Somewhat in the tradition of "Oliver!" the songs burst forth without disrupting the realities they are set in. There are up numbers like "Thank You Very Much," "Father Christmas," "I Like Life," and "Happiness." These are balanced by more somber pieces such as "The Beautiful Day," and "See The Phantoms." All together, "Scrooge" touches on a wide range of emotions and in the end leaves one with that warm Christmas feeling.

What makes this story a perennial favorite, I think, is the humanity which shines through the dark night of the main character's soul. It's a story of redemption and renewal and Albert Finney although barely in his thirties at the time transforms himself into a Scrooge that we despise at first, then pity, and finally cheer for. Only Alistair Sim in the 1951 black and white version of "A Christmas Carol" comes close to this rendition of classic literature's most famous curmudgeon. Sim's portrayal has the bleakness of bad dreams, which this film used to give me as a child. Dicken's himself would have been proud of the bleakness of this version.

The musical, though it takes some liberties by turning London into a colorful, if not troubled, city, is so buoyant and beautifully photographed that it outweighs the only close contender on holiday cheer alone.

I love a good, depressing, bleak Dicken's story as much as the next fellow, but for the last month of the year, I choose "Scrooge."

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