A stellar holiday themed effort from the American TV archives, and one of the medium’s most brilliant and prolific contributors: Rod Serling. Best known for creating THE TWILIGHT ZONE, Serling accomplished quite a bit more in his too-short life, with over 100 TV writing credits to his name—among them the teleplay for this movie. The other major name associated with CAROL FOR CHRISTMAS was its producer and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, a screenwriter of undeniable brilliance (immortalized in the 2020 Netflix production MANK) whose first television production this was.
As the title portends, CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS was a highly unorthodox adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL. It was bankrolled by the Xerox Corporation (who commissioned it as a vehicle to promote the United Nations) and broadcast on ABC on December 28, 1964, without commercial interruptions.
The Scrooge stand-in is the appropriately named Daniel Grudge, a wealthy man whose world has been uprooted by the death of his son in WWII. The film opens with Grudge getting into a fifteen minute argument with his nephew Fred about the efficacy of nuclear power, for which the fiercely isolationist-minded Daniel is an enthusiastic proponent. After Fred leaves Daniel is led onto a surreal WWI barge, where he’s visited by a uniformed officer who identifies himself as the Ghost of Christmas Past.
The latter essentially continues the argument Daniel had with Fred, but with the focus on hand-to-hand combat rather than nuclear weapons. Daniel, of course, is opposed to military intervention of any sort, while the Ghost proclaims that “it’s for the dinosaurs, isolation, and closing your eyes, that’s for sleeping.” Daniel is also taken to the nuclear-scarred ruins of Hiroshima, where he’s shown desiccated bodies and asked to reconsider his position.
Next Daniel is ushered into a dining room where an insatiable glutton is in the midst of a feast, surrounded by a vast prison camp. This is the Ghost of Christmas Present, a personification of Daniel’s selfish lifestyle.
Fleeing this nightmarish scene, Daniel finds himself in a burned out hellscape that he recognizes as his town hall. He’s in the future, it seems, and addressed by the Ghost of Christmas Future, a robed figure who informs Daniel that if he doesn’t change his attitudes this is what he’ll be facing in the coming years.
Daniel, needless to say, is moved to rethink his views, and indeed, it’s very difficult not to be moved by what we’re shown. Mankiewicz’s 1950s-era treatment seems excessively stagey and (by modern standards) sanitized, but he was graced with an amazing cast, including Sterling Hayden, Ben Gazzara, Eva Marie Saint, Pat Hingle, Robert Shaw, Britt Ekland and Peter Sellers (who appears to be warming up for DR. STRANGELOVE). Furthermore, Serling’s consistently provocative script keeps the proceedings afloat, with an admirably unflinching, hard-hitting aesthetic.
Also showcased are many of Serling’s weaknesses as a writer, namely a vastly pedantic and oversentimental air. Serling was never known for subtlety, and neither, for that matter, was A CHRISTMAS CAROL. So yes, this film, and its source material, contain their share of annoyances, but its cumulative power is undeniable.
Vital Statistics
CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS
American Broadcasting Company/Xerox Corporation
Director/Producer: Joseph L. Mankeiwicz
Screenplay: Rod Serling
(Based on A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens)
Cinematography: Arthur J. Ornitz
Editing: Nathan Greene
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Percy Rodriguez, Ben Gazzara, Barbara Ann Teer, Steve Lawrence, Eva Marie Saint, James Shigeta, Pat Hingle, Robert Shaw, Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland