A CHRISTMAS CAROL The classic radio telling of this timeless tale. Re-Imagined Radio Season 13, Episode 13 Final Draft Premier broadcast: December 22, 2025 Produced, Hosted by John F. Barber Sound design, Music composition, Post-production by Marc Rose Graphics by Holly Slocum with Evan Leyden Social Media by Caitlyn Kruger YouTube management and Announcing by Rylan Eisenhauer Synopsis The December 24, 1939 performance of "A Christmas Carol" by The Campbell Playhouse. Starring Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge. His fourth performance of Scrooge for The Campbell Playhouse. Barrymore played Scrooge on every radio network, every Christmas, but two, between 1934 and his death in 1954. This one is considered the "Classic." Credits Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge Everett Sloane as Marley's Ghost Frank Readick as Bob Cratchit Erskine Sanford as Fezziwig George Coulouris as Ghost of Christmas Present Ray Collins Georgia Backus as Mrs. Cratchit Bea Benaderet as Martha Cratchit Edgar Barrier Bernard Herrmann as composer and conductor Orson Welles as producer and narrator Ernest Chappell as announcer Charles Dickens as original author Color Code Yellow highlighted text = sound effect(s), or actualities. Magenta highlighted text with strike through = text deleted for episode timing MUSIC = pre-recorded MUSIC = bespoke, created for this episode COLD OPEN MUSIC: CHRISTMAS MUSIC. LIONEL BARRYMORE Good evening, ladies and
gentlemen. This is the fourth year I've had the pleasure of appearing in
"A Christmas Carol" here on the Campbell Playhouse. And I assure you all it's
a pleasure that never tires. As long as I can remember, this has been one of
my favorite stories. When we were children, it was read to us regularly this
time of year as it is to many millions of children right now. I can think of no part that I've enjoyed
playing again and again as much as I have the part of that squeezing,
wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner, Ebenezer
Scrooge. And I can think of no happier or more suitable choice for the makers
of Campbell Soups to offer the people of America as their Christmas present
each year, than Charles Dickens' well-beloved story "Christmas Carol." THEME AND ANNOUNCER MUSIC: RIR THEME ANNOUNCER Welcome to Re-Imagined Radio, a program about sound-based storytelling. With each episode we explore how dialogue, sound effects, and music can engage your listening imagination and promote storytelling. Here to tell you about THIS episode is John Barber, producer and host. HOST OPEN HOST Thank you Rylan. Hello everyone. Welcome to Re-Imagined Radio and our special holiday episode, "A Christmas Carol." Every year since 2013, Re-Imagined Radio has offered a radio adaptation of this much beloved novel by Charles Dickens, published December 19, 1843. Dickens, then 31-years old, had already written a shelf-full of books, The Pickwick Papers (1836), Oliver Twist (1837), Nicholas Nickleby (1838), The Old Curiosity Shop (1840), Barnaby Rudge (1841), and Martin Chuzzlewit (1843). The first edition of A Christmas Carol numbered 6,000 copies. Each featured special end papers, binding, and hand- colored illustrations by John Leech. Every copy was sold by Christmas Eve. Since then, A Christmas Carol has been adapted as motion pictures, television shows, stage plays, recordings, and radio programs. Quite a number of radio programs actually. Hundreds. But, according to Craig Wichman, author of Standing in the Spirit at Your Elbow: A history of Dickens' Christmas Carol as radio/audio drama, the classic telling of this timeless tale is The Campbell Playhouse performance of December 24, 1939, starring Lionel Barrymore, as Ebenezer Scrooge, Orson Welles as director and narrator, and actors of The Mercury Theatre on the Air. In his introduction, Welles calls Barrymore [QUOTE] "the best loved actor of our time." [UNQUOTE] Welles, of course, is famous for his October 30, 1938 Mercury Theatre on the Air radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds, a radio broadcast which is still today considered the most famous in the history of broadcasting. It's also the broadcast that persuaded Campbells Soups to sponsor and rename The Mercury Theatre on the Air as The Campbell Playhouse. Barrymore's first radio reading of A Christmas Carol was December 24, 1934. This was also his first time performing on radio (Wichman 173, Radio Broadcasts and Charles Dickens). The rest, as they say, is history, and Barrymore portrayed Scrooge eighteen times on all four American radio networks before his death in November 1954 (Wichman). As I said, Re-Imagined Radio has offered a performance of A Christmas Carol every year since 2013. This holiday season we devote our entire episode to the 1939 Campbell Playhouse performance starring Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge. For more information, and the episode script, visit our website, reimaginedradio dot fm. HOST Thank you for listening as Re-Imagined Radio presents "A Christmas Carol" as heard on The Campbell Playhouse, December 24, 1939. MUSIC: CAMPBELL PLAYHOUSE THEME ... UNDER) ERNEST CHAPPELL The makers of Campbell Soups present the Campbell Playhouse!
Orson Welles, producer! SFX: JINGLE BELLS MUSIC: SINGERS BEGIN "THE FIRST NOEL," FADE UNDER AND OUT DURING THE FOLLOWING. ORSON WELLES Good evening. This is Orson Welles. There are clearly a number
of ways in which "A Christmas Carol" could be introduced. Myself, I am most
struck by the happy fortune that enables us on this Christmas Eve to present
Mr. Lionel Barrymore, the best-loved actor of our time, in the world's best-loved Christmas story, "A Christmas Carol." When Charles Dickens presented this little story to the world almost a hundred
years ago, he found an instant response in the hearts of people everywhere who
saw in it their favorite fictional chronicle of what Christmas is, and what
Christmas means to all the simple people of the Earth. From the day of its
first printing, families have been innumerable in which there has remained
unbroken the tradition that the reading of "A Christmas Carol" was an item
indispensable to a proper observance of the most important of days. It is the American way, as we know, to establish traditions quickly where
popular instinct and sentiment pronounce them sound. And so it is that today,
actually only the fifth anniversary of Mr. Lionel Barrymore's first playing of
the part of Ebenezer Scrooge for The Campbell Playhouse, there is, I think, in
all America nothing more eagerly awaited, more firmly rooted in the hearts of
the radio family that numbers millions than this yearly performance of "A
Christmas Carol." MUSIC: FADES OUT ORSON WELLES "A Christmas Carol," as Charles Dickens wrote it, has, by common
consent, long been a classic. Mr. Lionel Barrymore's appearance in it is
rapidly becoming one. And now, just before "A Christmas Carol," Ernest
Chappell has a special Christmas greeting from the makers of Campbell Soups.
Mr. Chappell? ERNEST CHAPPELL Thank you, Orson Welles. As the old year draws toward its
close, we of Campbell's feel a bond of warmth and gratitude toward each of
you, our friends. For, you see, in homes everywhere throughout the land,
Campbell Soups have been welcomed. Day by day and week by week, you have
placed confidence in us and in the foods we make. And there isn't anything we
appreciate more deeply than the fact that so many of you have elected to let
Campbell's make your soups for you. SFX: BOTTLE OF WINE BEING UNCORKED. ERNEST CHAPPELL And so, when Christmas comes, we look
about to find some way to show our appreciation, some Christmas present by
which to say, "Thank you." The gift we chose five Christmases ago, and have
chosen each year since, has become a part of Christmas to many and many a
family. It has become a Christmas custom to gather around
the radio to hear and to enjoy "A Christmas Carol." And since it is Christmas
Eve, we hope, too that the younger members of the family are permitted to stay
up and listen before dreams and visit of Santa. We get a great deal of
pleasure planning and preparing this Christmas gift ... and now, it's ready. MUSIC: BELLS RING AND THEN "HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING" ... UNDER ERNEST CHAPPELL Off come the wrappings. Off come the tags that say, "Please
do not open till Christmas." Out comes the card. To you, from Campbell's. And
here is the gift itself. MUSIC: UP ... BRIDGE ... THEN OUT NARRATOR Marley was dead to begin with. There's no doubt whatever
about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk,
the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name
was good upon Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley
was as dead as a door-nail. Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did.
Scrooge and Marley were partners for I don't know how many years. Ah! But he
was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, was Scrooge! A squeezing,
wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! And once upon
a time ... of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve ... MUSIC: CHOIR SINGS "GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN" ... UNDER NARRATOR ... old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house, a grim, cheerless
place if ever there was one. The door of Scrooge's counting-house was open
that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who in a cold and
dismal little cell beyond, worked at his ledgers. MUSIC: UP AND UNDER BOB CRATCHIT (TO HIMSELF) ... nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two ...
(SINGS ALONG WITH CHOIR) ... merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay ... (TO
HIMSELF) ... twenty-three, twenty-six, twenty-nine, nine carry two ... (SINGS
ALONG WITH CHOIR) Christmas Day! ... (TO HIMSELF) ... eleven ... fifteen ... seventeen ... carry one ... SCROOGE Bob Cratchit! BOB CRATCHIT Er, yes, Mr. Scrooge? SCROOGE Stop that infernal caterwauling! BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir. (TO HIMSELF) ... nine, fifteen, seventeen ... twenty SFX: SCROOGE'S FOOTSTEPS TO THE FRONT DOOR SCROOGE (MUTTERS TO HIMSELF) The impudence ... singing their idiotic Christmas carols at my
very door. SFX: FRONT DOOR OPENS MUSIC: CHOIR UP A LITTLE AS DOOR OPENS SCROOGE Go somewhere else and bellow your blasted carols or I'll give ya in charge. CHOIR (STOPS SINGING, PROTESTS MILDLY) Awww! CHILD Why, Guv'nor? It's an old custom at Christmas time, you know! SCROOGE Yes! And I don't want any of your old customs! Take your fellow fools
and go away. (TO HIMSELF) Christmas! Blah! CHILD Right, sir! Merry Christmas anyway, sir! SCROOGE (DISMISSIVE) Ahhh! SFX: DOOR SLAMS SHUT, SCROOGE'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY MUSIC: CHOIR SINGS "GOOD KING WENCESLAS" AS IT MOVES OFF FRED A merry Christmas, uncle! A merry Christmas, Bob! BOB CRATCHIT Merry Christmas, Mr. Fred! FRED God save you, uncle! SCROOGE Bah! Humbug! FRED Christmas a humbug, uncle! Now, I'm sure you don't mean that! SCROOGE I mean JUST that ... exactly that! Merry Christmas! What right have
you to be merry? What reason have you? You're poor enough. FRED Well, what right have you to be dismal about Christmas, uncle? You're
rich enough. SCROOGE Bah! FRED Now, uncle, don't be cross. SCROOGE Well, what else can I be when I live in such a world of fools? What's
Christmas to you but a time for paying bills without money? Merry Christmas! A
time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer. If I could
work my will, every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips'd
be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his
heart. He should! FRED Uncle! SCROOGE Nephew. Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in
mine. FRED Keep it! But you don't keep it, uncle. SCROOGE Well, let me leave it alone, then. What do you want? A Christmas
gift, I've no doubt. FRED I came to wish you a merry Christmas, uncle. SCROOGE A Merry Christmas! Much good may Christmas do you. Much good
it ever HAS done ya. FRED There are many things from which I derive good by which I have not
profited materially, I dare say, uncle. Christmas among the rest. But I have
always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving,
charitable, pleasant time; And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a
scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it has done me good, and will
do me good; and I say, God bless it! BOB CRATCHIT (APPLAUDS) God bless Christmas! Hurrah! SCROOGE Let me hear another sound out of you there, Bob Cratchit, and you'll
keep your Christmas by losing your situation! As to you, nephew, I wonder you
don't go into Parliament. You talk enough nonsense. FRED Don't be angry, uncle. I want nothing from you. I ask nothing of
you; why can't we be friends? SCROOGE Good afternoon. FRED Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. I tried. (EXITING) A merry Christmas
to you, uncle! SCROOGE Good afternoon. FRED And a happy New Year, too! SCROOGE Bah. Humbug. FRED And a merry Christmas to you, Bob! And the missus! And to Tiny Tim! BOB CRATCHIT Thank you, Mr. Fred! Same to you, sir. Good day, sir. FRED Good day, Bob! SFX: DOOR HAS OPENED AND SHUT SCROOGE (TO HIMSELF) Nonsense. Twaddle. Flummery. Talking of Christmas and
not two sixpences to jingle together in his trousers' pocket. SFX: COAL IN THE SCUTTLE SCROOGE You there! Bob Cratchit! Come here! What are you doing
there?! BOB CRATCHIT I was only putting a bit more coal in the fire, Mr. Scrooge,
seeing it's so cold in there, sir. SCROOGE You put that coal back into the scuttle! A fire! A fire, indeed. I
can tell you, if you use coal at that rate, you and I will soon be parting
company, Bob Cratchit. You understand that? There's many a young fella'd like
your situation, you know. BOB CRATCHIT I'm sorry, sir. My fingers were getting a little stiff with the
cold. SCROOGE Then put on your mittens. SFX: KNOCK AT THE DOOR SCROOGE There's someone at the door. See who it is. BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir. SFX: A COUPLE OF FOOTSTEPS, DOOR OPENS GENTLEMAN Good afternoon, sir. BOB CRATCHIT Good afternoon. GENTLEMAN This is the firm of Scrooge and Marley? BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir. GENTLEMAN I should like to see the head of the firm, if I may. BOB CRATCHIT Oh, very good, sir. SFX: DOOR SHUTS SCROOGE What is it? BOB CRATCHIT A gentleman to see you, Mr. Scrooge. SCROOGE Huh? GENTLEMAN Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley? SCROOGE Marley's been dead these seven years tonight. I'm Scrooge. GENTLEMAN Well, now, Mr. Scrooge, at this season of the year, it's only
fitting that we who are more fortunate should raise a fund to buy the Poor
some meat and drink, and means of warmth. You may not believe it, sir, but
many thousands are now in want of common necessities. And hundreds of thousands are in want of the simplest comforts, sir. SCROOGE (GROWLS) Are there no prisons? GENTLEMAN Well, there are plenty of prisons, sir. SCROOGE And the workhouses? They're still in operation, I trust? GENTLEMAN I wish I could say they are not. But they are, sir. SCROOGE The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigor, then? GENTLEMAN Both very busy, sir. SCROOGE Ah! I'm glad to hear that. I was afraid, from what you said at
first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course. GENTLEMAN No, sir. All these institutions that you mention are flourishing.
But it's nevertheless true that some additional provision for the Poor and the
Destitute must be made. SCROOGE (SCOFFS) GENTLEMAN A few of us upon 'Change are endeavoring to raise such a fund, you
see. And, uh, what shall I put you down for? SCROOGE Nothing! GENTLEMAN Oh, I see. You wish to be anonymous, sir? SCROOGE I wish to be let alone! I don't make merry myself at Christmastime
and I can't afford to keep a lot of idle people merry. I help to support
the establishments that take care of the poor. They cost enough. Let those
who are badly off go there. GENTLEMAN Many can't go there, sir. And many would rather die. SCROOGE Then, my advice to them is to do so and decrease the surplus
population. Besides, I've only your word for it that all this is so. GENTLEMAN It's the truth, Mr. Scrooge. SCROOGE Well, so be it, then. It's not my business. It's enough for a man to
understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine
occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, sir! GENTLEMAN I quite understand, Mr. Scrooge. SCROOGE Cratchit! Show this gentleman out. BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir. SFX: FOOTSTEPS TO THE DOOR BOB CRATCHIT This way, sir, please. (LOWERS HIS VOICE) Sir, I couldn't help
overhearing. I should like to contribute tuppence. SCROOGE Cratchit! BOB CRATCHIT (TO SCROOGE) Yes, sir! (LOWERS HIS VOICE, TO GENTLEMAN) It isn't
much but it's all I can afford. But there are others in worse situation than
I. GENTLEMAN You're a generous fellow. I wish I might say so of your employer. SCROOGE (IMPATIENT) Cratchit! BOB CRATCHIT (TO SCROOGE) Yes, sir! GENTLEMAN Good afternoon, sir. BOB CRATCHIT Good afternoon. SFX: DOOR OPENS GENTLEMAN Merry Christmas. BOB CRATCHIT Merry Christmas. (TO SCROOGE) Yes, sir! SCROOGE Merry Christmas! Close the door! BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir. I have closed it sir SFX: DOOR SHUTS, CRATCHIT'S FOOTSTEPS SLOWLY BACK TO DESK BOB CRATCHIT (SIGHS, TO HIMSELF) ... twenty-four, thirty-one. One, and carry
three. A new scarlet tippet for Tiny Tim. A comb for Martha. Thirty-three.
Three and carry three. A hair-ribbon for Belinda. Four, seven, twelve,
fifteen. SCROOGE I suppose you want the entire day to- morrow? BOB CRATCHIT If it's quite convenient, sir. SCROOGE It's not convenient ... and it's not fair. But I suppose I
can't do anything about it. If I was to stop half-a-crown of your
wages, you'd think yourself very ill-used, I'll be bound. BOB CRATCHIT Well, sir, I ... SCROOGE Yeah, but you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages for
no work. BOB CRATCHIT It's only once a year, sir. SCROOGE Once a year! Once a year, indeed. A fine excuse for picking a man's
pocket every twenty-fifth of December! But I suppose there's no good talking.
You must have the whole day. Well, see that you're here all the earlier the
next morning. You understand? BOB CRATCHIT Oh, I will, sir. (EXITING) I will, sir indeed. Good night, sir. And merry Christmas. SFX: DOOR OPENS SCROOGE Bah! BOB CRATCHIT Merry Christmas! SCROOGE Bah! SFX: DOOR SHUTS MUSIC: SLEIGH BELLS AND A JAUNTY TUNE ... AS A BRIDGE AND THEN UNDER NARRATOR The office was closed in a twinkling, and Bob Cratchit, with the
long ends of his white comforter dangling below his waist (for he boasted no
great-coat), went down a slide on Cornhill, twenty times, in honor of its
being Christmas Eve, and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could
pelt, to play with his family at blindman's-buff. MUSIC: TAKES A DARK TURN ... UNDER NARRATOR Scrooge, on the other hand, took his melancholy dinner in his usual
melancholy tavern, having read all the newspapers, and spent the rest of the
evening with his banker's-book, went to his dismal house. Darkness is cheap. And Scrooge liked it. The yard was so dark that even
Scrooge, who knew its every stone, had to grope with his hands through the fog
and the frost to find the door. Scrooge walked through his rooms to see that
all was right. Sitting-room. Bedroom. Lumber-room. All as they should be.
Nobody under the table, nobody under the sofa, nobody under the bed, nobody in
the closet. Close the door. He locked himself in. He double-locked himself in. And took off his cravat;
put on his dressing-gown and slippers, and his nightcap; and sat down before
the fire to take his gruel. MUSIC: EERIE ... UNDER SFX: CLOCK STRIKES SCROOGE (YAWNS MIGHTILY, COUGHS, THEN AMAZED) Marley. Marley? Marley! I could
have sworn I saw old ... Ah! Humbug. Marley's been dead these seven years.
Humbug. It's all humbug. What I need is a good night's ... SOUND: CLANKING NOISE, DEEP DOWN BELOW SCROOGE What? What's that? SOUND: MORE NOISE, LIKE DRAGGING CHAINS, INCREASINGLY LOUDER AND CLOSER SCROOGE Someone's in the wine cellar. But the door's locked and double-locked! Something's ... is coming! Some ... something is ... is coming closer.
Outside my door. Bah! I won't believe it. It's humbug still! SFX: NOISE ... OUT MARLEY (GHOSTLY) Ebenezer Scrooge! Ebenezer Scrooge! SCROOGE (GASPS) Oh, no. What do you want with me? MARLEY I want much of you, Ebenezer. SCROOGE Who are you? MARLEY Ask me who I was. SCROOGE You're very particular, for a ghost. All right then. Who were
you then? MARLEY In life, I was your partner, Jacob Marley. SCROOGE (SKEPTICAL) Jacob Marley! But you're dead. You died seven years ago. MARLEY Seven years ago this very night. SCROOGE You are a ghost then? MARLEY What's wrong, Ebenezer? Don't you believe in me? SCROOGE I do not. MARLEY You doubt your senses, Ebenezer? SCROOGE Yes. Because a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of
the stomach makes them cheats. You can't be a ghost. You may be an
undigested bit of beef, or a blot of mustard, or a crumb of cheese, a fragment
of an underdone potato. (CHUCKLES) There may be more gravy than grave about
you, whatever you are! Humbug, I tell ya. Humbug! MARLEY (RAISES A FRIGHTFUL CRY) MUSIC: MATCHES THE CRY, THEN SUBSIDES AND CONTINUES UNDER EERILY SCROOGE (SHIVERS AND SHUDDERS IN FEAR) Excuse me, Jacob. Excuse me. I do believe in you. You ARE a ghost,
Jacob. MARLEY Thank you. SCROOGE But why ... why do you walk the earth, Jacob? Why do you come to me? MARLEY It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk
abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide, to witness what it cannot
share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness. SCROOGE But tell me, Jacob, what is that chain you wear around you? MARLEY I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by
yard; by my own free will. Is its pattern strange to you, Ebenezer? SCROOGE Cashboxes? Keys and padlocks? Ledgers, purses? MARLEY Yours was as heavy and as long as this, seven years ago. And you have
labored on it since, Ebenezer. SCROOGE Ahh, Jacob, speak comfort to me! MARLEY Comfort I have none to give. I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot
linger. Weary journeys lie before me. SCROOGE You travel fast? MARLEY Yes, Ebenezer. On the wings of the wind. SCROOGE Ah, seven years dead and traveling all the time. MARLEY Seven years, Ebenezer. Seven years of remorse. Ebenezer, do you know
that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunities misused? SCROOGE But you were always a good man of business, Jacob. MARLEY Business! Mankind was my business! Charity, mercy, benevolence ... they
were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the
comprehensive ocean of my business! SCROOGE Oh, Jacob, don't take on so. Jacob ... MARLEY Listen to me, Ebenezer. SCROOGE I'll listen to you, Jacob. Go on, Jacob, now. Speak to me but don't
be so flowery. MARLEY Ebenezer, I am here to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of
escaping my fate. Do you hear that, Ebenezer? SCROOGE Yes, Jacob. You always were a good friend to me, Jacob. Thank you,
Jacob. But ... but go on, go on, go on, go on. How shall I escape? Oh, I'm
afraid, Jacob. MARLEY You will be haunted by Three Spirits. SCROOGE Is that the only chance and hope, Jacob? MARLEY It is your only chance and hope. SCROOGE Well, then, I think I'd rather not. MARLEY Without their visits, you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect
the first to-morrow, when the bell tolls One. SCROOGE Couldn't I take 'em all at once, and have it over, Jacob? MARLEY Ebenezer, look that for your own sake, you remember what has passed
between us! And remember, when the bell tolls One, look for the first Spirit! SCROOGE Marley! Jacob Marley! MUSIC: UP FOR AN ACCENT, THEN A BRIDGE, THEN UNDER SFX: BELL TOLLS ONE NARRATOR Scrooge awoke. He was lying on his bed, fully dressed. Suddenly, the
curtains of his bed were drawn aside. Scrooge found himself face to face
with the unearthly visitor who drew them. As close to it as I am now to you,
and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow. It was a strange figure ... like a child. Yet not so like a child as like an
old man. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Ebenezer Scrooge. SCROOGE (GASPS) Who ... who's that? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Ebenezer Scrooge, I have come for you. SCROOGE You ...? You are the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold me? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST I am that Spirit. SCROOGE Who ...? What are you? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. SCROOGE Long past? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST No. Your past. SCROOGE But ... what do you want of me? What brings you here to haunt me? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Your welfare, Ebenezer Scrooge. Rise! and walk with
me! SCROOGE Oh, no, no, no. No! Not ... not out of the window! Why, I can't do
that. I'll fall down. I'm not a Spirit. I'm mortal. I'll fall. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Bear but a touch of my hand upon your heart, and you
shall be upheld in more than this. Come! Follow me! MUSIC: AN ACCENT, THEN UNDER ... SLEIGH BELLS AND CHILDREN SINGING "GOD,
REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN" UNDER SCROOGE Where are we? What's become of the city? And there ... there's snow
upon the ground. Where are we? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST These are the shadows of the things that have been.
You recognize this countryside? SCROOGE (GASPS) Oh. I know every inch of it. Every rock. Every tree. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST And that bleak building over there? SCROOGE Ah, that building! I was a boy there! Yes, I went to school in
that horrible place. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Do you recollect that path? SCROOGE I could walk it blindfold. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Strange you should have forgotten it so many years.
Come, let us go closer. (BEAT) Look through the window into that cold, barren
room. What do you see, Ebenezer Scrooge? SCROOGE I see a boy. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST A solitary child, neglected by his family. Alone. SCROOGE Yes, yes, I see. I know that boy. (SIGHS) Oh. I was so lonely. Poor
boy. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Your lip is trembling, Scrooge. And what is that on
your cheek? SCROOGE It's nothing. Nothing, nothing at all. I wish I ... Ah, it's too late now. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST What's the matter? SCROOGE Nothing, nothing. The waifs came to my door singing Christmas carols
last night and there was a boy like that among them. A poor thin pale
boy in a ragged coat. I should like to have given him something, that's all. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST IS that all? Come, Ebenezer Scrooge. Let us see
another Christmas! MUSIC: A BRIEF BRIDGE ... MERRY PARTY MUSIC UNDER GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Do you know this place, Ebenezer Scrooge? SFX: CROWD OF PARTYGOERS LAUGH AND TALK UNDER SCROOGE (DELIGHTED) Know it?! Know it! This is the counting-house where I was
apprenticed! (AFTER A PAUSE) Why it's my old master! Bless his heart; old
Fezziwig! My master ... alive again! And hosting one of his Christmas parties!
(CHUCKLES HAPPILY). Listen to it. FEZZIWIG (CALLS A DANCE IN BACKGROUND) Pick your partners! Thread the needle. And back to your places. SCROOGE Listen to him! FEZZIWIG Corkscrew! Thread the needle and back to your places! SCROOGE (LAUGHS ALONG WITH CROWD) And there's Dick Wilkins. Poor Dick. Dear,
dear, dear. Yes, and look! There's Mrs. Fezziwig herself, looking younger'n
any of 'em! And the tables, all loaded with roasts and cider, mince pie and
beer! Oh, what a jolly time we used to have! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST That carefree young man with the light heart and the
gay smile? Do you recognize him? SCROOGE Yes, yes, yes. Merciful Heaven. How happy I was then. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST A small matter for old Fezziwig to make those silly
folks so full of joy. SCROOGE (INDIGNANT) Small matter! Small, indeed. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Isn't it? He has spent only a few pounds of your
mortal money. Is that so much that he deserves praise? SCROOGE (SCOFFS) It's not that. It's not that, Spirit. Old Fezziwig has the
power to make us happy or unhappy. To make our service light or heavy. His
power lies in words and looks and in things so tiny it's impossible to
count 'em up. The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a ... a ... GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST What is the matter? SCROOGE Nothing. Nothing at all, Spirit. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Something, I think? SCROOGE No, no. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Speak. SCROOGE Only ... It's just that I should like to be able to say a word or
two to MY clerk, Bob Cratchit just now. That's all. SFX AND MUSIC: PARTY NOISES AND MUSIC UP FOR A MOMENT, THEN FADES OUT GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST My time grows short. And we have yet another journey
to make. SCROOGE Where now? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Come! MUSIC: A BRIEF BRIDGE, THEN UNDER GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST This is our last visit to the past, Ebenezer. Here,
in this little room, with a fair young girl by your side. Do you recognize
yourself, Ebenezer? SCROOGE (GASPS) No, no. No, no, no, no. Spare me this! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST You're older now. A man in the prime of life. Your
face has begun to wear the signs of care and avarice. Your eyes are greedy.
The eager, restless eyes of a miser. SCROOGE No! No, please! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST She knows it, too ... that girl by your side. There
are tears in her eyes. MUSIC: TURNS GENTLE AND SAD, UNDER BELLE It matters little, Ebenezer, to you, very little ... I know that. YOUNG SCROOGE Belle, have I changed toward you? BELLE When we were engaged, we were both poor. YOUNG SCROOGE Was it better then? Better to be poor? BELLE Better, at least, to be happy. You're changed. You were another man,
then. YOUNG SCROOGE I was a boy! You blame me because I've grown wiser? Have I ever
tried to break our engagement? BELLE In words, no. Never. YOUNG SCROOGE In what, then? BELLE In a changed nature. In an altered spirit. In everything that made my
love of any value in your sight. So I release you from your promise. YOUNG SCROOGE Belle! BELLE Oh, at first, it may cause you pain to lose me ... a very brief pain.
But soon it will be dim, like a half-remembered dream ... an unprofitable
dream. And you will be glad to be awake from such a dream. May you be happy in
the life you have chosen, Ebenezer, for the love of whom you once loved. MUSIC: OUT SCROOGE Spirit, it's enough! Show me no more! Take me home! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST These were shadows of the things that HAVE been. That
they are what they are, do not blame me. SCROOGE No. No more. No more. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST One shadow more! Come! MUSIC: IN AND UNDER GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Do you see this man, Ebenezer Scrooge? This man might
have been you. And the woman beside him, your wife. And that girl ... that girl
might have been your daughter, Ebenezer Scrooge. She might have called you
father. She might have been a spring-time in the haggard winter of your life. SCROOGE Spirit ... let me go. Show me no more. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST Listen, now, while they speak, Ebenezer. BELLE'S HUSBAND Belle, I saw an old friend of yours today. BELLE Who was it? BELLE'S HUSBAND Guess. BELLE How can I? It ... Oh! I know. Mr. Scrooge. BELLE'S HUSBAND Mr. Scrooge it was. I passed his office window ... it wasn't
shuttered. And there was a candle inside so I couldn't help seeing him. His
partner Marley lies at the point of death, I hear; and there Scrooge sat ...
all alone. Quite alone in the world, I do believe. SCROOGE Spirit, Spirit, I can bear no more. Leave me. Haunt me no more.
Take me back! Take me back! MUSIC: A BRIDGE ... THEN CAROLERS SING "GOOD KING WENCESLAS" ... UNDER PROGRAM BREAK ERNEST CHAPPELL You are listening to the Campbell Playhouse, bringing you
tonight the fifth annual presentation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol,"
produced by Orson Welles and starring Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge. This is the
Columbia Broadcasting System. MUSIC: CONCLUDES ERNEST CHAPPELL And now back to the Campbell Playhouse and our fifth annual
presentation of "A Christmas Carol," a Christmas present from the makers of
Campbell Soups. MUSIC: OMINOUS ... BELL CHIMES ... UNDER NARRATOR On the stroke of One, Scrooge awakened suddenly and sat him bolt upright
in his own bed. He remembered the words of Marley's ghost and wondered from
which direction the second specter would appear. At that moment, nothing
between a baby and a rhinoceros would have astonished him very much. Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for
nothing; and, consequently, when no shape appeared, he was taken with a
violent fit of trembling. Five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour went
by, yet nothing came. Then, as he sat in his bed, he became aware gradually of
a great blaze of ruddy light, which seemed to shine upon him from the
adjoining room. He got up softly and shuffled in his slippers to the door. It was his own sitting-room ... there was no doubt about that. But it had undergone a
surprising transformation. The walls and ceiling were so hung with living
green, that it looked a perfect grove. And there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see, who
bore a glowing torch, in shape not unlike Plenty's horn, and held it up, high
up, to shed its light on Scrooge, as he came peeping round the corner. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT Come in! Come in, Ebenezer Scrooge, and know me
better, man! SCROOGE You're ...? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT I am the Ghost of Christmas Present! SCROOGE Spirit, take me where you will. Last time I went against my will and
learned a lesson which is working now. If you have anything to teach me, let me
profit by it. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT Touch my robe, Ebenezer Scrooge! Touch my robe! MUSIC: UP FOR A TRANSITION, THEN UNDER SCROOGE Where have you brought me, Spirit? GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT An humble dwelling in an humble street. SCROOGE It's miserable enough. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT Yet there is happiness there. SCROOGE Who are these people? Who's that woman? And the children? SFX: FAMILY CHATTER INCREASES UNDER FOLLOWING GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT These are the family of your clerk, Bob Cratchit.
See his wife, dressed in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, laying the
table for their Christmas dinner. And there, assisting her, is her daughter
Belinda. And the young man with the fork in the stuffing ... that's Master
Peter Cratchit. And the two little Cratchits. Listen, Scrooge. And watch. SFX: FAMILY CHATTER UP GIRL Here's Martha, mother! AD LIBS Martha! (EXCITED CHATTER) MRS. CRATCHIT Quiet everybody. Now, sit ye down before
the fire Martha and have a warm, Lord bless ye! MARTHA Where's father? MRS. CRATCHIT He's been to church with Tiny Tim. They'll be along directly. MARTHA (CONCERNED) How IS Tiny Tim, mother? Any better at all? MRS. CRATCHIT Sometimes I think he is. And sometimes I think ... oh, dear God,
if anything should happen to Tiny Tim. MARTHA Mother! You mustn't even THINK of such a thing! CHILDREN AD LIB Here they are! MRS. CRATCHIT There's Tiny Tim! BOB CRATCHIT Merry Christmas, everybody! Martha! Welcome, my dear! MARTHA Merry Christmas, father! And Tim! TINY TIM Merry Christmas, Martha! MARTHA Oh, Tim, you darling! Oh, father, I'm so glad to be home. BOB CRATCHIT And we're glad to have you, Martha. MRS. CRATCHIT And how did little Tim behave in church, Bob? BOB CRATCHIT Oh, as good as gold, and better. TINY TIM I like church, Mother. Oh, they sang the nicest songs. I hope people
saw me there. MRS. CRATCHIT Saw you there? And why, Tim? TINY TIM Well, don't you see? Because I'm lame. And if they saw my crutch, it
might be pleasant for them to remember on Christmas who it was made lame
beggars walk, and blind men see. BOB CRATCHIT Bless you, my son. CHILDREN AD LIB Are we ready to eat, Mother? Come on, let's eat! SFX: CHILDREN
CONTINUE TO CHATTER UNDER FOLLOWING MRS. CRATCHIT Yes, children. We're all ready. Come, come take your places
now. And, Bob, wait your turn ... there's plenty! Stuffing and dressing and
plum pudding for all of you. Martha, you take care of Tiny Tim, and see that he eats plenty. He must get well and strong. MARTHA Yes, Mother. MRS. CRATCHIT Now,
sit down, sit down, everyone! BOB CRATCHIT Ah, now, my dears. CHILDREN (INSTANTLY SILENT) GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney- corner,
and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. SCROOGE Oh, no, no. No, no, kind Spirit! Say he'll be spared. Say he'll live. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future,
Ebenezer, the child will die. BOB CRATCHIT (FINISHES GRACE) And pray thy name. (PAUSE) Amen. CHILDREN Amen. BOB CRATCHIT And, now, my dears, with such a dinner, a toast. A Merry
Christmas to us all. And God bless us! MRS. CRATCHIT Amen. TINY TIM God bless us every one! BOB CRATCHIT And, now, to Mr. Scrooge! BOB CRATCHIT I give you a toast to Mr. Scrooge ... the Founder of the Feast! CHILDREN AD LIB (UNHAPPY) Awwwww! MRS. CRATCHIT (UPSET) The Founder of the Feast indeed! Who pays you all of
fifteen shillings a week! I wish I had him here. I'd give him a piece of my
mind to feast on, and I hope he'd have a good appetite for it! BOB CRATCHIT (PROTESTS) Oh, my dear ... the children! Christmas Day. MRS. CRATCHIT It should be Christmas Day, I'm sure, on which one drinks
the health of such an odious, stingy, unfeeling man as Mr. Scrooge. You know
he is, Bob! Nobody knows it better than you, poor fellow! BOB CRATCHIT (INSISTS) My dear, Christmas Day. MRS. CRATCHIT I'll drink his health for your sake and the Day's, not for his.
Long life to him! A merry Christmas and a happy new year! He'll be very merry
and very happy, I have no doubt! TINY TIM And I say, God bless him, too, Mother. And everyone. CHILDREN AD LIB (AGREEING WITH TIM) MUSIC: MOURNFUL CHOIR ... THEN CHURCH BELLS, "O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL" AS A
BRIDGE, THEN UNDER NARRATOR There was nothing of high mark in all this. They were not a handsome
family, these Cratchits; they were not well dressed. Their shoes were far from
being water-proof. Their clothes were scanty and had known, very likely, the
insides of a pawnbroker's. But, they were happy, grateful, pleased with one
another, and contented with the time. When, at last, they faded, Scrooge had
his eye upon them, and especially on Tiny Tim, until the last. MUSIC: TAKES A DARKER TURN, UNDER NARRATOR Many calls Scrooge made that night with the Ghost of Christmas
Present. Down among the miners they went, who labor in the bowels of the
earth and out to sea among the sailors at their watch ... dark, ghostly figures
in their several stations. Much they saw, and far they went, and many places they visited, but always
with a happy end. The Spirit stood beside sick beds, and they were cheerful.
On foreign lands, and they were close at home. By poverty, and it was rich. In
almshouse, hospital, and jail, where vain man in his little brief authority
had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, the Spirit left his
blessing. It was a long night ... if it was only a night. And it was strange,
too, that while Scrooge remained unaltered in his outward form, the Ghost grew
older, clearly older. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT My life upon this globe, is very brief, Ebenezer.
It ends to-night. SCROOGE To-night! GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT To-night at midnight. Hark! The hour has come. SCROOGE Oh, not yet! Not yet! There ... there ... there are still more
things I wish to learn. GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT These you will learn from still another Spirit.
Still another Spirit, Ebenezer. MUSIC: A HUGE ACCENT, THEN UNDER NARRATOR Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost. It had vanished. And he
found himself once more in his bed, in his dressing gown and his nightcap. He heard the clock strike and then ... he remembered the prediction
of old Jacob Marley. And lifting up his eyes, beheld the third Spirit. MUSIC: DARKER ... UNDER NARRATOR ... a solemn Phantom, shrouded in black, draped and hooded, coming
towards him, slowly and silently, like a mist along the ground. SCROOGE I know you. You ... you are the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. You'll
show me the shadows of things that have not happened, but will happen in the
time before us. Answer me, Spirit, Ghost of the Future! Oh, I fear you more than
any specter I've seen. Yet, as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope
to live to be another man from what I was, lead on. Lead on! The night is
waning fast. Time is precious. MUSIC: AN ACCENT ... THEN UNDER SCROOGE Spirit! Why ... why have you brought me here again? Here to Bob
Cratchit's home? But it's not the same ... What ... ? MUSIC: OUT SCROOGE Why is it so quiet? So very quiet here? MRS. CRATCHIT (WEEPING) MARTHA Mother ... Mother, please. MRS. CRATCHIT (WEEPING) Oh, my son. My little son. Tiny Tim. I loved him so. MARTHA Oh, Mother dear, you mustn't. It's almost time for father to be home.
Don't let him see you crying. MRS. CRATCHIT Yes. Yes, Martha. He's late tonight. He walks slower than he used to. And yet I've known him to walk
very fast indeed with Tiny Tim on his shoulder. MARTHA So have I, Mother. MRS. CRATCHIT But he was light to carry. And his father loved him so that it
was no trouble. No trouble at all. SFX: DOOR OPENS MRS. CRATCHIT Bob! BOB CRATCHIT Good evening, my dear. MRS. CRATCHIT You're late, Bob. BOB CRATCHIT I'm sorry, my dear. I ... I went to the church yard today. I
wish you could have gone with me. It would have done your heart good to see
how sweet and green a place it is. You'll see it often, I promised him.
I promised Tiny Tim we'd walk there on a Sunday. MARTHA Oh Father, dear. MRS. CRATCHIT It's God's will, Bob. BOB CRATCHIT I'm trying to understand it, my dear. (TO HIMSELF) My son. My
little son, Tiny Tim. And I loved him so. MUSIC: DARK, UNDER SCROOGE Oh, that's cruel. Cruel. Spirit? Can't you give me one ray of hope
that I may change all that? That Tiny Tim may live? MUSIC: A HUGE, SUDDEN ACCENT, THEN UNDER, EERILY SCROOGE Spirit! Where are we now? Merciful Heaven! A church yard! Overrun by
grass and weeds, choked with too much burying ... desolate, lonely, crumbling gravestones. Spirit! Before I draw nearer to that gravestone, answer me one
question. Are these shadows of things that Will be, or ... or are they
shadows of things that May be, only? Huh? Will you not speak to me,
Spirit? What IS that grave to which you point? MUSIC: AN ACCENT, THEN UNDER SCROOGE Ah, now I see. There's writing on that stone. The name on
the gravestone is ... (READS, AWED) Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer Scrooge?! Oh,
Oh ... Oh Sprit, no, no, no! Spirit! Hear me! I'm not the man I was! Why show me this,
if I am past all hope?! Tell me that I may change these dreadful shadows
that have come that you've shown me that have come by an altered life! I'll honor Christmas in my heart! I'll ...
I'll try to keep it all the year. I'll live in the Past, the Present, and the
Future. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Tell me, do Spirit.
Please tell me that I can sponge away the writing on that stone, Spirit. I beg you, Spirit! Spirit! MUSIC: BIG DARK ACCENT, THEN ABRUPTLY GENTLE, DISTANT CAROLERS SING "GOD
REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN" SCROOGE (WHISPERS) Spirit, I promise. I promise on my knees. I promise. I
promise. I ... I ... (PAUSES, HEARS CAROLERS SINGING) Why, what's this? It's my
bedpost. Oh! I'm home! In my own bed! In my own room! SFX: WINDOW OPENS, CAROLERS LOUDER, THEN UNDER SCROOGE And the sun! The sun's shining! It's clear! It's bright! No fog! Oh, what
a beautiful day. Glorious, glorious. (CALLS OUT) Hey, boy! Oh, boy! BOY Yes, sir? SCROOGE Eh ... Eh ... What's today? BOY What's that, sir? SCROOGE What day is it, my fine fellow? BOY Today? Why, it's Christmas Day. SCROOGE Christmas Day! Ha ha! Then I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done
it all in one night. All in one night. Heaven be praised. BOY How's that, sir? SCROOGE Listen, my lad, er, you know where the Poulterer is, in the next
street? BOY I should say I do! SCROOGE Ha! An intelligent boy! A remarkable boy! Tell me, do you know if
they've sold the prize Turkey that was hanging in the window? BOY The one as big as me? MUSIC: HAS QUIETLY FADED OUT SCROOGE Hee hee hee! What a delightful boy! It's a pleasure to talk to ya.
Yes, my buck! BOY It's hanging there now, sir. SCROOGE Ohh ... That's wonderful. Go around, will ya? And tell 'em to send it to Bob
Cratchit and his family on Broad Street. And, mind you, they're not to know
who paid for it. Hurry along my lad. And here, here.
Here's half-a- crown for your trouble. BOY Yes, sir! Yes, sir! And a Merry Christmas! SCROOGE Ha ha! And a Merry Christmas to you, my boy! (TO HIMSELF) Oh! I don't
know what to do! I'm as light as a feather! As happy as an angel! I'm as merry
as a schoolboy! (CALLS OUT) Merry Christmas! (LAUGHS) A Merry Christmas to
everybody! A Happy New Year to all the world. Whoo! Whoo! Hallooo! MUSIC: "PEACE ON EARTH" AS A BRIDGE, THEN UNDER NARRATOR Next morning, Scrooge was early at his office. He went early for a
reason. If he could only be there first, and catch Bob Cratchit coming late!
That was the thing he'd set his heart upon. And he did it. Yes, he did! The clock had struck nine. No Bob. A quarter past. No
Bob. Scrooge sat with the door wide open, that he might see him come in. At last he came. His hat was off, before he opened the door. His comforter
too. He was on his stool in a jiffy, driving away with his pen, as if he were
trying to overtake nine o'clock. BOB CRATCHIT (QUICKLY) ... fifteen and twenty-one, six and carry the one.
Twenty-four and carry the two, thirty-one and eight and nine ... SCROOGE Hallo, you Cratchit! BOB CRATCHIT Yes, sir? SCROOGE Step this way, Cratchit, if you please. SFX: (RELUCTANT FOOTSTEPS) SCROOGE Cratchit! What do you mean by coming in at this time of day? BOB CRATCHIT Oh, I am very sorry, sir. I am behind my time. SCROOGE You are. You are. Yes, I think you are. BOB CRATCHIT Oh, it's only once a year, Mr. Scrooge. It shall not be
repeated. I was making rather merry yesterday, sir. SCROOGE I'll tell you what, my friend ... I'll not stand this sort of thing
any longer! And therefore, Bob Cratchit ... I'm about to raise your salary. BOB CRATCHIT (AFTER A PAUSE, TREMBLING) Mr. Scrooge? Are you quite yourself,
sir? SCROOGE No. No, thank Heaven, I'm not quite myself. Merry Christmas, Bob!
(LAUGHS) Merry Christmas, my good fellow! A merrier Christmas than I've given
you in many a year! I'll raise your salary, and we'll see what we can do
for Tiny Tim and the rest of your family. Hah?! (CHUCKLES) We ... we'll discuss
it this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of Smoking Bishop. MUSIC: PLAYFUL, CHEERY ... SNEAKS IN AND UNDER SCROOGE Bob! Make up the fire! Make it up and ... and ... and buy another coal- 
scuttle before you dot another i! MUSIC: CONTINUES AS A BRIDGE, AND UNDER) NARRATOR Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely
more. To Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good
a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or
any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people
laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded
them. His own heart laughed. That was quite enough for him. He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total
Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards, and it was always said of him, that he
knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. MUSIC: OUT NARRATOR May that be truly said of us. All of us. And so, as Tiny Tim
observed, God bless Us, Every One. MUSIC: CHOIR SINGS "JOY TO THE WORLD" ... THEN, OUT ERNEST CHAPPELL You have just heard our annual presentation of Charles
Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" starring Lionel Barrymore, brought to you by the
makers of Campbell Soups. And, now, here is Orson Welles. ORSON WELLES At this point in the program, ladies and gentlemen, it is my
custom, as you know, to present to you, with a few words of introduction, our
guest of the evening. With your consent, I shall dispense with this tonight.
To introduce tonight's guest to the Campbell Playhouse audience, or to any
American audience, is an extravagant and superfluous procedure ... for if ever
an actor has won for himself a lasting place in the hearts of his fellow
countrymen through years of unsparing and inspiring service, that actor is
Lionel Barrymore. Mr. Lionel Barrymore. LIONEL BARRYMORE Thank you, Orson Welles. Good evening, ladies and
gentlemen. This is the fourth year I've had the pleasure of appearing in
"A Christmas Carol" here on The Campbell Playhouse. And I assure you all it's
a pleasure that never tires. As long as I can remember, this has been one of
my favorite stories. When we were children, it was read to us regularly this
time of year as it is to millions of children right now. (CHUCKLES) And
like many of them, I'm sure, the three of us ... Ethel, Jack and I ... with the
aid of a sheet and some old ironware, made a play of it. As I remember, we had
three Scrooges in that production. ORSON WELLES (AMUSED) Uh, Mr. Barrymore, who played Tiny Tim? LIONEL BARRYMORE I think we had three Tiny Tims, too. ORSON WELLES (CHUCKLES) LIONEL BARRYMORE But, seriously, I can think of no part that I've enjoyed
playing again and again as much as I have the part of that squeezing,
wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner, Ebenezer
Scrooge. And I can think of no happier or more suitable choice for the makers
of Campbell Soups to offer the people of America as their Christmas present
each year, than Charles Dickens' well-beloved story "Christmas Carol." Good
night, Orson. Good night, everybody. And a merry, merry Christmas to you all. MUSIC: UNDER ORSON WELLES Good night, Mr. Barrymore. Thank you, sir, and a merry
Christmas to you. Ladies and gentlemen, next Sunday night, we're happy to
announce our version of a great and truly American story by a great American
novelist ... "Come and Get It" by Edna Ferber. Against a background of the
mighty forests of Miss Ferber's own Wisconsin, it tells a stirring tale of the
men and women who live and die in the woods in order that lumber may come down
the rivers every Spring into the cities of the modern world. MUSIC: OUT ORSON WELLES Like so many of Miss Ferber's epic romances of American life, it
was made from a bestselling novel into a highly successful motion picture.
Now, we bring it to you on the air. The story of a man and his son and the
girl they both loved, Lotte. Played for us by one of the loveliest and
most accomplished of Hollywood's younger dramatic actresses, Miss Frances Dee.
And so, until next week, until "Come and Get It," my sponsors, the makers of
Campbell Soups and all of us in the Campbell Playhouse, remain, as always,
obediently yours. MUSIC: PLAYHOUSE THEME BEGINS ORSON WELLES Ah, just ... one ... moment, please, Benny! Ladies and
gentlemen, it's the night before Christmas. MUSIC: OUT ORSON WELLES ... and all through the Campbell Playhouse, not a creature is
stirring that doesn't join Lionel Barrymore in wishing you a merry, merry
Christmas! This goes for all of us. For my sponsor, for myself, for – for all
of us — from John Dietz who runs the machinery in the control room to
Miss Helgrin who types the Campbell Playhouse scripts, a Merry Christmas! From
Benny Herrmann and his band of merry melodians, Merry Christmas! MUSIC: MUSICIANS PLAY LOUD AND OUT OF TUNE ... MERRILY ... THEN, OUT ORSON WELLES From Max... uh, canary-throated choristers ... CHOIR (WARBLES AN OSTENTATIOUS PHRASE) ORSON WELLES ... a very merry Christmas! And from Harry Essman and ... and his crew of sound effect technicians ... SFX: VARIOUS NOISY SOUND EFFECTS ORSON WELLES ... a merry Christmas! And from Orson Welles and his
considerable aggregation of dramatic talents which include, among others, Mr. Frank Readick, Miss Georgia Backus, Miss Bea Benadaret, Mr. Ray Collins, Mr.
Everett Sloane, Mr. George Coulouris, Edgar Barrier, Erskine Sanford, Tommy Lane, William Allen, Betty DeWalters, Eric Burgess, and of course myself and George Philburn. A Merry Christmas! How 'bout it, ladies and gentlemen? CAST A Merry Christmas! ORSON WELLES And finally, as Tiny Tim says: TINY TIM God bless Us, Every One! MUSIC: "PEACE ON EARTH" ... UNDER ERNEST CHAPPELL The makers of Campbell Soups join Orson Welles in inviting
you to be with us in the Campbell Playhouse again next Sunday evening when we
bring you Edna Ferber's "Come and Get It" with Miss Frances Dee as our guest.
Meanwhile, if you have enjoyed our fifth annual presentation of "A Christmas
Carol," won't you tell your grocer so this week when you order Campbell Soups?
This is Ernest Chappell saying thank you and a Merry Christmas to you
all! MUSIC: "HALLELUJAH CHORUS" ... ENDS ABRUPTLY MUSIC: RIR THEME, ESTABLISH, THEN FADE OUT UNDER THE FOLLOWING HOST CREDITS HOST You've just listened to "A Christmas Carol," the December 24, 1939 episode of The Campbell Playhouse, starring Lionel Barrymore with Orson Welles and Ernest Chappell. The Campbell Playhouse was a live radio drama series, heard on CBS, a sponsored continuation of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, offering hour-long adaptations of classic plays and novels, like A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This Campbell Playhouse performance is considered a classic for the performance by Lionel Barrymore as Ebeneezer Scrooge. I hope you enjoyed listening to this timeless tale of self-redemption and good will toward others. MUSIC: RIR THEME, DUCK UNDER AND CONTINUE HOST Re-Imagined Radio is produced in collaboration with The Electronic Literature Lab at Washington State University Vancouver. Our programs are broadcast and streamed by partner community radio stations KXRW-FM (Vancouver, Washington), KXRY- FM (Portland, Oregon), KNOM-AM (Nome, Alaska). THANKS to Marc Rose for sound design, and post-production. Holly Slocum and Evan Leyden for graphic designs. Rylan Eisenhauer for announcing and YouTube management. Caitlyn Kruger-Lesperance for social media management. Follow Re-Imagined Radio on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Blue Sky, LinkedIn -- and our YouTube channel ... [at sign] reimaginedradio. VISIT our website, reimaginedradio DOT FM, for scripts and information about our episodes. SUBSCRIBE to the Re-Imagined Radio podcast and never miss an episode. I'm John Barber. Thank you for listening. MUSIC: RIR THEME UP, THEN DUCK UNDER THE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCER CLOSE ANNOUNCER This is a production of Re-Imagined Radio. To learn more, visit our website, reimaginedradio (all one word, no punctuation) DOT FM. Please join us for another episode of Re-Imagined Radio as we continue our exploration of sound-based storytelling. MUSIC: RIR THEME UP, AND TO END.