Watching so many different versions of A Christmas Carol is a strange pursuit when you think about it. I can't think of any other type of film that I'd be willing to watch so many different versions of, in fact I wonder what is the most consistently remade film? Would I be prepared to watch a film or listen to an audiobook that I knew the ending to again and again? In other circumstances I certainly wouldn't, but A Christmas Carol has entered into my completest obsessive ways, along with the songs 'I Love Rock and Roll', 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and 'Louie Louie'.

Although I know the story, it is interesting to watch the different versions. I'm familiar enough with the book to know which versions are sticking to the words of Charles Dickens, and which versions are merely using the original story as a guide. The BFI have a copy of the very first filmed adaptation, reckoned to be from 1901, in their possession. It is available from their YouTube channel and is a remarkable piece of work. At three minutes twenty eight seconds, Scrooge, Or Marley's Ghost tells the story without the burden of dialogue. To say it was 1901, the effects with the ghosts were certainly convincing enough and would have dazzled audiences in the early days of cinema.