MetaChat - Who's your favorite Scrooge?

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07 December 2007

Who's your favorite Scrooge? →[More:]It's long been my theory that, discounting God and the Devil, Ebenezer Scrooge is the most portrayed fictional character in the history of recorded media, especially if you count the numerous TV show knock-offs that have been done over the years. I'd be willing to wager that by the time you were 10 years old (assuming you owned a television), you'd been exposed to at least a dozen of them, in various incarnations, and you'd probably already formed a pretty strong opinion about which Scrooges were top notch and which ones were real stinkers.

Having recently watched this nearly-forgotten classic animated version, I'd have to say my current favorite is Jim Backus/Mr. Magoo. He really captures the frailty and sadness of the character, yet somehow still manages to make him funny. (Here's a nice scene.)

Who's top Scrooge in your book?

post by: Atom Eyes at: 13:43 | 22 comments

Michael Caine.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 07 December | 13:45

Agreed.

posted by box 07 December | 13:47

Michael Caine might be the only human actor who ever held his own against a muppet.

(That sounded dirtier than intended).

posted by Atom Eyes 07 December | 13:55

Alastair Sim.
Since then everyone else has pretty much done their performance as an imitation of Alastair Sim.

(also, a christmas carol was the first thing I ever read by myself!)

posted by kellydamnit 07 December | 13:57

LOL!1 Atom Eyes! I totally laughed out loud, then called the husband over so he could laugh, too. He did.

posted by taz 07 December | 14:04

Scrooge McDuck

posted by govtdrone 07 December | 14:11

Without a doubt, Bill Murray as Frank Cross, in Scrooged.

posted by poppo 07 December | 14:22

Michael Caine, then Alastair Sim.

posted by iconomy 07 December | 14:29

Magoo, baby. Magoo.

posted by jrossi4r 07 December | 14:31

Bill Murray!

Frank Cross: I want to see her nipples.
Censor Lady: But this is a CHRISTMAS show.
Frank Cross: Well, I'm sure Charles Dickens would have wanted to see her nipples.
Guy who works on set: You can barely see them nipples.
Frank Cross: See? And these guys are REALLY looking.

posted by Divine_Wino 07 December | 14:38

Yeah, I gotta go with Bill Murray on this one. Every other Scrooge is just a crabby old guy in a mu-mu.

posted by eamondaly 07 December | 14:45

Curly.

Oh wait, you didn't say Stooge?

posted by wendell 07 December | 15:07

Alistair Sim...and Rowan Atkinson, of course.

posted by Smart Dalek 07 December | 15:10

I'm in agreement that Michael Caine was fantastic, but I think I prefer Bill Murray overall. Man, when he suggested staples to hold the antlers on the mice' heads? Pure joy for me.

posted by richat 07 December | 15:26

As luck would have it, I plan to dig out our copy of "Scrooged" to watch this evening. I've been looking forward to it for days! I guess that means Bill Murray's my go-to Scrooge.

(Really, though, it just means Carol Kane's my go-to spirit of Christmas.)

posted by Elsa 07 December | 15:50

I just hated "Scrooged." And for me, it was (in retrospect) Karen Allen's post-shark-jump movie.

Does this make me a bad person?

posted by danf 07 December | 16:05

Magoo all the way.
"...why don't my fingers reach..."
*sobs*

posted by ethylene 07 December | 16:43

i've been looking for this for ages.

posted by ethylene 07 December | 16:44

George C. Scott for me. We had a taped copy that was aired on broadcast TV (before TiVo!) and my family would all curl up on the sofa and laugh at the IBM commercials. The last scene with the Ghost of Christmas Present always freaked me the hell out.

I always hated Mr. Magoo. I'm really not sure why.

I can't stand It's A Wonderful Life, either. Please don't hurt me.

posted by Fuzzbean 07 December | 17:12

Fuzzbean, it's so funny you say that. I think one of my strongest Christmas memories is watching old taped movies and laughing at the silly commercials as a kid. I can still remember that "Hills is where the toys are!" jingle, and I swear they must have gone out of business 15 years ago.

posted by kellydamnit 07 December | 18:54

I've never watched or read A Christmas Carol. And I find It's a Wonderful Life extremely depressing. I was told it wouldn't be once I was married. They lied.

posted by deborah 07 December | 22:37

Albert Finney will always be Scrooge to me.

posted by BoringPostcards 07 December | 23:33

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