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The Globe Theater 44-12-23 A Christmas Carol
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The Globe Theater 44-12-23 A Christmas Carol
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Save on holiday essentials at Safeway and Albertsons this week. Get USDA Choice Beef Bone in Roast for $6.97 per pound with digital coupon and minimum purchase of $50 or more in a single transaction, excluding the price of the roast while supplies last. Limit one plus. Get broccoli, cauliflower, green beans or Brussels sprouts for 97 cents per pound with digital coupon. Limit six pounds and russet, red or yellow potatoes, yellow onions, yams or Sweet potatoes are 99 cents per pound member price. Visit safewaylbertsons.com for more deals. Here's your path to the Globe Theater. Welcome to the Globe Theater, the radio theater playing exclusively to the men and women of the armed forces of the United Nations. Here for your entertainment are presented the finest plays selected from outstanding radio dramas. Now to tell you about tonight's play, here's your host and master of ceremonies at the Globe Theatre, Herbert Marshall. Hello, everybody. In looking around for an appropriate play for this evening, we remember that each year at Christmas time, Lionel Barrymore brings joy to millions with his memorable portrayal of Scrooge in Dickens immortal A Christmas Carol. And so it's with the greatest of pleasure that we welcome Mr. Barrymore to our Globe Theater stage for another performance of this traditional and beloved story, A Christmas Carol with Lionel Barrymore. Once upon a Christmas Eve, on a mean and shabby street in London stood the warehouse of Scrooge and Marley. Of course, Marley was dead, but Scrooge never bothered to paint out his name over the door. It was a waste of time. Paint money. Oh, he was a tight fisted hand at the grindstone was Ebenezer Scrooge. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheeks and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. Get away from that door, do you hear me? Stop that infernal cat of Warren or they'll stick to you back. Weep. A frosty rhyme was on Scrooge's head and on his eyebrows and on his wiry chin. He iced his office in the dog days and didn't thought one degree of Christmas. A fact that could be attested by Bob Cratchit is overworked and shivering fog. And what do you think you're about to do with that coal scuttle, Mr. Cratches? Well, you see, my stove's gone out, Mr. Scrooge. Sorry, Mr. Cratchit. You like working here? Like it? Oh, yes. You have need of the 15 bob I pay every week. Need? Oh, yes, indeed. You see, there's my wife. And Tiny Tim. And Belinda. And Martha. I see. I see. Then may I suggest that you forget about the fire and get back to your work? Unless, of course, you'd prefer to keep Christmas by losing your situation. Oh, no, sir. I'll get on with copying those letters at once. I'm very sorry, Mr. Scrooge. It won't happen again, I promise. Pampering yourself at my expense. I won't have it. You understand? I won't have it. Yes. And what did Frood think of Christmas? Well, on this particular Christmas Eve, his only nephew, Fred stopped by the warehouse. A merry Christmas, Uncle. God save you, humbugs. Christmas the humbug. Oh, come now, you don't mean that. I do. Merry Christmas. What right of you to be merry. You're poor enough. Very well, then. What right have you to be dismal? You're rich enough. Humbug. Oh, don't be cross, Uncle. What else can I be when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas. Out upon. Merry Christmas. What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money. A time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer. A time for balancing your books and having every item in him through a round dozen a month presented dead against you. Uncle. Yeah. If I had my way, every idiot who goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips would be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a shape of holly through his horse. Uncle. Nephew, you keep Christmas in your own way. Let me keep it mine. But you don't keep it. Let me leave it alone then. Much good may it do you. Much good as ever has. I've always thought of Christmas time as the only time in the long calendar of the year when people open their shut up hearts and think of their fellow men. Yeah, I'm glad. And therefore, although it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good and will do me good. And I say, God bless it. You're a very powerful speaker, sir. I wonder you don't go into Parliament. Oh, don't be angry, Uncle. Come and dine with us tomorrow. Good afternoon, Nephew. But why won't you? Good afternoon. Well, I'm sorry to find you so resolute, but. A Merry Christmas, Uncle. Good afternoon. And a happy New Year. Good afternoon. No, Scrooge didn't believe for a moment that Christmas was a kind and charitable time. He proved it when two gentlemen stopped at his warehouse to collect his Christmas donate to the poor at this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and the destitute. Indeed. Tell me, are there no prisons? Oh, plenty of prisoners. And the workhouses, are they still in operation? They are. Very well. What do you want to meet? Well, a few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink and means of war. Now, what shall we put you down for? Nothing. Oh. You wish to be anonymous? I wish to be left alone, Mr. Cruz. I don't make myself merry at Christmas time. I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help support the prisons, the workhouses. They cost enough, heaven knows. And those who are badly off can go there, but many can't go there. And many would rather die than go there. They'd rather die. They'd better go and do it. Decrease the surplus population. Besides, I find it quite enough for a man to mind his own business and not interfere with other people. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen. Save on holiday essentials at Safeway at Albertsons this week, get USDA Choice Beef Bone in Roast for $6.97 per pound with digital coupon and minimum purchase of $50 or more in a single transaction, excluding the price of the roast while supplies last. Limit one plus. Get broccoli, cauliflower, green beans or Brussels sprouts for 97 cents per pound with digital coupon. Limit six pounds and russet, red or yellow potatoes. Yellow onions, yams or Sweet potatoes are 99 cents per pound. Member price. Visit safewayalbertsons.com for more. A new phone for Billy, a necklace for Sam, all the while on the lookout for scams. A swipe here and tap there. Better make it go far. Turns out mom didn't know she needs a new car this year. Stay on top of your credit with the Myfico app. Get your FICO score straight from the people that created it. Plus free credit monitoring and a free credit report every month. No credit card required. So make holiday spending one less stress under the mistletoe. Visit myfico.com free or download the Myfico app today. Rahu. It was much colder when Scrooge started for home. And the fog was so thick that he had some difficulty in locating the lowering pile of buildings where he had a gloomy suite of room. Nobody lived in it but Scrooge. He put his key in the lock of the ancient door. Then a strange thing happened. A door knocker. I could swear it was Marley's face bug. Scrooge entered, then locked and double locked the door behind him. He wasn't a man to be frightened by a door knocker. He lit his candle and started up the stairs, his footsteps echoing through the quiet house. What was that noise deep down below in the cellar? As if someone were dragging a heavy chain. The sound grew louder on the cellar stairs, rose higher in the empty halls below, and then clanged and clattered on the stairs behind Scrooge as he fled, Closed the door of his room and locked. Still. I won't believe it. Then, as though a part of the fall gown, the ghost of Jacob Marley passed through the closed and locked door. Jacob Marley. Around his waist was the chain Scrooge had heard him upstairs. Cash, boxes, keys, padlocks, ledges, deeds and heavy purses. But still Ebenezer Scrooge did not swim. Burma. What do you want? Much. Oh, much. Ebenezer. Who are you? In life, I was your partner, Jacob Marley. You don't believe in me? I do not. Why do you doubt your senses? Oh, we cause a little thing. Affection. A very slight disorder of the stomach. Makes them cheat. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more gravy than grave about you. Please don't do that, I beg of you. Oh, man of worldly mind, do you believe or not? I do, I do, I do, I do. If it'll make you any happier. But why do spirits walk? Fear. And why do you come to me? It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men. And if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. Why do you wear that chain? It is the one I forged in life. I made it link by link and yard by yard. The one you have made was full of heavy and as long as this seven Christmas Eves ago. Yours is a ponderous cane, Ebenezer. Don't you say that. Jacob. Don't say that. Do you? You were always my friends. Speak comfort to me. I have none to give. But why should you be so accursed? You were always a good man of business, Jacob. Business? Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business. Charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence were all my business. But Jacob, hear me. My time is nearly gone. I will, I will, I will. But don't be hard on me. And don't be flowery. Jacob, please. I Am here tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. You were always a good friend to me, Jacob. Thank you. You will be haunted by three spirits. Expect the first tonight when the bell tolls one. But Jacob. Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. If it's all the same to you, Jacob. And the third will appear on the next night when the last stroke of 12 has ceased to vibrate. Jacob. Look to see me no more. Ebenezer. Jacob. Wait now. For your own sake. You remember what has passed between us. Jacob. Jacob. Wait now. Jacob. Quarter pot. Half pot. A quarter to one. Just be ourselves. Heaven needs a screw. Who and what are you? I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. Rise and walk with me. Walk. In slippers, My dressing gown and my night cap. What a spectacle I'd make. However, if you'll give me time to dress. Come, there is no time to lose. Very well. But I warn you, I'll catch my death. Way. Not that way. We will leave by the window. The window? Are you mad? I'm immortal and liable to fall. Bear but a touch of my hand thus on your heart and you shall be upheld in more than this. Come, Ebenezer Scrooge. Come. Look below us, Ebenezer Scrooge. Do you know this place? Know it? Of course I know it. While I was a boy here, I could walk it blindfold. I know every gate and post and tree. There's my old school with the cupola and the bell hanging in it. An ugly, lifeless place. Take Christmas Day. All the boys had gone home for the holiday. Oh, who is that lonely child left behind and chided for his tears by the schoolmaster? I was that child, spirit. Oh, no, master. There. No tears, if you please. There's nothing more to give. Raving in self pity. Besides, Christmas isn't at all important. A very wise man, the schoolmaster. Do you agree with him, Ebenezer Screw? Agree with him? Of course not. Christmas is very important to a child of that age. To a child of any age. Poor boy. I wish. Oh, well, it's too late now. Yes. What is it? Nothing. Nothing much. There were some boys singing Christmas carols outside my warehouse. Wish I'd given them something, that's all. I see. Well, let us see another Christmas. You know this warehouse, Ebenezer Scrooge? Know it? Of course I know it. I was a princess here. Tell me, were you happy here? Oh, yes. Yes, I was very happy. Spirit, my master was a kind man. Why, that's not. There he is it's old Fuzzyweek. Fizzy Wee's alive again. Yo ho, yo ho, me boys. No more tonight. No more what? Christmas Eve day. Christmas Evaneser. We're having a party tonight. A party, Sir? Who invited Mr. Fer? The baker, the milkman and the cook. Here, now, here. Here's the fiddler already. Clear away, lads. Clear away. Oh, yes, sir. Yes, Mr. Fe Wig. Come, come, Master Fiddler, unlimber your fingers. Give us something for dancing with plenty of life in it. Christmas Eve, you know. Christmas Eve. The best time of the year. God bless it. A very simple and sentimental man, old Fezziwig, with no head at all for business. Ebenezer Cruz. Ah, nonsense. Why, he was one of the greatest men alive. I wish. Yes, what is it you wish? Nothing. I was just thinking my thoughts. Bob. Cracket. Let go. Strange, but my time grows short. Now, prepare yourself to be the spirit of Christmas presents. Ebenezer. Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer Scrooge. Behold, in me, the Ghost of Christmas Presents. Come. Where are we going? To Camden Town. Hold fast to my robe. My time is short and we must travel swiftly. Camden Town. That's where my clerk, Bob Cratchit lives. Yes, it is he we visit. See, there below is the street and house we see. Not a pretty setting, is it? Well, no, no, no. It isn't exactly palatial, but it probably serves purpose. After all, he's only a fox. Ah, yes, but with so many mouths to feed, it doubtless is the best he can afford. Come, we will go in. Nearly forgot the gravy. Here, here. Belinda, you want the applesauce. Martha, you just want the hot plate. And Joseph and Thomas can start setting the chairs at the table. Oh, yes, I do see what's keeping your father and Tiny. Perhaps the church service is extra long. Ten minutes more and the goose will fall apart and the pudding will be overdone. Oh, here they come now. They're in the corner. Tiny Tim's riding on Father's shoulder. Thank heavens. Open the door for them, Belinda. Be careful. Be careful, Bob. What's it, Sizzly boss? Giddy up, Gavin. There we are. Hold fast. He gallops and prances and runs like the wind. Hi ho. Merry Christmas, everybody. Merry Christmas, everybody. Down you come. Joseph, Thomas, take him off to the wash house and get those hands cleaned for dinner. Come on, Tinytail. Just wait till you see what's in the oven. There never was such a burn. Now, don't waste any time. Everything's ready. Well, how did he behave in church, Bob? Oh, as good as gold and feathers. You know, somehow he gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. Yes, I know. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church because he was a critter and it might be pleasant for them to remember upon Christmas Day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see. Poor boy. Poor boy. Why are there tears in your eyes, Ebenezer Screws? Cratchit never told me the boy was lame. He has worn that iron brace and carried that little crutch ever since he can remember. Quiet. They gather at the table. A toast. To the founder of the feast. I give you Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast, indeed. I wish I had him here. I'd give him the feast of my mind to feast upon, my dear Christmas Day. And I'll drink his health for your sake and the day, not for his. And a Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us. God bless us. And what do you say, Tiny Tim? God bless us, every one. Come, Ebenezer Scrooge. My time is up. You must go to meet the third and last spirit. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Tell me this before you leave me. Yes, tell me. Will Tiny Tim live? I see a vacant seat and a crutch without the owner. Oh, no, no, no, no. Don't say that. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child must die. I know. Will it not be better if he does? As you once said, it will decrease the surplus population. Farewell, Ebenezer Spruce. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come awaits you. There. Am I? What place is this? So dark and cold and thick with fog. And who are you, dark phantom with the hidden face? Ah, I fear you more than any of the others. Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come? Burial ground, reflected and overgrown with grass and weeds? The resting place of those forgotten and unloved. Why do you point to that stone? What name's written there that I mislead? Well, the letters are too dim and the fog's too heavy. Tell me, Spirit, who rests in this lonely, untended earth? You are that man, Ebenezer Strood. No, Spirit. No, no. You are that man. Spirit, hear me. I'm not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been. But for this night, I'll honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. Hear me, Spirit, and tell me I may sponge away the writing on that terrible soul. Spirit. Spirit, do you hear me? Spill it. Well, you're not spiritual. You're my own bedpost. This isn't a graveyard. My own room. There's a door that old Jacob Marley enters. There's the window where the first spit. It's broad daylight. No fog or mist. Here's a beautiful, glorious day. And church bells. Must be Sunday. Hey, boy, oh, boy. Are you down there? Yes, sir. What's the day, my fine fellow? What day? Why, it's Christmas Day, of course. Christmas Day. That I haven't missed it. Done it all in one night. Hello down there. Yes, sir. Sir, do you know in the poultry shop, the Corner of My butt? I should hope so, sir. An intelligent boy. A remarkable boy. Tell me, you know if they've sold the prize turkey? The little one? No, no, no, no. Not the big prize turkey. They're tying there now. Thank you. Go and tell them. Bring it here. Yes, sir. Come back with a man and I'll give you a shilling. Yes, sir. Come back in less than five minutes or I'll give you half a crown. Yes, sir. Look at him go. I'll send it to Bob Cratchit. He shan't know who sent it. Oh, what a joke that'll be. It is twice the size of Tiny Tim. I better get dressed. I've got a lot to do. It's going to be a busy day. Yes, sir, a very busy day. Yes, and it was a very busy day. Scrooge dressed himself all in his best. And when he got out on the street, people were pouring out of the churches. He regarded them with such a delighted smile that some of them said, merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mr. Crude. He patted children on the head. Hello, sir. Merry Christmas, my dear. He gave to beggars. Oh, thank you, sir. Oh, God bless you, sir. And late in the afternoon, he went calling on his nephew. He had a wonderful time and a wonderful Christmas. The morning after Christmas, he was early at the office. Scrooge wanted to be there first. And he wanted to catch Bob Cratchit coming in late. Well, Mr. Cratchit, so you finally got here. Did you look at that clock? What do you mean by coming here this time of day? I'm very sorry, Mr. Scrooge. It won't happen again. Indeed it won't. Step over here to my desk, if you please. It's only once a year. Poor sort of. Excuse, Mr. Crudgeon. I'm not going to stand for this kind of thing any longer. And therefore. Therefore, my friend, I'm about to raise your salary. What? What was that, sir? A Merry Christmas, Bob. A merrier Christmas than I have given you for many a year. I raise your salaries and endeavor to assist your struggling family. Now make up the fires and buy another coal scuttle before you dot another I, Bob Cratchit. And Scrooge was even better than his words. He did it all and infinitely more. And the Tiny Tim who did not die was the second father he became. As good a friend, as good a master, as good a man as a good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world. Yes, and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us. Holy God. Holy God. And so is Tiny, Kim observed. God blesses everyone. While holiday shopping is almost always fun, credit can be confusing. Download the MyFico app now and shop with confidence, knowing that you can stay on top of your credit 24. 7. Get your FICO score straight from the people that created it, plus free credit monitoring and a free credit report every month. No credit card required. FICO scores are used by over 90% of lenders, so trust the MyFico app to keep you in the know. 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