MovieChat Forums > A Christmas Carol (1984) Discussion > Frank Finlay was incredible

Frank Finlay was incredible

posted 11 years ago by crisso
8 replies | jump to latest

Quite possibly the most scary and disturbing Marley's ghost yet presented.

[–] jmarkoff2 11 years ago

Tied with Michael Hordern.

[–] strntz (12773) 6 years ago

Fully agree. 1984 and 1951 are my two favorites and nothing comes close. No small reason is the choice of actors to play Marley. Michael Hordern scared the beejeezus out of me when I first saw the 1951 version. His passion, anger, frustration, and finally benevolence towards his old friend are unforgettable.

There's an old expression about someone being a tough act to follow, and this is a perfect example. I never thought anyone could match Hordern's performance until Frank Finley did it in this version and did so *without* copying Hordern.

The amazing thing that both are just so superb, yet both faithful to the novella despite their unique interpretations of Marley.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] star52-2 9 years ago

I thought him very funny!

[–] cpoet 9 years ago

He doesn't blink!

[–] cherylelliotcrna 9 years ago

"MAN OF THE WORLDLY MIND, DO YOU BELIEVE IN ME OR NOT???!!!"  Yikes.

Great seeing this board spring to life after AMC aired it four or five times during the Christmas '15 season.

[–] Scarecrow-88 8 years ago

I think he brings an awareness to what Marley suffers and what could await Scrooge if he doesn't update his cruel ways of conducting himself daily. We need to see how awful it is to bear an eternal agony and all the weight of a life spent ill-used. I always felt Marley came off best here because he wears the bondage of walking the earth as a real spectre no longer able to alter misery and help in ways possible when alive.

[–] taijiquan12 8 years ago

His performance is a favorite of mine and my family's! I love him untying his headscarf to speak!

No matter how many times I've seen this, he brings a power and depth to his short scene as Marley, and I think he comes close to stealing the movie from George C. here. You can truly see that he's put complete conviction in the character, and he very convincingly plays the suffering that he's going though as a ghost.

"Bulls**t MR.Han Man!!"--Jim Kelly in Enter the Dragon 