By Gavin Boyle
Lionel Barrymore, who played Ebenezer Scrooge in a radio broadcast of A Christmas Carol for nearly 20 years straight, shared how the story helps audiences remember the redemptive spirit of Christmas.
“A message like that of A Christmas Carol can come along to bring awareness to people, and they become their inner selves again. It brings them happiness. It brings others happiness. It brings me happiness. It doesn’t reform anyone. It only calls to mind the good that has been in their hearts all the time; the happiness they always wanted to feel, the happiness that is now theirs,” Barrymore explained.
Related: This ‘Christmas Carol’ Podcast Will Get You Into the Holiday Spirit
“This happiness comes to Scrooge through the complete change for the better wrought in his character…” Barrymore continued. “I am grateful for A Christmas Carol and grateful to it. For, like the rest of the world, I am wont to forget, and its reminding message does me as much good and revives much spiritually as I sincerely hope it does those who on Christmas Day turn on their radios to receive it. Since they want it every year, it must be so.”
While the day of radio broadcasts of the story have passed, families still gather around every year to watch the movie versions of Dickens’ famous book. Thankfully most of the movie adaptations also remain true to the story and share a redemptive story. A portion of Movieguide®’s review of the most recent movie SCROOGE A CHRISTMAS CAROL reads:
This movie is a fun twist on the classic story. The animation is clear and clean with fun colors and interactions between them. The music is engaging and fun as well as emotionally charged. The story is also good at showing the psychology of how a person’s past can affect people’s behavior in the present. SCROOGE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL keeps the original story’s strong moral, redemptive worldview. It promotes generosity, kindness and repentance, with Tiny Tim saying, “God bless us everyone.” The ghosts in SCROOGE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL might be too scary for younger children.
The story continues to resonate with audiences because of the hope and joy it imparts with its viewers. No matter a person’s age, we all understand that we are in need of redemption and forgiveness for the wickedness in our hearts, and A Christmas Carol proves that nobody is too far gone.
“The idea that somebody that we might regard as mean or reckless can be redeemed and I think the hope that he finds in that story in our film translates into a generosity of spirit towards his father and his mother that he didn’t always show because the shadow of what happened to his father, being thrown into debtors prison and him having to go off to the workhouse, that really did loom large over his whole life,” explained Dan Stevens who played Dickens in a movie about his life.
Praise the Lord for this timeless story and the feelings of hope that it inspires in all who engage with it. Christmas is a time to remember the most important things in life and A Christmas Carol helps millions do that every year.
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