Customer Reviews

A Christmas Carol (Adventures In Old-Time Radio)

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I bought three Radio Spirits Christmas CDs and plan to look for more. I have not listened to an audio book, or vintage radio show in quite some time. This really is something that should be done in a family setting. Even at a large gathering. Imagine, it's only an hour, people in s room, silent, watching kids faces and wondering what they are imagining etc. Around the tree or fireplace. We must do it more.

A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim is one of my favorite movies, and it is refreshingly revisited. Recorded live in front of an audience, there are no retakes. The only difference is that Alastair Sim was replaced with Orson Welles! This package is obviously misleading. With Sim on the cover, a scene from the movie, you expect him to be part of it. But otherwise, a fun experience.

They mention John Barrymore was to be playing the role of Scrooge, as he had done on stage for many years, but he was ill. Therefore, Welles was a last minute replacement. Barrymore was supposed to play Scrooge in the 1938 version of the film, but he also became ill at that time, and was replaced with Reginald Owen. But Orson Welles is by far the welcomed surprise here and he is great.

They left the intermission commercial breaks in, which is fun, and short enough. Rounding the cd out to about an hour. You are essentially hearing it exactly as we would have heard it over 60 years ago!

Look closely to the Amazon special offers, as I got 4 various titles for the price of 3.

This version of A Christmas Caril is done by the Cambel playhouse and stars orson Welles as Scrooge. Being an hour long its abridged but one hardly notices what was left out from the story. There was one glaring omission however which is quite poignant and which helps to underline the message Dickens was trying to convey when he wrote this classic. The part I'm speaking of is the appearance of the two deformed children which peer out of the robes of the ghost of Christmas present and are labeled Ignorance and Want. They should have included that scene in. Apart from that I enjoyed listening to this broadcast from the golden age of radio. Welles is a great actor but at times he comes across like a self righteous prig. Nevertheless he was quite good as Scrooge. i recommend this recording for those who love radio shows and audio dramas. At the very least its another wonderful way to enjoy this well loved story. This audiobook contains 1 CD and is a full cast presentation.