MovieChat Forums > Scrooge (1935) Discussion > Question about the uncut version

Question about the uncut version

posted 18 years ago by roghache
10 replies | jump to latest

I've just watched this movie for the first time, a DVD with a running time of 60 minutes. I noticed on another thread that there is an uncut version lasting 78 minutes so alas, I've missed out on nearly 20 minutes of viewing.

The one I watched had no depiction of the two portly gentlemen collecting for the poor, no showing of young Ebenezer's school days or apprenticeship years, no sister Fan, no Fezziwig, no portrayal of the nephew Fred's Christmas dinner, no Topper, no party games. For those who have seen the uncut version, are any of these characters or scenes I've just mentioned present in it? Thanks and Merry Christmas!

[–] ddawdy 18 years ago

Just watched this again last night as I do every year. This version, the 1938 and 1951 versions as well. Make for a long night :-)

OK, my full length version of the 1935 film does have the gentlemen collecting for the poor, does not touch on his school days or apprenticeship but does show us his fiancée leaving him as well as quick look at her life with husband and children later on. No Fan but does have the diner.

I like this version if only for the grittiness of it. Parts of London were dark and dirty in those times. This film really brings that out. Almost to much.

Dan

[–] roghache 18 years ago

Thanks very much, Dan. I watch them all as well, including in addition to the 1938 and 1951 the more recent 1984 and 1999 versions, also the 1970 musical -- although not all in one night! I agree regarding the grittiness of this one, which I hadn't even heard of until a few months ago, and thought Seymour Hicks made a compelling Scrooge.

My apparently abbreviated 60 minute DVD did include the fiancee and a later scene showing her with her husband and children. However, I missed out on the two gentlemen collecting for the poor, whom you've stated appear in the uncut film.

Merry Christmas!

[–] Gblakelii 17 years ago

Most DVD boxes are probably made before the DVD itself and so the running time is acquired from a reference book or the internet. Many DVD's I've seen have had either longer or shorter running times than thoses listed on the back of the box itself. Some also are approximated like 95 minutes for 91. In the case of Scrooge(1935) I have watched the version shown on PBS and it runs exactly 60 minutes. The DVD from WEG lists the time as 78 minutes, and when I 1st tried to verify this, for some strange reason(perhaps Marley's ghost)the onscreen display showed 61 minutes. A year later my alarm clock showed me that the movie was running longer than an hour and this time checking again with the remote button, the onscreen display THIS TIME showed that the total running time of the movie WAS 78 minutes long!

[–] double_c 17 years ago

There certainly is a 78 minute version available; I have it. Check under the "Alternate Versions" button on the home page, I have posted a reasonably accurate list of the extra scenes.

Elvis is DEAD

[–] BijouBob8mm 17 years ago

Yes, there really is a 78 minute version. In fact, most PD companies dumped the chopped-up 60-61 minute version several years ago when the complete cut became available again. Image, Westlake and Front Row have all been offering the full feature on DVD since at least 2002. (The Front Row release has the Blackhawk Films logo. Since Image licensed a number of titles from the Blackhawk library, there has been speculation that Front Row "borrowed" their version from Image, but I don't know if that's ever been substantiated.) The hour-long cut of SCROOGE was done years ago for the 16mm market, with new (and rather lackluster) opening titles superimposed over a plaque to replace the original ones. (The full version of the film is complete with the original opening.)

[–] Gblakelii 17 years ago

I hate to be a Scrooge about this, but the WEG(Westlake Entertainment Group)version is the one I have, and it contains the original opening as well as many of the "extra" scenes listed for the alternate versions, but again, it runs just one minute longer than the one that has been shown on broadcast TV. The DVD box does show a running time of 78 minutes(as all of them do)but in fact it's only one hour and one minute long. Therefore, only Image and Front Row have a longer version. OK, so if you say you've timed it or have 78 minutes showing on the screen, then I'll consider it plausible. Perhaps the film with the most varied running times is It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963).

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] buzblack 17 years ago

IF you want to save money AND see the entire UNcut version:
move to NYC for a repeat showing of it early monring CHRISTMAS DAY.
It will air again at 3:50 or 3:30am on Dec 25th on CUNY, Channel 75
on Time Warner Cable. City Univ. of NY cinema.

[–] brainfood-1 17 years ago

you're brilliant for saying so! Am watching it now. Cannot believe that in all these years I'd never seen it. I'm really happy to be seeing it now!

[–] BijouBob8mm 17 years ago

Quote:

"I hate to be a Scrooge about this, but the WEG(Westlake Entertainment Group)version is the one I have, and it contains the original opening as well as many of the "extra" scenes listed for the alternate versions, but again, it runs just one minute longer than the one that has been shown on broadcast TV. The DVD box does show a running time of 78 minutes(as all of them do)but in fact it's only one hour and one minute long."

Don't know about that particular WEG version you have, but they do offer the complete cut. (Possibly they've upgraded for a more recent re-release? I know there is a different cover on their latest version.) There are at least two (possibly three) PD companies that also contain the full cut of the film. (I mean in terms of "real time" playback, not the sometimes misleading running times listed on the back of the box. One of these bargain labels, however, has obviously used the Image DVD for its source.) I owned one from Front Row, later upgraded from that to the one from Image, both of which were much longer than the old 60-61 minute chop job that tends to flood the market. I've also noticed a couple of companies who have, over the years, upgraded their version of a title after a longer cut or better print became available. (Alas, the colorized Legends release of this particular title still went with the shorter version, even after the full feature has been available for several years. Equally atrocious is the horribly scratched up version of KILLER SHREWS they used. Even a bargain company like Alpha used a more pristine print for that title.)