A Christmas Carol ( 1938 film ) - wikipedia A Christmas Carol ( 1938 film ) A Christmas Carol Theatrical release poster Directed by Edwin L. Marin Produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Screenplay by Hugo Butler Based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Starring Reginald Owen Gene Lockhart Kathleen Lockhart Terry Kilburn Barry MacKay Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography Sidney Wagner John F. Seitz Edited by George Boemler Distributed by Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Release date December 16, 1938 ( 1938 - 12 - 16 ) Running time 69 minutes Country United States Language English A Christmas Carol is a 1938 American film adaptation of Charles Dickens 's 1843 novella of the same name, starring Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve after visitations by three spirits. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Theatrical release 5 Television broadcast 6 Home media releases 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot On Christmas Eve in 19th - century London, Fred is sliding on ice on a sidewalk. He meets Peter and Tim Cratchit, sons of his uncle Ebenezer 's clerk, Bob Cratchit. When Fred reveals who he is, the boys take off in terror. Fred soon arrives at the counting - house of his miserly maternal uncle, Ebenezer Scrooge. After declining an invitation from his nephew to dine with him on Christmas, Scrooge dismisses two gentlemen 's collecting money for charity. That night, Scrooge reluctantly allows his employee Bob Cratchit to have Christmas off with pay but orders him back all the earlier the day after. Later on, Bob accidentally knocks off Scrooge 's hat with a snowball. Scrooge removes Bob from his position, withholding a week 's pay to compensate for his ruined hat as well as demanding a shilling to make up the difference. Bob spends the last of his wages on food for his family 's Christmas dinner. In his house, Scrooge is confronted by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns Scrooge to repent his wicked ways or he will be condemned in the afterlife as Marley was. He tells Scrooge he will be haunted by three time - traveling spirits. At one o'clock, Scrooge is visited by the youthful Ghost of Christmas Past, who takes him back in time to his early life. Scrooge is shown his unhappiness when he was left to spend the holidays alone at school, and his joy when his sister, Fran, came to take him home for Christmas. The spirit reminds Scrooge that Fran, dead for some years, is the mother of his nephew. Scrooge begins a successful career in business and money lending as an employee under Fezziwig. At two o'clock, Scrooge meets the merry Ghost of Christmas Present, who shows Scrooge how others keep Christmas. At a church service, Fred and his fiancée, Bess, are seen as happy and in love. The couple must wait to marry because of Fred 's financial circumstances, and the spirit observes that perhaps they will not marry at all and their love may end, just how Scrooge lost his unnamed fiancée in his youth. Scrooge is then shown the Cratchit home. Despite wearing a cheery manner for his family 's sake, Bob is deeply troubled by the loss of his job, though he confides in no one except his daughter Martha. The spirit hints that Bob 's youngest son, Timothy `` Tiny Tim '', will die of his unknown illness by the same time next year if things do not change. At three o'clock, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives, appearing as a silent, cloaked figure. The spirit shows Scrooge what will happen if he does not change. Scrooge discovers Tiny Tim is dead and his family mourns for him. Scrooge also discovers that his own death will not be mourned. Scrooge promises to repent and returns home. Awakening in his own bed on Christmas Day, Scrooge is now a changed man. He orders a boy in the street below his window to buy a turkey for him, meaning to take it to the Cratchits. Running into the two men who petitioned him for charity the evening before, Scrooge gives a large donation. He visits Fred and makes him his new partner, then goes to the Cratchit house where he rehires Bob and increases his wages. Cast Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim Cratchit Barry MacKay as Fred ( Scrooge 's nephew ) Lynne Carver as Bess ( Fred 's fiancée ) Bunny Beatty as Martha Cratchit ( uncredited ) June Lockhart as Belinda Cratchit ( uncredited ) John O'Day as Peter Cratchit ( uncredited ) Leo G. Carroll as Marley 's Ghost Ann Rutherford as Spirit of Christmas Past Lionel Braham as Spirit of Christmas Present D'Arcy Corrigan as Spirit of Christmas Future Ronald Sinclair as Young Scrooge Elvira Stevens as Fran Scrooge ( uncredited ) Forrester Harvey as Old Fezzwig ( uncredited ) Olaf Hytten as Schoolmaster ( uncredited ) I. Stanford Jolley as Man walking on Sidewalk ( extra ) ( uncredited ) Charles Coleman as Solicitor Matthew Boulton as Solicitor Cliff Severn as Boy Buying Turkey Production This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2015 ) Made by Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer, and originally intended to star Lionel Barrymore ( who played the role of Scrooge annually on radio but was forced to drop out of the film because of his arthritis, though he narrated its trailer ), the movie starred Reginald Owen as Scrooge and the married couple Gene and Kathleen Lockhart as the Cratchits. Terry Kilburn, better known for his portrayal of Colley in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, costarred as Tiny Tim and a young June Lockhart ( Gene and Kathleen 's daughter ) made her screen debut as one of the Cratchit daughters. Leo G. Carroll played Marley 's Ghost. The characters of Fred ( Scrooge 's nephew ) and Elizabeth, his fianceé ( his wife in the novelette ), were greatly expanded in order to work in a romantic angle to the story that Dickens did not intend. The couple was played by Barry MacKay and Lynne Carver. Ann Rutherford, better known as Polly Benedict in the Andy Hardy films and as Carreen O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, was a young and attractive Ghost of Christmas Past, rather than the somewhat unusual creation that Dickens described. The music for the film was composed by Franz Waxman, in contrast to most MGM films of the period, whose scores were composed by Herbert Stothart. Some of the grimmer aspects of the story went completely unmentioned or unseen, in order to make this a `` family film '' in the style of other MGM literary adaptations, and also to accommodate a 69 - minute run time. Although Marley 's Ghost did appear, the phantoms wailing outside Scrooge 's window were not shown. Scrooge 's fiancée, who eventually leaves him because of his miserly ways, was completely dropped from the film, as were the two starving children `` Want '' and `` Ignorance '', who hid within the folds of the Ghost of Christmas Present 's robe. Also gone were the thieves who ransack Scrooge 's belongings after he `` dies '' in the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come segment. While Gene Lockhart 's performance as Bob Cratchit is admired, he is often criticized for looking too `` well - fed '' for the role. In this production, unlike Dickens ' original story, Scrooge actually fires Cratchit rather than just threatening to do so. One of the changes made in this film that differs from the novel is the arrival of the ghosts. While the first still arrives at 1 : 00 a.m., the second appears at 2 : 00 and the third appears at 3 : 00. In the original novel, the second appears the next night at 1 : 00 and the last appears the third night when the last stroke of 12 : 00 has ceased to vibrate. This change was also used in other versions such as Scrooge ( 1970 ), Mickey 's Christmas Carol ( 1983 ), and A Christmas Carol ( 1984 ). Theatrical release Originally intended as a 1939 release, A Christmas Carol was rushed into production in October 1938 and was finished in a matter of weeks. It opened in December 1938 at New York City 's Radio City Music Hall where it did moderately well. One of many adaptations of the work, it was frequently revived in theaters by MGM. Television broadcast The film was shown on local television stations in the United States throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and was a staple of Chicago 's WGN television 's Family Classics. It ran in syndication throughout the United States from the 1960s to the 1990s on various local networks until the advent of Cable Television. Since the late 1990s, it has been almost exclusively broadcast on the Turner Classic Movies cable network, airing several times during December. Home media releases In 1988, MGM / UA Home Video and Turner Entertainment released A Christmas Carol on VHS celebrating its 50th anniversary, for the first time in a colorized version. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 1988 promoting the film 's release on home video, actress June Lockhart admitted that, despite being an MGM production, it was `` a ' B ' picture ''. The colorized version was released once again on VHS by Warner Home Video in 2000. On November 8, 2005, the black and white version was released on DVD in a `` Classic Holiday Collection '' box set including Boys Town and Christmas in Connecticut, two other MGM titles with a holiday / family theme ; it was also released as an individual title. Since its first DVD release, it has seen multiple releases in various Christmas movie collection box sets. A Blu - ray version was released in November 2014. See also List of ghost films List of A Christmas Carol adaptations References Jump up ^ `` A Christmas Carol ( 1938 ) -- Original Print Information ''. Turner Classic Movies. Jump up ^ Guida, Fred ( 1999 ). A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations : A Critical Examination of Dickens 's Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television. McFarland. pp. 95 -- 98. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7864 - 2840 - 3. Jump up ^ Maltin, Leonard ( 2015 ). Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin 's Classic Movie Guide : From the Silent Era Through 1965 ( 3rd ed. ). Penguin Publishing Group. p. 106. ISBN 978 - 0 - 698 - 19729 - 9. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : A Christmas Carol ( 1938 film ) A Christmas Carol at the American Film Institute Catalog A Christmas Carol at AllMovie A Christmas Carol on IMDb A Christmas Carol at the TCM Movie Database A Christmas Carol : With Original Illustrations in Full Color Print Edition Charles Dickens 's A Christmas Carol Characters Ebenezer Scrooge Bob Cratchit Mr. Fezziwig Ghost of Christmas Past Ghost of Christmas Present Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come Jacob Marley Tiny Tim Films Scrooge, or, Marley 's Ghost A Christmas Carol ( 1908 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1910 ) Scrooge ( 1913 ) Scrooge ( 1935 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1938 ) Scrooge ( 1951 ) It 's Never Too Late A Christmas Carol ( 1960 ) Scrooge ( 1970 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1971 ) An American Christmas Carol Mickey 's Christmas Carol Scrooged The Muppet Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol ( 1997 ) A Diva 's Christmas Carol Christmas Carol : The Movie A Carol Christmas Springtime with Roo Chasing Christmas A Christmas Carol ( 2006 ) A Dennis the Menace Christmas An American Carol Ghosts of Girlfriends Past A Christmas Carol ( 2009 ) The Smurfs : A Christmas Carol ( 2011 ) Television `` The Christmas Carol '' ( 1949 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1954 ) Mister Magoo 's Christmas Carol A Carol for Another Christmas Rich Little 's Christmas Carol A Special Sesame Street Christmas The Stingiest Man in Town Bugs Bunny 's Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol ( 1982 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1984 ) Blackadder 's Christmas Carol A Flintstones Christmas Carol Ebbie Ebenezer An All Dogs Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol ( 1999 ) A Christmas Carol ( 2000 ) An Easter Carol A Christmas Carol ( 2004 ) Karroll 's Christmas Bah, Humduck ! A Looney Tunes Christmas Nan 's Christmas Carol `` A Christmas Carol '' ( Doctor Who ) It 's Christmas, Carol ! Kelly Clarkson 's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale Musicals Scrooge ( 1992 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1994 ) Mrs. Bob Cratchit 's Wild Christmas Binge ( 2002 ) Plays A Christmas Carol ( 1988 ) Fellow Passengers ( 2004 ) A Klingon Christmas Carol ( 2007 ) Soundtracks A Christmas Carol ( 2009 ) Doctor Who : A Christmas Carol ( 2011 ) Other Adaptations of A Christmas Carol Batman : Noël ( comic ) `` Green Christmas '' ( single ) The Misadventures of the Wholesome Twins Films directed by Edwin L. Marin The Death Kiss ( 1932 ) A Study in Scarlet ( 1933 ) Bombay Mail ( 1934 ) The Crosby Case ( 1934 ) Affairs of a Gentleman ( 1934 ) Paris Interlude ( 1934 ) The Casino Murder Case ( 1935 ) Pursuit ( 1935 ) Moonlight Murder ( 1936 ) Speed ( 1936 ) I 'd Give My Life ( 1936 ) Sworn Enemy ( 1936 ) All American Chump ( 1936 ) Man of the People ( 1937 ) Everybody Sing ( 1938 ) Listen, Darling ( 1938 ) A Christmas Carol ( 1938 ) Fast and Loose ( 1939 ) Society Lawyer ( 1939 ) Maisie ( 1939 ) Henry Goes Arizona ( 1939 ) Florian ( 1940 ) Gold Rush Maisie ( 1940 ) Hullabaloo ( 1940 ) Maisie Was a Lady ( 1941 ) Ringside Maisie ( 1941 ) Paris Calling ( 1941 ) A Gentleman After Dark ( 1942 ) Miss Annie Rooney ( 1942 ) Invisible Agent ( 1942 ) Two Tickets to London ( 1943 ) Show Business ( 1944 ) Tall in the Saddle ( 1944 ) Johnny Angel ( 1945 ) Abilene Town ( 1946 ) Young Widow ( 1946 ) Mr. Ace ( 1946 ) Lady Luck ( 1946 ) Nocturne ( 1946 ) Christmas Eve ( 1947 ) Intrigue ( 1947 ) Race Street ( 1948 ) The Younger Brothers ( 1949 ) Canadian Pacific ( 1949 ) Fighting Man of the Plains ( 1949 ) Colt. 45 ( 1950 ) The Cariboo Trail ( 1950 ) Sugarfoot ( 1951 ) Raton Pass ( 1951 ) Fort Worth ( 1951 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Christmas_Carol_(1938_film)&oldid=816936702 '' Categories : 1938 films English - language films 1930s drama films American Christmas films American films American black - and - white films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films based on A Christmas Carol Films directed by Edwin L. Marin Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer films Films produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Hidden categories : Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters Articles needing additional references from December 2015 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Deutsch فارسی Nederlands Polski Română Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 24 December 2017, at 20 : 49. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when was the first movie a christmas carol made
Answer: 1938