All the way back near the start of this year, I was offered the privilege to direct a community theatre production of “A Christmas Carol”. (Specifically, the brilliant “Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story” adaptation written by Jerry Montoya.) Ever since, I’ve devoted most of my brainspace to shaping my own take on “A Christmas Carol”, exploring the nuances and angles of each individual character and plot point, figuring out why this story still matters in the modern day.

Naturally, informing my own production meant diligent examination of so many other productions in the past. I scoured the internet to analyze every iconic and relevant adaptation I could find. In the process of researching and inspecting all the various takes, I devised “the Ebenezer Scale”, a five-tiered system for ranking different portrayals of Ebenezer Scrooge.

I thus present a full description of the Ebenezer Scale, along with a breakdown of every depiction I’ve considered and where each one falls on the scale. Keep in mind that the scale only applies to direct adaptations of the source text — Christopher Plummer’s excellent portrayal in The Man Who Invented Christmas and all the characters in Spirited are too far removed from the classic plot to fit the scale.

And of course I’m aware that I couldn’t get to every take out there. If you want to rank any I’ve missed, or if you disagree with any of my assessments, do leave a constructive comment.

LEVEL 1: A portrayal too heightened to be relatable or sympathetic. This could also be a take that’s only interested in telling the story by rote, without any new insight or creativity in depicting or examining Scrooge.

-Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962): Jim Backus, voicing Mr. Magoo

Sorry to piss everyone off right out the gate, but I do not understand all the nostalgic love this one gets. The ghosts are out of order. Nephew Fred got cut entirely. The songs contribute nothing. Hell, the Cratchits spend an entire song opining about the lavish Christmas they wish they had, when the source text clearly states “it would have been flat heresy to do so.” This is a dreadful adaptation that falls way, way short of the source material, often misunderstanding several key points along the way.

Mr. Magoo has aged terribly as a concept and a character. Casting Magoo to play Scrooge does nothing to make either character new or interesting. And I don’t want to hear the excuse that the filmmakers were held back by the restrictive hour-long runtime — there are plenty of other adaptations that did far more in even less time. We’ll get to them in due course.

-Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) — Simon Callow

The filmmakers’ reach far exceeded their grasp with this one. We’ve got a couple of animated mice for comic relief. Belle and Old Joe are given extended parts. There’s so much extraneous world-building that we don’t get to anything in the actual book until fifteen minutes into this 82-minute movie.

The story’s hopelessly watered down, the animation is stiff, the voice performances are lifeless, and none of the additional world-building does anything to enrich or enhance the central character. If anything, giving Scrooge a couple of beloved mouse friends and a second chance with Belle actively works against the classic development arc. Much as I appreciate the effort at trying something new, this one missed the point so badly that not even a miniseries length and ten times the animation budget would be enough. It’s just plain bad.

-Scrooge (1970): Albert Finney

Another massively overrated musical adaptation. Yes, “December the 25th” and “Thank You Very Much” are bops, but the rest of the songs are sadly underwhelming. I wish I could give points for all the new ideas, but too many are just plain baffling. (That whole sequence with Scrooge in Hell. What even was that?!)

Finney goes through the whole movie playing Scrooge as a slimy little goblin, even after the redemption. He’s too absurdly and outrageously heightened to be taken seriously at any point in the movie. Has to be Level 1.

-A Christmas Carol (2009): Jim Carrey

Outside of a Sam Raimi picture, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a filmmaker take such sadistic glee in finding new diabolically twisted ways to punish a main character in every psychotic Looney Tunes way imaginable. I need hardly add that this is Jim Carrey voicing and mo-capping an animated character, so “over-the-top cartoonish” is definitely the order of the day.

-A Christmas Plotz (1993): Frank Welker, voicing Thaddeus Plotz

A parody from Animaniacs, with the fictional Warner Bros. CEO in the Scrooge role and the Warner Siblings playing the three ghosts. Hardly a faithful adaptation, and heightened as all get-out, but it’s funny and clever like only Animaniacs could deliver.

-Bugs Bunny’s Christmas Carol (1979): Mel Blanc, voicing Yosemite Sam

It’s an eight-minute parody with Yosemite Sam playing Scrooge. ‘Nuff said.

–A Christmas Carol (1971): Alistair Sim

An Oscar-winning short film from animation grandmasters Chuck Jones and Richard Williams. A spellbinding piece of animation that does a superlative job speed-running through all the most iconic lines and plot points of the story. It certainly helps that Alistair Sim (more on him later) was brought back to voice the main character. Alas, there’s so little time for any novelty or deeper character development that this depiction must be placed in Level 1.

LEVEL 2: A depiction of Scrooge with layers and nuances. There’s sincere effort (though not necessarily success) at portraying Scrooge as an actual human being, or at least bringing new depth to the source text.

-A Christmas Carol (1997): Tim Curry

They gave Scrooge a dog. Never a good idea. The animation doesn’t really hold up and of course this was heightened for a Saturday morning audience. Even so, this is Tim Curry in the prime of his work as a voice actor, and there are some genuinely nice touches that humanize Scrooge in neat little ways here and there. Bonus points for the Present Ghost voiced by Whoopi Goldberg — a female depiction of that character is depressingly unusual.

So much of this adaptation is cartoonishly heightened, but Tim Curry’s work here is too damn good. Even with so little budget and screentime, the filmmakers effectively sell Scrooge’s development, explore layers and ideas that most other adaptations gloss over, and make the story their own.

My favorite example comes from Past Ghost (Kath Soucie), who observes that Fred’s repeated invitation to Christmas dinner echoes his late lamented mother’s love for brother Ebenezer. That alone is worth a Level 2. A soft Level 2, but still.

-A Christmas Carol (2018): Simon Callow

This one intrigues me. The BBC produced and distributed a short film adaptation… as a one-man show. It’s one actor playing all the parts and reciting the abridged narration, albeit with superlative production design changing the set all around him. This is a tough one to judge, but Callow does such gob-smacking work finding the humanity in each and every character, I have to bump this up to a Level 2.

-A Christmas Carol (1938): Reginald Owen

What a peculiar experiment this one was. Scrooge actually fires Cratchit. Belle’s function in the story was given to Past Ghost. Scrooge actually calls the police up to his room in response to Marley’s appearance. Sure, none of these ideas actually work, but I can see how they all looked like ingenious ideas on paper. I’m glad somebody had the guts to take all these bold swings, and to try them all so relatively early in the cinematic life of this story.

Owen plays the character far too broadly to be taken seriously, but the film takes so many courageous risks that I can’t place it in Level 1. I’ll compromise and put it at Level 2.

-A Christmas Carol (2004): Kelsey Grammer

As a made-for-TV musical, this one definitely leaves a lot to be desired. Even so, the songs are relatively decent, and a lot of effort was put into developing Scrooge as a character. My favorite example is the housekeeper who comes to check in on Scrooge before and after the haunted Christmas Eve — I’m always glad to see an adaptation that remembers Scrooge has a house staff (as clearly depicted in the scene with Old Joe), because Dickens apparently forgot that golden opportunity for another chance to show a reformed Scrooge.

This was an adaptation in desperate need of a stronger lead actor. As it is, I can put this one at Level 2.

-Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022): Luke Evans

An animated remake of the 1970 musical. The songs could’ve used another rewrite from the late Lesley Bricusse, and there are so many boneheaded decisions from start to finish. (Breezing right past the doorknocker scene should be grounds for banishing this movie to obscurity altogether.) Still, this particular Scrooge is a noticeable upgrade from the Finney take. For instance, his climactic appeal to the ghosts for Tiny Tim’s life is easily enough for a Level 2 grade.

-A Christmas Carol (2020): Michael Nunn/Simon Russell Beale

What a fascinating take to get unfairly lost in the abyss of 2020. This one is framed as a family telling the story together, with live-action performers dancing like puppets on brightly-lit diorama sets while voice actors narrate the text and dialogue. The take is stylized to an extreme degree, with choreography and graphics and lighting that tell the story with dynamic expression and fidelity to the source text like nothing that would be possible in any straight adaptation.

This is a tough one to judge, because we’ve got two actors sharing the role. Michael Nunn conveys Scrooge with an impressive physicality, bringing so much dimension to Scrooge with nothing but his face and body language. Unfortunately, the ethereal presentation means the voice-over performances are sadly monotone. There’s an impressive list of voice actors in this cast, and none of them — Beale among the rest — can quite deliver the emotion this story needs. It all evens out to a textbook Level 2.

LEVEL 3: Scrooge must begin as irredeemably evil and end as incorruptibly good, WHILE ALSO portraying the character as relatably sympathetic throughout. The actor must sell both extremes and all points in between while also selling Scrooge as someone the audience can understand.

-A Christmas Carol (2019): Guy Pearce

I can respect the innovation and the effort that went into this one, but gods above, what a chore to sit through. Stretching the story out to miniseries length meant the filmmakers could dissect and deconstruct Scrooge down to the last molecule. And the “dark, gritty, mature” take without any “family-friendly” safeguards meant the filmmakers were free to examine the most haunted and heart-crushing depths of Scrooge’s broken soul and the damage he’s done to the world. This one was pretty much built to be a Level 3.

-A Christmas Carol (1977): Michael Hordern

If I was grading strictly on slavish devotion to the source text, this BBC adaptation would run away with first place. It’s genuinely impressive how these filmmakers thought to include so many wonderful scenes and moments that most adaptations typically cut. (Bonus points are always given for that scene with Belle and the family she ended up with.) Alas, this take also makes mistakes that were in the source text and often get corrected in adaptations. (With all due respect, Mr. Dickens, Belle has to be there at Fezziwig’s party and we have to see her together and happy with Scrooge or their breakup means nothing!)

Hordern effectively sells Scrooge as a miserable human being, too closed-minded and set in his ways to change. The ending is sadly truncated, but watching this Scrooge as a happier and more enlightened man is simply delightful. This performance keeps the character grounded, selling Scrooge’s growth and wonder and horror without veering into caricature. It’s a fine piece of work — too bad the lack of lighting and the clumsy camerawork render the production borderline unwatchable.

-Scrooged (1988): Bill Murray

It’s important to remember that this film came out before Murray’s signature turn in Ghostbusters, and a good five years before Groundhog Day. Which means that only in retrospect can we appreciate Murray as the absolute perfect choice to sell the classic development arc without compromising audience sympathy. Indeed, his work here might have been the experience necessary to make those later classics possible.

That said, so much of this movie’s comedy hinges on watching Murray suffer. As such, there’s no going higher than Level 3 for this one.

–Scrooge (1935): Seymour Hicks

A freaking paint bucket dropped from the sky and Hicks stayed in character. Like a legend. Like a boss.

By the time of the film’s release, Hicks had played the character literally thousands of times over nearly 25 years. Second only to Charles Dickens himself (and John Leech, the original illustrator), nobody else did more, did best, or did earliest to define the modern ideal of Ebenezer Scrooge. And all of Hicks’ experience is on full display here. From his opening standoffish behavior to that sneaky little smile when he’s messing with Cratchit, the performance holds up beautifully.

This is it, folks. This is the benchmark. The touchstone. The performance by which all others are measured. Few others have done it better, and nobody else did so much to set the tone. If you don’t know Seymour Hicks, you don’t know Ebenezer Scrooge.

-A Christmas Carol (1984): George C. Scott

Nobody could sell bluster like the late George C. Scott. He had such a tremendous gift for playing larger-than-life characters with towering charisma and layers for days. The man was born to play Scrooge. This performance is the definitive Level 3.

Oh, and shout-out to the late David Warner, hands-down my favorite Bob Cratchit.

-Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983): Alan Young, voicing Scrooge McDuck

It’s astounding how these filmmakers were able to cram so much personality along with so much of the classic development arc into a mere half-hour. This portrayal of Scrooge is funny without ever veering into self-parody or losing sight of the character’s pathos. Dynamic and charming throughout. This is a surprisingly strong Level 3, maybe even a Level 4.

LEVEL 4: All the requirements of Level 3, but done in such a way that we want to see Scrooge redeemed.

-A Christmas Carol (1951): Alistair Sim

My favorite delivery of the “surplus population” line, without contest. This portrayal of the character deploys such withering comebacks at such a breakneck pace, he could (and frequently does) verbally destroy everyone in his path while making it look effortless. It’s easy and tempting to imagine what this portrayal of the character could do if he ever put that razor-sharp wit to better use. Of course, it certainly helps that Sim had such an expressive face that was built for horror — Scrooge is so visibly terrified out of his wits in such a way that you almost feel sorry for him.

But what really bumps this portrayal up to Level 4 is his exchanges with Present Ghost and Future Ghost. By that point, Scrooge is sincerely penitent in his desire to change, but mournfully insists that he’s too old to do so. This has no basis in the source text that I’m aware of, but it actively invites the audience to contradict him and say that it’s never too late so long as he’s alive.

Oh, and this adaptation brings in the housekeeper for an additional scene at the end, which is always worth a few bonus points.

-A Christmas Carol (1999): Patrick Stewart

Come on. It’s Patrick Stewart. Of course he’s got the chops to play a diabolical villain, but that’s not how anyone wants to see him. Yes, he can play and sell Scrooge as appropriately terrifying, but nobody can watch that without eager anticipation for the moment when Stewart turns around and plays the uplifting and empowering leader.

Special attention is due to the line “We thrive on the idleness of others.” That one line so perfectly sums up everything Scrooge believes and how he got to this point.

LEVEL 5: All the requirements of Level 4, done in such a way that Scrooge himself is an active and willing participant in his own redemption.

-A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): Michael Caine

I’ll tell you right now, Michael Caine is Level 5. His portrayal is the only one in this tier. He’s in a league of his own. Yes, I know he can’t sing to save his life, that doesn’t matter.

It’s not just because he effortlessly sells both extremes of the character. It’s not just because he plays the character with pathos and personality from start to finish. Yes, I’m sure it helps that literally anyone would look grounded and nuanced next to the freaking Muppets, but that’s not it either.

What really catapults this take into god-tier status is the scene when Scrooge goes back to his old schoolhouse. Because that’s the moment when Caine’s Scrooge completely and permanently reverts back to that sense of childlike wonder and curiosity. From that moment on, Caine’s Scrooge is full-on invested in everything happening around him. He’s visibly watching and reacting to everything around him. He tries to tell a joke to Present Ghost (something unseen in any other adaptation, to my knowledge). He shows genuine energy in the party game with Fred. My kingdom for an actor who can say “This is Fozziwig’s old rubber chicken factory” with the straight-faced joy and sincere nostalgia that Caine infuses into that line.

As wonderful as the story is, “A Christmas Carol” suffers a crucial defect in that the protagonist has virtually zero agency through half the plot. Making Scrooge an active participant in his own development, a character who visibly chooses to give himself a chance and try to learn how to be a better person, is incalculably better for the character and the story and the audience. Of all the portrayals I’ve seen (and this list will show that I’ve seen quite a few), Caine is the only one who ever thought to even try it. That’s what makes him the greatest to ever do it.

At least, until my production hits the stage. Hopefully. Merry Christmas, everyone!