The Sad Truth About The Real-Life Ebenezer Scrooge

[@GrungeHQ]

What's the weirdest thing you learned about John Elwes?

[@nicholasmaude6906]

I wonder if Cary Elwes is a descendent of his?

[@iasimov5960]

He was a slow moving white Bronco?

[@caroleroseburgh1344]

That he was really trifling And had A yuck mouth.‼️💯😃😂🤣😀.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@iasimov5960 I don't understand your comment.

[@iasimov5960]

@@michaelpalmieri7335 google it

[@changeintheair9648]

Charles Dickens usually wrote about people he personally knew; however, in the case of Christmas Carol, I believe Scrooge was a compilation of various real personalities (people). He is my favourite British author.

[@stevenfranks3131]

The 1951 version with Alastair Sim is timeless: "Merry Christmas, Mr. Scrooge! In keeping with the situation!"

[@wenesdae]

kathleen Harrison, she was outstanding

[@fozzieatdetourbillnye5514]

Classic. Also like the Albert Finney version.

[@stevenfranks3131]

#Wenesdae - "Bed curtains!!!" She deserved an Academy Award for the scene when Scrooge gave her a Christmas bonus and her whole life played over her face in a flash and she stammered, "For me???"

[@stevenfranks3131]

#FozzieatDetour BillNye - Yes! He was brilliant.

[@wenesdae]

@@fozzieatdetourbillnye5514 wasn't that a musical uuuugh

[@LeeHicks]

With all the video clips shown, better choices would be the Alistair Sim version. He is the only actor that played Scrooge as convincing, whether pre-conversion or the joyous after conversion. That version of the story also had the best casting overall, in my opinion. Tiny Tim never fails to hit the heart hard, and Cratchett is likewise a massively sympathetic character, especially when trying to be "very peaceful" after visiting the grave site and then breaking down. If you haven't seen it, and enjoy the story, it's a must see. One other scene that is handled in a very creepy fashion is before the appearance of Marley, and the interchanges between Scrooge and Marley are handled in a very classic manner. Well worth watching!

[@clioflano421]

The Scrooge featuring Sims is also my favourite which I have come from watching just now.

[@sabrinanascimento5248]

My favorite story. I watch this movie every Christmas.

[@fozzieatdetourbillnye5514]

Mine too

[@winnifredforbes8712]

Sabrina Nascimento Me too. It's timeless!

[@jackofalltrades9311]

Me too😊

[@lynn1464]

Mine too

[@rubyait]

Sabrina Nascimento I also read it during the summer. It is a terrible story. Tight, logical, clear. I think it’s the best Dickens.

[@marshdawg7249]

The George C. Scott version is my favorite.

[@bookadmirer.3699]

I like George C. Scott version too...it my favorite version.

[@thomasbaron5367]

Same I've seen Michael Caine as Scrooge, Alastair Sim, Patrick Stewart and even Jim Carrey Nobody fits the role better than George C. Scott

[@forgottencas2272]

You should check out the Albert Finney version. Another great Scrooge performance.

[@clarapaolinelli2063]

Me too

[@marmotsack]

George C. scott is the only person I've seen who doesn't play him as a cartoon.

[@karenrich9092]

This wonderful video used A Christmas Carol to draw me in and now I want to read more of Dickens' books. Great Job!!

[@iriscollins7583]

Well worth reading. I know you will enjoy them. There have been several films made about his many books. We often see them on Television in the UK.

[@KennyRider137]

Judging by his heartbroken youth he's more of a sociopath than a miser.

[@karensmith3227]

Sociopaths by nature never change.

[@musiccoffeengoodvibes]

No, you also have Oppressive Compulsive Personality Disorder, or as Freud would call it, anal character

[@josephcusumano2885]

Albert Finney's Scrooge is still my favorite.

[@annapaulikonis2433]

Me too!

[@mangot589]

Patrick Stewart vote here.

[@Hunter3457]

I kinda prefer the George C Scott version

[@janellirving4625]

I like them both, along with Yosemite Sam as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Looney Tunes Christmas.

[@katjagolden893]

Excellent and great research! I always love “back-stories” or should I say in this case... possible inspirations for the fictional character Scrooge.

[@AStri-zg5xc]

For everyone saying the 1984 George C Scott version was the best - when this movie was first shown at Christmas 1984 the critics tore it to shreds. They complained about the casting, the acting, the editing and Scott's "British accent" which they said was horrible. The only thing that wasn't panned was the scenery because much of it was filmed on location in England. It received so many bad reviews I never expected to see it again. I don't know if all these observations were right, but I'm happy so many like this movie 😊 because I do, too!

[@candacecasey5634]

Just goes to show you. It's a good thing to think for yourself 😉

[@MrBrunoUSA]

Only two people have ever played Scrooge: Alastair Sim and all the rest!

[@debbystardust]

Bruno Boyko I love George C. Scott as well

[@wolfshanze5980]

There's only two types of people who prefer Alastair Sims... those that have only seen Sim's version, and those that haven't seen George C. Scott's version.

[@debbystardust]

Mithrennon of Aegwynn let’s be fair: my issues with the Sims film aren’t with Sims himself, but with the sappy MGM bits that muddle up the movie! Excessive ice skating and caroling! And, George C. Scott is unbelievably good at approximating a British air, given his West Virginian heritage!

[@MrBrunoUSA]

*says "Yes, Dear" to both Debby and Mithrennon and rolls over and goes back to sleep. Seriously though, I will give the George C Scott version another look. I saw part of it once but not all of it.

[@wolfshanze5980]

@@MrBrunoUSA It's a good time of year to check out Scott's Christmas Carol... my family has seen most versions of the tale and the only one they want to see EVERY Christmas is George C. Scott's version.

[@rosebud1493]

He was a poverty stricken man with money.

[@candacecasey5634]

That's the saddest thing that I have ever heard...

[@reverendbluejeans1748]

He did not know how to make money this scrooge

[@kingpenn8967]

Thats the best way to live rich in weath but poor in appearance

[@reverendbluejeans1748]

@@kingpenn8967 Nope, that is the mindset of a 9-5 worker or a 19 century author.

[@cindychristian1700]

I knew a man who was rich when I worked at a bank but he drove an old pick up truck, wore a flannel shirt with jeans or work style pants and he would even check the newspaper stands for quarters! He had a nice disposition and always bought a cashier's check for $5000.00 to send to his sister once or twice a year. He was what I called eccentric and odd but it was his money and he seemed to take care of himself physically so he wasn't mentally ill. I guess some people just like having wealth and really don't want to spent even a little lavishly! I even once heard of a man who lived in a large converted chicken coop but was also a millionaire too!

[@chuumon95]

The Muppet version was the first one I ever saw. Back then I didn’t know it was based on an old book and thought it was an original story for the Muppets. Same with Treasure Island. That was until I saw the Mickey Mouse version and the one done by the people who made all thos classic stop motion christmas specials, I forget the name. After watching it so many times I should’ve realized the truth from the beginning.

[@deborahshallin5843]

Fascinating story! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@sirenthomas4595]

damnit now i gotta go get a muppet christmas carol

[@faerefolke]

You won't regret it.

[@joannapederson7795]

I agree!

[@sethcarlow8363]

it's my fav Holiday Movie.

[@kaymuldoon3575]

Seth Carlow it’s my friend’s favorite as well.

[@sarahmoviereviewer4109]

It's great

[@antoniusbritannia8217]

"You're a quite a powerful speaker sir, I wonder you don't go into Parliament. . ."

[@changeintheair9648]

Dickens is my favourite British author because he used his pen to address social ills at the time. The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist (abandoned orphans), Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Hard Times, etc. Always settings of late 1800s and bad conditions and societal conforms people had to endure. He used his stories as a sword to wake up people to the horrible realities of what many average people endured.When a child his father went to debtors prison and would visit him.

[@arushdubey9198]

Great video. Now I understand a whole lot more about Scrooge.

[@richardsoult5678]

You showed many great scenes from different movie clips but the Ghost of Dickens past is by far my favorite.I have 60 + DVDS in my Scrooge collection.The man who invented Christmas was awesome but for a real tear jerking experience you must watch the ghost of Dickens past.I hope you will include a scene or two from that one.Thanks for your fantastic video it was nice to wake up watching it.God bless

[@bullock4211]

Alistair Sim played the best Scrooge.

[@paulashe7460]

Seth Bullock The Hanna barbera cartoon was atmospheric

[@dfernandez3482]

2 month old pancake in his pocket? Bruh just rolls with a pancake in his pocket wat 😂🥞

[@bryantsherman7263]

I think a good way to gain context of this story is to learn about life in England in the Victorian Era (1840-1903). Day to day living was hand to mouth for most and one of just survival. We have come along way, but so many are unfulfilled.

[@jameskirk1164]

I can understand penny pinching if you are poor but if you are wealthy it is simply another form of mental illness. Couldn't this man realize he had enough money for 10 lifetimes?

[@oldenweery7510]

The answer is "NO!" I've been living on the edge of poverty for years and never can understand wealthy people who don't want those of us who have to live on lower incomes to get _anything_ from _anyone,"_ especially not the Gov't. I always ask, "How much money do you _need?_ How many houses can you live in? How many cars can you drive? How many meals can you eat in a day?" Some people just have to have more, more, more. My goal has always been to have enough income that I can pay my bills without feeling pinched, have enough that I can splurge once in a while. I finally reached that point a couple of years ago, but there are always the rich people trying to cut down the margin (I live in a "Senior" apartment building and one of our former tenants, in her eighties, had enough income that she's still paying _income tax._ Yet she bitched that some of us are on Social Security Disability and get medical costs paid---and: "Why do I have to pay eight dollars for that medication when you get it _free?"_

[@thedativecase9733]

Yes I think people who penny pinch when they don't need to are probably living with some kind of mental illness. Dickens had a bit of a thing about famous misers of the past - he parodies them in Our Mutual Friend giving them names like "Vulture Hopkins" - great name for a miser .

[@sislertx]

Bloomberg says only thr poor should be taxed...it makes them live longer..same with bernie and getting CAUGHT saying to tax those who make 29k to 90....

[@oldenweery7510]

@@sislertx "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer." It was ever thus. It wouldn't be so bad if the rich didn't think they're "Special" just because they have so much loot if they didn't try to deprive the rest of us at every turn. I'm 80 years old and a couple years ago, our wonderful legislators gave my Social Security benefit TWO DOLLARS a month increase---and then _took a dollar a month away from my SNAP benefit!_ These are the people who vote themselves raises, then put a 3-year _freeze_ on Cost of Living Increases for Social Security recipients.

[@Kazyman]

To power phrase one well known book: 'There are those who make busy getting gold, silver and the like, but there is no end to their getting.'

[@ECO473]

My favorite Christmas Carol versions: 1. Alastair Sim 2. George C. Scott 3. Mr. Magoo 4. Albert Finney

[@uhhFez]

“They would have called a turncoat but they knew he only owned one coat” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@judya.shroads8245]

How sad not to at least feed and house himself property.

[@linusmckinney3515]

My favorite is Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol

[@michellejackson1096]

Mine 2

[@bookadmirer.3699]

Not my favorite but it's up there. Rassleberry dressing.

[@depswa1269]

@@bookadmirer.3699 L O L !!!

[@Uciuwkviclviycjjxcku]

Congrats on 1 mil!

[@adrianpetyt9167]

"Mean" still means "stingy" in British English.

[@nathanielrincon7907]

Elwes lived with his uncle due to the fact his mother (allegedly) starved to death, because she refused to spend, the inheritence after her husband passed.

[@cheflaurel7453]

The Muppets version is my favorite!

[@cpuwrite]

Last year they showed a variant on the story where Dickens deals with writer's block and tight deadlines on the way to creating "A Christmas Carol." Christopher Plummer played the Scrooge who appeared to Dickens while he was writing the story (other characters pointed out that the characters of Dickens' stories often appeared to him when he was writing). I had a problem with it. Plummer was a good enough unredeemed Scrooge, but he never got the chance to play the Scrooge of Christmas day. I think the film was the worse for the lack of the man who made every day Christmas.

[@alejandromolina7270]

This isn't a Christmas story but The Signalman is a great underrated Dickens ghost story.

[@michaeljenner2325]

Agreed. Brilliant story.

[@beverins]

What’s sad is we have real people who act like Scrooge, say the same words and believe that same things... and have the power to ace on these beliefs..

[@wendychavez5348]

My boyfriend often asks me if I ever really went hungry, because I habitually clean off every bite, often even crumbs, and (more explainable, since after my brain injury I continuously think I'm thirsty) won't let even two drops of liquid remain at the bottom of a glass. I use clothes until they can't be repaired or repurposed anymore, and if I discern any life whatsoever in something I can't stand to dispose of it. This is not due to any history of hardship in my own life, but because I've taken stories from my grandparents (all of whom were born in the 1920s and lived through the Great Depression) and mom (who was stationed in Bolivia with the Peace Corps during the same 2 years that my dad was in Vietnam) seriously. One does not have to experience true poverty to understand its impact, and I choose not to waste if I can avoid doing so.

[@djf8619]

Dickens seems to be obsessed with ghosts.

[@RobertWBates-hw5ej]

Spirtiualism (the notion you could speak to the dead through seances) became quite popular in Victorian England.

[@iriscollins7583]

@@RobertWBates-hw5ej Another Author who was interested in Spiritualism was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[@Toastrackman]

No point in being a skin flint, after all theres no pockets in a shroud.

[@annapaulikonis2433]

Can' t take it with you!

[@Toastrackman]

@@annapaulikonis2433 unless your Doris Stokes lol

[@aranthos]

I'm baffled how she went 12 minutes without taking a breadth

[@Expat47]

Point of reference: About the 11:50 mark you state that "mean" meant cheap "at the time". Well, it still means "cheap" today. Here's what the dictionary has to say, "unwilling to give or share things, especially money; not generous."

[@patrickmcpherson97]

Actor Carey Elwes is related to him, from what he's said.

[@AStri-zg5xc]

Funny..,I thought of him when I saw the name.

[@genealexander5705]

I was just wondering that. There's some secret society stuff going on there...

[@josephcusumano2885]

Probably

[@kelman727]

Roscoe P. Coltrane Are you stupid?

[@QueenShireen]

Scrooge is not a Grinch, the Grinch is a Scrooge. Scrooge was their first

[@floridaboy.californiaman.649]

Both Jim carrey's and Bill murray's Scrooge is my favorite, Merry ! Christmas ! 2020. 🎄🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎅🤶🌨️❄️⛄☕

[@Odo-so8pj]

Even the BBC reported it as a possibility. I laughed out loud. 😂

[@christopheralthouse6378]

Honestly, John Elwes sounds like the most likely inspirational candidate, as his story seems to best reflect both sides of Ebenezer Scrooge just without the specific transformative moment to make him go from a miser to a generous person. Only thing really different with Elwes is that both sides existed concurrently...he was generous to others but refused to regale his own self in any comforts. All it takes to turn John Elwes into Ebenezer Scrooge is what happens in "A Christmas Carol", where Elwes is portrayed as just generally a selfish and miserable man who refuses to share any of his wealth period...until a certain encounter with three ghosts of Christmas, where then afterwards we see the other side of John Elwes, generously helping others and enjoying the closeness he now gets to feel by using his vast wealth to improve the lives of those around him. But hey, that's just a theory...A *copyright strike now* THEORY! 😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Incredibly, I think Elwes is STILL ALIVE! He now goes by an alias, and though usually disagreeable, he curiously becomes especially unpleasant every 25th of December. He is my current landlord.

[@camuscat123]

Theme: an inability to let go of the past: how ghosts haunt us

[@sheilaholmes8455]

My favorite is Muppet Christmas Carol. Michael Caine is fabulous.

[@DonnaSCurran]

Wore a wig he found in a bush 😂

[@johnf6687]

Dskellington no he got the wig as a present from bush

[@HeidiAndScots]

Tumble weave's ancestor

[@hectorsmommy1717]

Funny that Westley (aka the Dread Pirate Roberts) is related to the original Ebeneezer Scrooge.

[@kaymuldoon3575]

Hector's Mommy Carey Elwes.

[@mattgerald2460]

Scrooge isn't a villain, so what if he don't want to celebrate Christmas, that don't mean he's a villain, scrooge isn't a bad guy

[@mollymcmurtrie8037]

Scoorge isn't a villain, he was just a jerk who turned nice

[@mattgerald2460]

@@mollymcmurtrie8037 how is a jerk?

[@mollymcmurtrie8037]

@@mattgerald2460 He said that if the population so be it

[@mollymcmurtrie8037]

He said if the surplus population so be it. Let them die.

[@mollymcmurtrie8037]

That what he basically said, error and sorry.

[@WhoWhoandZulu]

A Christmas Carol was one of the greatest stories ever told ... George C. Scott as an actor played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge perfect .... Z

[@ronfroehlich4697]

Alistair Simm is my favorite Scrooge

[@wenesdae]

no he didn't he sucked, alistaire simm was the one and only great performance

[@ronfroehlich4697]

@@wenesdae tell it, wenesdae

[@fozzieatdetourbillnye5514]

@@wenesdae Thank you.

[@fozzieatdetourbillnye5514]

@@wenesdae But there were other great performances of Scrooge

[@ralphyetmore]

Why was there a clip of Dr. Who in here?

[@kaymuldoon3575]

ralphyetmore watch The Unquiet Dead from series 1 (2005).

[@caroleroseburgh1344]

WOW, this is My favorite Christmas story, but to actually learn how it really came about is really eye opening. How can someone be so stingy that they would eat rotten and spoiled food's just to save money. Well I know for sure that money is the root of all evil, but that's ridiculously Filthy....... And A whole lot of strange. Thanks for sharing the details.😃💯💯💯💯💯🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄‼️

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

The Bible actually says that "the LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil."

[@TheFaustianAlchemist]

@@michaelpalmieri7335 not everyone is Christian dude

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@TheFaustianAlchemist I'm well aware of the fact that not everyone in this world is a Christian, but that wasn't the point of my comment. I was merely correcting Carole Roseburgh, who made a common error about a well-known passage from the Bible, about how "money is the root of all evil," and about how the actual biblical passage is "The LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil."

[@TheFaustianAlchemist]

@@michaelpalmieri7335 it still involves around money as a center object

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@TheFaustianAlchemist I'm aware of that too, because I've read "A Christmas Carol" and I've seen the many film and TV adaptations of it as well.

[@celiagorleski2716]

Alastair Sim's the only Scrooge that I enjoy. The Muppets probably come in second.

[@mrmosty5167]

I will never get the image of the Scrooge in the Cheerios commercial, subtly nomming the cereal with his chin, out of my head

[@CeeLiberty]

Guy Pearce was too handsome to play Scrooge...and his interpretation was just more depressed than miserly. Alistair Sim (1951) was the Scrooge that Charles Dickens would have been very pleased with.

[@deliarealtor]

I hate the newest version.

[@mangot589]

Oh the Guy Pearce version was the WORST. EVER. like seriously? It’s not even the same story. It doesn’t need to be “dark and edgy”. That’s not what it’s about.

[@sarahmoviereviewer4109]

"Nephew you keep Christmas in your way & I'll keeping it in mine."

[@ZexoZ8]

I always thought the end of the "A Christmas Carol" '"Scrooge" would now actually be a totally positive character name. He did what he did before ghostly visits one night, but learned self salvation which turned him into a total humanitarian. He didn't change his name at the end of story. He instead helped Tiny Tim as a second father.

[@srkh8966]

ZexoZ8 Same with the Grinch

[@ZexoZ8]

@@srkh8966 Same as the Grinch :D Too funny!

[@ZexoZ8]

So let's all be Grinchy & Scroogey this Christmas!!

[@christosvoskresye]

"The Moral these delightful lines afford Is: 'Living cheaply is its own reward.'" -- Hilaire Belloc

[@gorgonzolastan]

I expect "corn" in this sense doesn't mean like literal maize, it means "grain"

[@billhuber2964]

I just found that out a couple minutes ago.

[@alicewilloughby4318]

1:54 - Did it occur to him that his super-cheep eating habits might lead to expensive doctor bills?

[@TheKonga88]

@Harold Potsdamer You could go see a queen ant and she would spray you with ant pheromones and you would become very strong but confused.. 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜👸👸🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🎅🎉🌜👽🌝🌝🏃🏃🏃🏃🐸🌛🌠🌲🌲🌲🎅🎅👽☕☕

[@TheKonga88]

@Harold Potsdamer Spookoo Spookoo Booboo voodoo 🐸🐸🏃🏃🏃🌲😀🎅🎅🎅👽👽🐜🐜👸🎩👒🎁🌕🎩🌕🌜🌛🚼🎉🎄🎄🎄🎄🐭🐭

[@paulwillson8887]

Just maybe there were enough cheapskates in Dickins Britain to give the character of Scrooge his meanness

[@johnf6687]

He worked for The zoning board in the neitherlands; ate road kill at the china buffet; shopped at thrift store for clothes

[@starey1]

the best versions are the ones with 1. Alistair Sim 2 Patrick Stewart 3 George C. Scott

[@willmosse3684]

I thought this years version with Guy Pierce was good

[@chuumon95]

So he spent money on other people but not himself? He’s gone to heaven.

[@jz5937]

A.J. DeNofa don’t know about Heaven, but it sounds like he at least tried to put others first in some capacity. Elwes that is.

[@anniesavidge2468]

Wrong kind of corn. In Britain, “corn” means grain-wheat, barley and oats, not maize.

[@gorgonzolastan]

😄 I just left this same comment before I read yours.

[@anniesavidge2468]

Lol

[@billhuber2964]

Thanks for this information. You learn something new every day.

[@cjduffwhite]

1970 version The Christmas Carol is no doubt my favourite version. But Blackadders is a great twist on it.

[@ash-shakirwhitaker7008]

I wonder if those warnings from his old partner and from The 3 Ghosts from Christmas Past, Present, And Future are also rooted in some sort of truth. I, personally have received information from a deceased relative from The Spirit World (shortly after prayer...).

[@kelman727]

Ash-Shakir Whitaker No you haven’t.

[@ash-shakirwhitaker7008]

@@kelman727 Now YOU are going to tell me MY experience??

[@robertphillips6296]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@stevengarrison6064]

What Scrooge movie is this 2:52

[@isaiahwilliams7150]

My top 6 favorite Ebenezer Scrooge roles 1. Michael Caine 2. Tim Curry 3. Patrick Stewart 4. George C. Scott 5. Jim Carey 6. Scrooge McDuck

[@katjagolden893]

If there ever was a time machine, I would be curious to know what Dickens thought about our usage of the name he gave us - Scrooge,

[@friendoftellus5741]

Time machines is not impossible; according to science ! There is even those who claim they came from the future... Like the mysterious man who visited Charles Babbage...

[@mrgruffy4499]

'Tis the season! How come so few "Scrooge" movies on TV? George C. Scott was great in his movie. I recall one, maybe 10 or so years ago, that was a musical. Scrooge, my idol and mentor. I thought that John Elwes was a football player. But that's "Elway" I wish there was a sequel to "A Christmas Carol". In a sequel, I suggest that because Scrooge was so generous, he went broke during a depression. Then the whole town suffered. Had they left Scrooge the way he was, he would then have enough so that the people would survive. Now we have 2 months of yucky Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. Same theme: Good looking young woman, who tries to keep her uncle's or father's ski resort, winter lodge, Christmas village, or farm from being sold. Then here comes a handsome young man from New York or some big city, who wants to close the business. The man and woman become attracted to each other. But then they have a falling out when she learns of his intentions. But he has a change of heart, and quits his $100,000 job to sweep the floors at the resort. They fall in love, and live happily ever after.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

Are you for real? You actually want someone to write a "sequel" to "A Christmas Carol" that shows that Scrooge was right to be a selfish miser? Then, there would have been no point to the original story. With your kind of attitude, you must be a real-life Scrooge yourself.

[@mrgruffy4499]

@@michaelpalmieri7335 Why not a sequel? Did not Scrooge have a right to be a selfish miser? He was just acting from "enlightened self-interest". What is "right", and what is "wrong"? Maybe we can have a law or Central Committee to decide that. "The rights of the many outweigh the rights of the individual"? This fictional story is slanted to the agenda of the liberal left, portraying the "rich" as being greedy. "I am entitled to what the rich have." Make the rich pay more taxes (members of Congress would be exempt). Where is the message in the story telling of how hard and how much Scrooge had to work and manage money to become rich?

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@mrgruffy4499 Excuse me, but I didn't know being selfish and greedy was an inalienable right. You missed the entire point of Mr. Dickens's story. You talk about how long and hard Scrooge worked to earn his money, but that wasn't the point of it. The point was that Scrooge became so obsessed with making money, that he lost all respect for other people who weren't as fortunate as he was. What's more, he was so tight with his cash, that he didn't believe in donating his money to worthy causes like helping the poor. Recall, if you will, the scene where two men visit Scrooge at his office to ask for Christmas donations for the poor and destitute; remember what the old man said about it? "Are there no prisons? The Workhouses, are they still in operation? The treadmill and the Poor Law are still in full vigor?" Apparently, Scrooge believed that poor people should be treated like criminals! When the men tell Scrooge that these institutions don't provide "Christian charities," and that people "would rather die" than live in such horrible places, the old skinflint replies "If they would rather die, they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population." In short, Scrooge would rather see people, including their children, die than donate some of his wealth to help them, which is the most selfish, heartless, unfeeling, uncaring, and totally cruel thing that anyone could think! Later, however, his words come back to haunt him when the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge how his clerk, Bob Crachcit, can barely afford to pay for medical treatment for his crippled son, Tiny Tim (Scrooge is so cheap, he told Bob that he could have the day off for Christmas day, but only without pay!), and that "the child will die." When Scrooge begs the Spirit to tell him the boy "will be spared," the ghost replies "If he's to die, maybe he should do it now and decrease the surplus population." Scrooge is, of course, startled to hear "his own words" repeated back to him. A similar scene occurs later when the Spirit reveals the two children known as "Ignorance and Want" who represent all the poor and starving people in the world. Scrooge asks if they have any place of refuge or shelter, the ghost again uses the old man's words against him: "Are there no prisons," he says, "are there no Workhouses?" Then, when the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come shows Scrooge his future, he finds out that, among other things, Tiny Tim has died because of the inability of his father to afford medical treatment for him, which, in turn, was the result of not being paid enough money by his boss, Mr. Scrooge. Furthermore, Scrooge finds out that he was such a greedy and selfish man, that people are actually glad that he's dead! His undertaker, charwoman, and laundress have even stolen things from his house -- while his corpse still lies covered up on his bed -- and sold them to a receiver of stolen goods named Joe! It is these "shadows of the things that might be," more than anything else, that finally cause Scrooge to see the error of his ways and to become a better man on Christmas morning. When he meets the two men who were in his office the day before, he tells them he has changed his mind about a donation for the poor, and the amount he gives them is so much, it shocks the men, causing Scrooge to remark that "a great many back payments are included," by which he means that he's making up for all the years when he ignored the plight of the destitute. The next day at his office, he astounds Bob Crachcit with his promise to raise his salary and to help his poor family, especially Tiny Tim. As the closing paragraph of the story says, "Scrooge did all this and more. He became as good a man, as good a master, and as good a friend," and "to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was like a second father." You see, the story was mainly about the idea of redemption, that anyone, no matter how bad he is, can redeem himself and make up for whatever wrong he has done. In fairness, I must say that I am not advocating any kind of committee for the purpose of deciding what's right and what's wrong. I'm just saying that people will eventually come to realize that the difference between right and wrong when they see how doing right can help people, while doing wrong can only hurt, or even kill, people, which is exactly what happens to Scrooge when the three Christmas spirits show him his past, present, and future. I think you're way off the beam when you say that "A Christmas Carol" is "slanted to the liberal left." That's ridiculous! It makes about as much sense as these conservatives who complain about a supposed "liberal bias" in the so-called "liberal media," or Donald Trump always ranting about "fake news" from the media, which he has labeled "the enemy of the people." Mr. Dickens's tale isn't about being left-wing or right-wing. In fact, it's totally apolitical! It's about kindness and generosity, as opposed to meanness and stinginess, about how caring more about wealth and gain can cause one to lose one's humanity and empathy. Remember the scene where Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley? If you recall, Marley came to Scrooge all wrapped up in chains made from padlocks, keys, deeds, ledgers, cashboxes, and other things connected with his business practices of the past. The ghost explains that these chains represent his greed (Marley, like Scrooge, was a greedy man who cared more about business than about people, and never did a kind or generous act for anyone), which he is doomed to carry with him for all eternity, just like the millions of the other lost souls, which Marley shows to Scrooge outside his window. Marley then warns Scrooge that his soul will suffer a similar fate unless he changes his ways. This is why Marley arranged for his old partner to be "haunted" by the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come. The story has more of a religious significance than a political one. The greed practiced by Scrooge, as well as Jacob Marley (when he was alive), is probably what Jesus had in mind when He asked "What does it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lost his own soul," or when He said "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." This is what happened to Marley: he gained a lot of money, but not only lost his soul, but found it to be condemned to wander around wrapped up in chains, and the same thing would have happened to Scrooge if not for the efforts of Marley's ghost and the other spirits. Remember that the Bible says that greed (or avarice, as it's called in Scripture) is one of the "seven deadly sins." Another one is covetousness, which Scrooge also practiced, because much of his wealth originally belonged to others, and the story suggests that he obtained it by less than honest means. Significantly enough, Dickens refers to Scrooge as a "covetous old sinner." Covetousness is also condemned in one of the Ten Commandments (the ninth or tenth one, I believe): "Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor's." So, what "A Christmas Carol" is trying to say is that, by dedicating his life solely to the pursuit of wealth, whether by fair means or foul, Scrooge was distancing himself from God, and from the teachings of Christ, that he needed to renounce his selfish ways and accept Christ, not cash, as his one and only Savior, which is the basic idea of Christianity. Not surprisingly, a subtle reference to Christ is made in the novel, in the scene where Bob Crachcit tells his wife about how well Tiny Tim behaved in church, about how he hoped everybody in the church saw him and his crutch and realized he was a cripple, and that it would help them to "remember who it was who made lame beggers walk and blind men see" (this is an allusion to the miracles performed by Christ, whose birthday is celebrated on Christmas day). If you think this is a "liberal left" story, than we would have to assume that Jesus Christ Himself was a left-wing liberal (perhaps He was, considering His compassion for the poor and underprivileged, and for society's outcasts, who believed in mercy and love for everybody, even for the criminals; if He were alive today, the far-right would have accused Him of being "soft on crime").

[@mrgruffy4499]

@@michaelpalmieri7335 I thank you for your long and well-presented rebuttal. At least I got your attention. If Scrooge was such a detestable person, why do we collectively play right into the Scrooge, Matrix, materialistic system this time each year? I feel that we voluntarily support this Scrooge marketing racket by going along with this ludicrous tradition. Why do we spend billions on gifts that others don't want, and don't need, rather than helping the less fortunate become as self-sufficient as possible? What is the excuse for herds of shoppers storming the shopping malls, and trampling over each other for that "perfect gift" ( some even trampled to death) for WHAT? It's just business. I hear no one speaking about this insanity. We can be charitable all year long. But we are too busy feeding our egos. It's easier to pick on Scrooge to show our self-righteousness, instead of actually engaging in constructive activities. Then why all the stress, depression and suicides associated with the "holiday season"? The word that comes to mind is "hypocrisy". I imagine that many would like to help. But there are too many ball games on TV. "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need".--Tyler Durden WWJTAC What Would Jesus Think About Christmas?

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@mrgruffy4499 Well, in a way, you do have a point. The Christmas season has become too commercialized. It has become just another way of making extra cash by inducing people to buy things they probably don't even need, or that others might not need or want, or that they probably can't afford, instead of using the money for better purposes, like helping those who are less fortunate than others. Sadly, too many people have forgotten what Christmas is really about, or what it was originally about, namely the birth of Christ. You ask what would Jesus think about how people celebrate His birth nowadays. This is purely speculation, but I would have to say that He would be shocked and astounded, especially at the way more people think about Santa Claus at Christmas time than about Him, the Son of God. It would probably anger Him to a point where he might overturn the sales displays, or run the greedy business people out of their stores and malls -- just the way He drove the money changers out of the Temple, telling them "My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!" However, in the end, I think He would forgive them for their sins, or He would ask His Father, the Good Lord Himself, to forgive them as He had asked Him to forgive those who crucified Him ("Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"). You talk about "all the stress, depression, and suicides associated with the 'holiday season'?" To tell you the truth, I sometimes get a little stressed out by the holidays myself, partly because of certain things I have to do, like buying gifts or cards for people I know (actually, that's not much of a problem, because my sister and my parents are all dead now, and my cousins, as well as old friends of the family, are scattered all over the country, except for a few who live in my state; my cousin in New York State says it's unnecessary to send presents to him, his wife, or their adopted daughter, but it would be nice to send cards to some of the relatives; also, my landlord, who is and has been, very kind to me and my late sister, whom he found in the streets when we were homeless, always says every year that I don't have to buy him or his family presents if I didn't want to, but I get him a little something anyway, because I feel it's the right thing to do, and I want to show him my appreciation), plus putting up my Christmas tree, stringing the lights across it (it's a pre-lit tree, but I like to add lights to it, because it makes it look brighter and prettier), putting on the ornaments, putting up lights around my tiny efficiency apartment (it used to be part of my landlord's garage), and so on. At times, the holidays can be a little depressing for me, partly because there's not many people around to celebrate the holidays with me (although Raul, my landlord, says he's going to take me to his church for a Christmas meal on December 16th, and he's invited me to have a Christmas dinner with him and his kids on Christmas Eve), plus, as I said before, my relatives are living in different parts of the country, and I don't know if the few who live in my state will come to visit me, and some of the rest of the family are deceased, including, as mentioned earlier, my sister and my parents (it's especially hard for me at this time of the year, because my dad died on Christmas Eve, back in 2003; he was 80 years old). Things like that do depress me sometimes (fortunately, I'm on medications prescribed by my psychiatrist). I'm sure it's the same way with a lot of people, which is why they should seek professional help, as I did. Anyway, I try not to let those things get to me, although sometimes, it's hard to do. As for Ebenezer Scrooge, I don't think he was really "detestable," as you say. I say he was just a little bit misguided, because he let too many unhappy moments that just happened to occur at Christmastime destroy his noble ideals and his faith in God, and in other people, and found, shall we say, refuge in his business and his obsession with making money, to a point where he became greedier and greedier over the years, and thought more about himself than about people who were less fortunate than he was, until the ghost of Jacob Marley and the three Christmas spirits showed him how wrong he and his distorted way of thinking was, which helped him to become a better and kinder man.

[@DeadpoolGames19]

The animated Christmas Carol (2009 version with JC) is the only version that doesn't scare the crap outta me. My dad LOVES the George C Scott version where as it scares the shit outta me.

[@georgewillems32]

Mr. Scrooge can shake his hand wirh Mr. Grinch!

[@Rylosalex]

I would like a fun short where the two met and team up to ruin christmas

[@nancyking-hoffman146]

Scrooge is a beloved Xmas storyline maybe based on many facts about many people past and present it tells a story of how money can change a person from bad to good with only a spiritual wake up call🤔💡

[@mattknauf3996]

the guy that owns ikea sounds like the first guy.

[@TheR3alBoazB]

Scrooge is James Wood.

[@freddiemartin699]

How do you get rid of these annoying commercial??? Would like to view something on youtube without them.

[@caroldefender4144]

I agree with a lot of people in the comments section. Scrooge may have been a bad guy, but he wasn't a villain!

[@windhammer1237]

What's the point in amassing a fortune if you don't enjoy it?

[@monty4336]

All writers embellish on characters otherwise they'd have to create multiple characters to tell one story. It's far easier to focus on one main character then 6 or 7 or 8.

[@josephcecilhornesmithjunio1426]

💟Beautiful and More!‼️☮️

[@johnf6687]

This gift card is blank Mr screws; He’s one of the bosses at the post office that works in HR; your a mean one mr screws

[@sethcarlow8363]

mmmm Ba Humbug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to Ebenezer Scrooge there i said it and good night. i am going to bed! slams the door on KZbin. at bed ,Happy holidays and a happy new year 2020.

[@josephcusumano2885]

In English money terminology what's the value of a Guinea and a Crown?...also Shillings?

[@MarkCasey65]

Old money. There were 220 pennies to a pound. Or 20 shillings. So 12 pennies in a shilling. A crown was 5 shillings. A guinea was 21 shillings. So worth slightly more than a pound. Hope that helps.

[@recyclerking1]

So an all around good guy.

[@MarioOliveira-p5q]

You know bill walton would go camping and drove a pickup. Sometimes it’s a hobby. Some people enjoy economics. Not just macro economics. They find it interesting to save money in a household. There is it a rule that says if you get rich you aren’t allowed to participate in microeconomics anymore. That actually pisses people off makes people pay you less and keep you in debt because it’s also related to not working hard. Let’s use Cristiano robaldo as an example. He’s a Scrooge according to some people because he keeps trying to work hard. The opposite is Albert hansworth. There is no rule that you’re supposed to get rich and throw diddy parties or turn into the great gatsby. It’s like going fishing. I was fishing on a kayak and trying to tow a line to catch blue fish or striped while paddling and some dude yelled at me that he would pay for gas before he did all of the paddling. I wish I drowned for there to be a story in the paper about a guy dying kayak fishing to save money on gasoline. Then it would combine Scrooge with the old man and the sea. There is still hope for the future some lucky reporter might win a Pulitzer writing an article called the old Scrooge and the sea.

[@jeromesullivan4015]

I believe that it would be easy to pinpoint a specific person in Victorian Times..however 150 years or so later, we are seeing exactly what Dickens was getting at, EH?

[@gabrielfox457]

I think Scrooge's old friend Jacob Marley was the great grandfather of Bob Marley.

[@pamelamays4186]

Lost classic: An American Christmas Carol, starring Henry Winkler.

[@wolfshanze5980]

Ick... the Fonze just isn't Scrooge.

[@AStri-zg5xc]

It took me 35 years to find a DVD copy (no I don't do Amazon) of An American Christmas Carol...i came across it at Wal-Mart 4 years ago. I was ecstatic lol......my hubby isn't a fan of Xmas movies but he enjoyed it and was surprised how good it was. Henry Winkler did a good job in the movie, don't knock it if you haven't seen it 😛

[@CassandrashadowcassMorrison]

Not lost. I have a copy of it.

[@CassandrashadowcassMorrison]

@@wolfshanze5980 And actor/producer Henry Winkler isn't "The Fonze."

[@wolfshanze5980]

@@CassandrashadowcassMorrison Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli... he will always be.

[@malcolmtas5601]

We all know it's possible to be too concerned with material goods, but at least the point of money is to buy things. It is pretty pathetic that a person would live like a pauper in order to die rich.

[@aoeulhs]

1:50 "He ate road-kill." In London? In the 1800's?

[@candacecasey5634]

Carriage kill?

[@BeautifulAngelBlossom]

Interesting😺

[@tylersmith9465]

Painfully ironic

[@michaelveis8699]

Sounds like Kevin McCarthy who is today's Ebenezer Scrooge.

[@cooldudeawesome9344]

Talk about penny pinching

[@Happyboymargarine]

And now he’s long dead and money means nothing to him , and he’s equal now to the poorest person ever.

[@akjeproductions4751]

Ebeneezer Scroggie was a elotero from Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.