Scrooge
was designed as a follow-up to 1968's
Oliver!
, the Oscar-winning musicalization of Charles Dickens'
Oliver Twist
. The umpteenth musical version of Dickens' 1843 novelette
A Christmas Carol
,
features several sprightly Leslie Bricusse songs, including the bona fide hit "Thank You Very Much." Buried under mounds of latex, Albert Finney is Ebenezer Scrooge. The Three Ghosts who turn the miserly Scrooge's life around on Christmas Eve are portrayed by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Yet to Come). Sir Alec Guinness also appears as a fussy, slightly effeminate Marley's Ghost. Intriguingly, Finney performs his many songs live, without post-production dubbing.