand, R.H. Thomson, later known in both Canada and the United States for his work on Road to Avonlea, is nicely understated in a thankless role, and David Wayne shows great skill in a dual role as the bookstore owner and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Eric Till’s direction is competent and utilitarian, but never too slow, while Hagood Hardy’s musical score incorporates familiar Christmas standards effectively, and the production handles the period details well. Make-up men Rick Baker and Greg Cannom, who have racks full of awards between them for their decades of work, do their best to try and make Winkler look older. While the effect may have worked on 1970s CRT TVs, it doesn’t hold up quite as well in HD. Jerome Coopersmith’s script doesn’t deviate too far from the basic story as it’s been told, and it shows a good grasp of the book’s core themes, but mentioning the book itself and using it to advance the plot makes it seem a bit self-conscious.
The Video:
3.5/5
The film’s 1.33:1 transfer reflects the original broadcast and cinematographer Richard Ciupka’s intentions accurately. Shot with a cool palette and some amount of diffusion, which seemed to be the default style at the time, it wasn’t intended to look like Technicolor. Still, it’s a solid transfer with little grain—though nothing that made me think DNR was involved—and only a small amount of dirt and scratches here and there. Sharpness and contrast are average.
The Audio:
3/5
All TV broadcasts were in mono in 1979, and Shout! has decided to keep the film’s soundtrack that way. The music has better fidelity than the dialogue, but nothing about this track is either objectionable or exciting. It’s a perfectly average 1970s mono track.
The Extras:
1/5
—Interview with Henry Winkler (1080p, 8:41): The actor discusses how he got the role, the makeup and the film’s parallels to the recent economic recession. It’s interesting to note the contrast between how he looks today and the make-up used to make him look that old back in 1979.
Final Score:
3/5
A partially successful opportunity for Henry Winkler to show another side of his talents, An American Christmas Carol is an interesting twist on a familiar story. While Winkler is more convincing as a younger man than an older one, his cast is professional through and through, and the period detail is good. Neither the best nor the worst version of the story, this Blu-ray is probably as good as it gets.
An American Christmas Carol (1979)
Studio: Shout! Factory (produced by Smith-Hemion Productions)
Year: 1979
Rated: NR
Length: 97 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Resolution: 1080p
Languages: English Mono
Subtitles: None
MSRP: $16.99
Original Broadcast Date: December 16, 1979
Disc Release Date: October 9, 2012
Review Date: October 22, 2012
The Movie:
3/5
Since Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, the moral redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge has attracted scores of actors, from Reginald Owen to Alaistar Sim to Albert Finney to Michael Caine to Patrick Stewart to Jim Carrey, to jump at the chance to portray the crotchety old miser whenever Hollywood decides to re-adapt it for either the large or small screens. In 1979, the then 34-year-old Henry Winkler, who was at the height of his phenomenal fame as Happy Days’ Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, doffed his leather jacket and donned make-up to age himself about 30 years for ABC’s Americanized—though shot in Canada—made-for-TV movie of the classic story.
Set in a small New England town on Christmas Eve 1933, Ebenezer Scrooge has become Benedict Slade (Winkler), a crochety, lonely banker who forecloses on a black sharecropper (Dorian Harewood) and an elderly bookstore owner (David Wayne) while giving children pamphlets extolling the virtues of hard work and thrift. Slade’s assistant, Mr. Thatcher (R.H. Thomson) objects to his business practices and loses his job as a result. As Slade attempts to read the copy of A Christmas Carol the old man gave him, he rips it up and dismisses it as a pack of lies. After that, he gets a warning from the ghost of Jack Latham (Kenneth Pogue), his deceased business partner, but Slade believes it to be smoke and mirrors (making a very funny in-joke about the make-up in James Whale’s Frankenstein). The three ghosts that visit him show him what he used to be like: a kind, loving, hard-working man with a lot of innovative business ideas. At least he was until the love of his life, Helen Brewster (Susan Hogan), left him.
While the film a welcome change of pace for those who only know his sitcom work, Winkler is much better in the scenes of the younger Slade than he is as an older man, where he plays the role with a bizarre accent that’s not quite New England, but not quite New York. Perhaps it would be interesting to see him take on the role today. On the other hand, R.H. Thomson, later known in both Canada and the United States for his work on Road to Avonlea, is nicely understated in a thankless role, and David Wayne shows great skill in a dual role as the bookstore owner and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Eric Till’s direction is competent and utilitarian, but never too slow, while Hagood Hardy’s musical score incorporates familiar Christmas standards effectively, and the production handles the period details well. Make-up men Rick Baker and Greg Cannom, who have racks full of awards between them for their decades of work, do their best to try and make Winkler look older. While the effect may have worked on 1970s CRT TVs, it doesn’t hold up quite as well in HD. Jerome Coopersmith’s script doesn’t deviate too far from the basic story as it’s been told, and it shows a good grasp of the book’s core themes, but mentioning the book itself and using it to advance the plot makes it seem a bit self-conscious.
The Video:
3.5/5
The film’s 1.33:1 transfer reflects the original broadcast and cinematographer Richard Ciupka’s intentions accurately. Shot with a cool palette and some amount of diffusion, which seemed to be the default style at the time, it wasn’t intended to look like Technicolor. Still, it’s a solid transfer with little grain—though nothing that made me think DNR was involved—and only a small amount of dirt and scratches here and there. Sharpness and contrast are average.
The Audio:
3/5
All TV broadcasts were in mono in 1979, and Shout! has decided to keep the film’s soundtrack that way. The music has better fidelity than the dialogue, but nothing about this track is either objectionable or exciting. It’s a perfectly average 1970s mono track.
The Extras:
1/5
—Interview with Henry Winkler (1080p, 8:41): The actor discusses how he got the role, the makeup and the film’s parallels to the recent economic recession. It’s interesting to note the contrast between how he looks today and the make-up used to make him look that old back in 1979.
Final Score:
3/5
A partially successful opportunity for Henry Winkler to show another side of his talents, An American Christmas Carol is an interesting twist on a familiar story. While Winkler is more convincing as a younger man than an older one, his cast is professional through and through, and the period detail is good. Neither the best nor the worst version of the story, this Blu-ray is probably as good as it gets.
