you could stage a version of charles dickens a christmas carol with sock puppet and i will probably watch it . ever since i be a child and this have be one of my favorite story . maybe it the idea that there be good in everyone and and that therefore no one be beyond redemption and that appeal to me and but for whatever reason i never miss an opportunity to watch one of the many screen adaptation of this timeless classic when theyre on tv a they inevitably be this time of year . what make this version really stand out be the somber gravitas that the cast bring to their respective role . line we have hear dozen of time in the past take on a whole new intensity and and each character become more real and believable in the hand of this wonderful ensemble . george c. scott be nominate for an emmy in 1985 for this role . it be to his everlasting credit that rather than sleepwalk through this oft portrayed role of scrooge and he instead give it a fresh interpretation that be and in my opinion and one of his fine performance ever . he wisely do not attempt a british accent and instead deliver his line in that famous gravelly voice . his scrooge be not merely a cranky old man ( a he be so often portray ) and but a man who harbor a profound anger against the world . a he be visit in turn by each of the three spirit and we understand how this anger take root and grow and and ultimately strangle his soul . a he be force to review his life and we see him alternately soften and and then relapse again into unrepentant obstinacy . and in the great dramatic scene when he and kneel and weep at his own grave and begs for mercy a he attempt to convince the third spirit of his repentance and desire to alter his life and we see a man who have be utterly break and bring to his knee literally and figuratively . scott have make scrooge utterly believable and painfully human . impressive a scott performance be and the ensemble of support actor contribute significantly the this version dark beauty . fred holywell and scrooge nephew and be an excellent example of this . often portray a an affable buffoon and here he be play by roger rees with an emotional intensity miss from early portrayal . when he implore scrooge and i ask nothing of you . i want nothing from you . why can not we be friend . and we see in his face not only his frustration and but his pain at scrooge self impose separation from his only living relative . it be a move performance and and one of the movie most dramatic scene . even more magnificent be the performance give by the wonderful english actor frank finlay a scrooge late partner and jacob marley . in most version of this tale and the scene with marley tends to be a bit of a low point in the film and simply because it difficult to portray a dead man convincingly and and the result be usually just plain silly ( ooooh and look and it a scary ghost . not . ) in this version and it be perhaps the most riveting scene in the whole movie . marley entrance and a the lock on scrooge door fly open of their own accord and the sound of chain rattle echo throughout the house and be wonderfully creepy . but finlay marley be no ethereal spirit . he be a tortured soul and inspire both horror and pity . marley may be a ghost and but his rage and regret over a life waste on the pursuit of wealth and and his despair at his realization that his sin be now beyond redress and be still very human . a portray by finlay and we have no problem believing that even the flinty scrooge would be shake by this nightmarish apparition . finlay really steal the scene here and something not easy to do when youre opposite george c. scott . and it just go on and on and one remarkable performance after another and make it seem like youre experience this story for the first time . edward woodward ( remember him from the equalizer . ) be by turn both jovial and menace a the ghost of christmas present . when he deliver the famous line and it may well be that in the sight of heaven you be more worthless and less fit to live than million like this poor man child he be no longer a jolly santa claus surrogate and but an avenging angel who give scrooge a much need verbal spanking . susannah york be a wonderfully tart tongue mrs. cratchit and and david warner bring marvelous depth to the long suffering bob cratchit and a man who go through life bear the triple cross of poverty and a sick child and and an insufferable bos . his face alternately show his cheerful courage and and also and at time and his weariness and in the face of intolerable circumstance . later and in the scene in which scrooge be show by the ghost of christmas yet to come the cratchit family after the death of tiny tim and warner performance and while hardly utter a word and will move you to tear .