From Christmas Eve 1939, here is Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, performing “A Christmas Carol,” by you-know-who, featuring Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge. Everything clicked that evening, and if you’ve never heard this outstanding hour-long radio adaptation, I highly recommend it.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/DEC07/ChristmasCarol.mp3]
This post gets a lot of hits this time of year. I have a better audio setup now, so maybe I’ll do it over.
Our local NPR station used to broadcast this at noon on Christmas Day so I could listen to it as I cooked. Alas, they stopped doing it, so I am thrilled to be able to find it again. A very merry Christmas to us all!
Thanks for posting this. There is something more magical and quaint about a “classic Christmas” vs. a modern, glossy, commercial one.
Thanks for the note, Geoff! I really appreciate the feedback.
What a treat! I put it on while I decorated the tree-really evoked an old fashioned feeling-Thank you so very much!
You’re welcome! It gets a lot of hits this time of year.
Such a wonderful program. I heard it as a child. Thank you for bringing it back to us.
Oh did I miss this? I have it on cassette and listen to it every year. Now I’m bummed! Christmas is over and I have all these decorations to take down. Here’s a bit of trivia: in the actual book, Scrooge never saw Marley’s face in the fire, but in the TILES around the fireplace.
I fell asleep listening to this on the radio the other night, and was so happy to find it on your site! Thank you so much for posting it so others can enjoy hearing this version with Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore!
Wow, that’s three “wonderfuls” for Orson Welles and the Campbell Playhouse. A year from now will be the 70th anniversary of its airing. I’m very glad you enjoyed hearing it, Chris. Hmm…. It just hit me how FDR-ish Lionel Barrymore looks in that photo.
Thank you for the wonderful experience. I was looking for some Christmas audio and came upon your site. Thank you! It made my evening!
You’re very welcome. Has it already been a year since I put this up? I found it nowhere else online, so I wanted to fill the gap.
This was wonderful. I am a huge fan of OTR and this ranks way up there.
Thank you very much.
You’re welcome! I took it from an LP I bought about 25 years ago. Eight years after playing Scrooge on the radio, Lionel Barrymore of course played the Scrooge-like Henry F. Potter in “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
This was wonderful, Thank you