CIFF Student Classic Film: “Scrooge”

On Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7 at 1 pm, in the Library’s Winn Room, the Coronado Island Film Festival (CIFF) Student Classic Film Series presents a special Advent movie event for the entire family, screening Scrooge, the acclaimed 1951 British Renown Studios movie adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The screening will be followed by the first public announcement of the 2026 Student Classic Film Series “The Art of Adaptation” schedule of classic films. This Scrooge screening is a FREE event and open to the public of all ages.

Attendees are asked to please bring an unwrapped toy to the screening as part of Downtown Lions Club toy giveaway to underserved children. 

Charles Dickens’ Christmas novella is, arguably, the single most adapted literary story in stage and cinematic history.  A great many film critics insist that Brian Desmond Hurst’s 1951 film version has never been equaled. The screenplay by Hurst and Noel Langley (a The Wizard of Oz screenwriter) Hurst’s adroit direction, and C. M. Pennington-Richards’ haunting black and white cinematography, completely convince audiences of Scrooge’s spiritual transformation from bitter, friendless curmudgeon, into a man so overcome by gratitude and joy, simply to be alive on Christmas morning, that he finds himself gleefully shouting, “Merry Christmas!” to all within earshot; a man whose renovation of heart is so profound that many who knew, feared, or loathed him, suspect he has gone mad.

The lion’s share of credit for the film’s enduring power belongs to the extraordinary performance of Alastair Sim. Sim “inhabits” the title role, playing the miserly scenes with perfect notes of sarcastic humbug. Sim’s Scrooge is a man utterly alone and satisfied to be so; a man who has no use for other people. Sim never suggests Scrooge is an evil man, but, rather, a man whose spirit has been gravely, though not irreparably, warped by the vagaries of a difficult life. It is the subtlety and restraint Sim brings to the role that make Scrooge’s redemption in the final act believable, moving, and memorable. The final scenes of Scrooge radiating humility, warmth and delight reuniting with his family at his nephew’s Christmas party, and finally, walking the streets of London as Tiny Tim leaps into his arms are images to carry in your heart throughout the Christmas season. The entire community is invited to join us for the perfect “table setter” for Advent. As Tiny Tim reminded us, “God bless us, everyone!”

The screening will be followed by the first public announcement of the 2026 “The Art of Adaptation” schedule, screening two Golden Age classics monthly from February through May 2026. The Student Classic Series is designed to expose High School and Middle School Students to the greatest motion pictures made by the masters of the craft during The Golden Age of Hollywood (mid-30s to early 1960s). It provides a unique opportunity for Coronado’s young people to learn about the history of Hollywood’s Studio Era and the cultural legacy it bequeathed to us all.