The 1922 version of A Christmas Carol, starring H.V. Esmond, is incomplete as we know it. Part of a series which presented excerpts from great literature (the four known films are all from Dickens) it ran seventeen minutes or thereabouts, but when it was brought to America in 1929, the distributors cut it down to ten. This version is what we have left, and you can see where bits of the movie are missing.
We open to title cards telling us Marley is dead and his partner Scrooge is a grasping man with a withered heart. A scraggly Scrooge sits at a desk in the office of “Marley and Scrooge”; according to the sign in the window, Scrooge was the junior partner. Behind him, certainly one of the most dapper Bob Cratchits shivers. (His name is spelled “Crachit” throughout this movie. No room on the title cards?) He tries to put more coal on the fire, is scolded back to his seat, and then Scrooge’s nephew–“poor, married, and happy”—enters. He and his uncle banter up to the exchange about how the young man can be so happy, when he is poor. At Fred’s punchline, Crachit laughs, to be snarled at once more. Fred, still cheerful, invites his uncle to dinner and is told, “Oh, bah! Bosh!” His one and only “humbug” came a little before this. Perhaps he’s being stingy with words.
There is a brief picture of a boy outside, blowing on cold hands and, from the activity in the office when we return, we have just skipped a scene of Scrooge, who is armed with his ruler, chasing this possible caroler away. It is now closing time at Marley and Scrooge’s, so Scrooge can threaten to dock Crachit’s pay for expecting a whole day off.
A title card butts in to tell us that on Christmas Eve night the spirit of a man who has never given is condemned to walk the earth in a dream and witness scenes of happiness it might have shared. We come back to the story in Scrooge’s studio apartment, where he sits by te fire for a bit of gruel. Bells ring and there is a shot of ghostly feet dragging chains. Scrooge doesn’t see this, but he listens to something in fear until a semi-transparent man enters. He wears spectacles, the skinny pigtail, a chinstrap, and what looks like a fake nose. Warning Scrooge of impending doom, Marley tells him to listen to the spirits to come, and then vanishes, wasting a decent buildup.
We see Scrooge decide he fell asleep and dreamed it as he gets up and walks to his bed. He does NOT fall asleep: he is restless, and rises a little as a robed and hooded spirit carrying branches of leaves introduces itself as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Scrooge falls back on his pillow and closes his eyes so his astral projection can rise from his unconscious body. They reappear in a time when Scrooge was young and happy. Scrooge is apparently the man sitting at the desk, while a man in a lighter jacket chats cheerfully and pats hi on the back. The Ghost tells Scrooge that he became greedy and evermore greedy, as we watch young Scrooge snarl at his ledger.
And just like that, we are told Scrooge was next conducted to the happy home of Bob Crachit, where we watch Mrs. Crachit enjoy a cozy evening with three small children and one older girl, who is peeling apples at the table. Scrooge materializes next to an obvious Ghost of Christmas Present, without much hint of where this chap came from and where the other ghost went. (Why bother? You read the book, right?) Bob arrives with another young woman (Martha?). It seems to be Mrs. Cratchit who blesses Scrooge as the founder of the feast. Scrooge cowers.
The Ghost guides Scrooge to a wall, walking behind him so as to vanish just before a shrouded figure arrives to take over the ghost duties. Scrooge calls out to the second ghost, but the third takes him by the hand and leads him away from the wall to a cemetery. A bony finger points to a stone we can’t read, but a wholly unconvincing picture of the epitaph now takes up the screen telling us it marks the grave of Ebenezer Scrooge: “Himself Without Human Kindness, He Died Without Friends”. Scrooge pleads that if the ghost will just blot out the words, he will keep the Christmas spirit in his heart.
We cut now to Scrooge, who is solid, and up on one elbow in his bed. He is thrilled to be there, alive and with a chance to celebrate Christmas. Dancing over to a window we are seeing for the first time, he whoops at the world and then calls to a boy, possibly the presumed caroler). He orders the boy to buy “the biggest turkey in London” and throws a few coins down to him before deciding to just toss the whole handful. “I’ll send it to Bob Crachit. And lots more!” He dances with glee at his joke, and a surprised title card tells us “And he DOES send it all to Bob!” We see proof of this as the Cratchits gather around a large basket of food.
We have less than a minute to go when a tidy Scrooge walks along the sidewalk and bumps into Fred (whose name is mentioned for the first time) and asks if he can come in to dinner. Fred is thrilled at the suggestion, and a title card tells us that everywhere now there is HAPPINESS. We have just enough time to show Scrooge waiting, next day, for Bob to come in late. Bob is making his excuses when Scrooge snarls that he will not stand for this any longer and, punching Bob in the arm, informs him his wages will be doubled. Bob has reached for a weapon but Scrooge burbles on that he is planning Happy Days for Bob’s family and announces “We’re going to be HAPPY, BOB!” The two men shake hands, The End.
Well, we got through that right quick: we ditched Tiny Tim, Fezziwig, the ragpicker’s shop, the t in Bob’s last name…. Scrooge and Bob are the only ones allowed enough screen time to do much acting; their faces show us this could have been a decent attempt. It seems clear that the title cards were the work of the American distributor, and do much more heavy lifting than was allowed in better silent movies. Still that window sign of “Marley and Scrooge”….
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