This 1951 British film adaptation of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, simply titled Scrooge, contains the most Ebenezer backstory of an version I am familiar with. Now I had first seen this version more then 10 years ago, but watching it again I was reminded of just how strong its presentation truly is. Here you see how Ebenezer's life took the course it did based largely on fear and a recurring sense of personal rejection and abandonment. He made his money by very shrewdly divining changing economic conditions in early 19th century England, and in this version he and Marley help put Scrooge's good natured former employer Fizziwig out of business. Alastair Sim's performance as  Scrooge may well be my favorite, there is a subtlety here that is often lacking form the part. Scrooge's change doesn't happen all at once at the end, but rather you really do see it slowly building as the sprits words gradually work to convince him of the error of his ways, though it is the brute fear engendered by the Ghost of Christmas Futures warning that finally pushes him over the edge into acting on his new convictions. Also Sims does something with his eyes at the end that convey a penitence seldom if ever matched on screen. So this is all a long way of saying that if your looking for a version of the classic story you've probably never seen before, might be worth giving this one a view. ****

Watch it free and legal here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urdJOySUOzE