The 1951 version with Alistair Sim is considered by most film critics to be the quintessential portrayal of the Dickens classic. Businessman/Money Lender Ebenezer Scrooge has spent the better part of his life hating Christmas and people in general. His anger is the result of numerous personal tragedies that have beset his lonely existence. On Christmas eve he is visited by three ghosts who show him there is more to living than the bleakness he has come to know and expect. This story IS NOT "Scrooge." "Scrooge" is a musical written by Leslie Bricusse in 1970. The musical is great fun but the title of the 1951 film is "A Christmas Carol."