MovieChat Forums > Scrooge (1971) Discussion > Extended Hell, missing children

Extended Hell, missing children

posted 6 years ago by MNRebecca (750)
7 replies | jump to latest

Have this movie on DVD. Just bought it on Amazon Streaming. Noticed two differences.

1. There are no children hiding beneath Christmas Present's robe. Could swear that Ignorance and Want appear on the DVD.

2. There's an extended Hell scene in the streaming version. I'm wondering if it's ever been seen before. I have a vague memory of seeing this in a theater as a child and being frightened of the Hell scene, so I'm sure it was more than just Scrooge waking up in a coffin in an orange space.

In the streaming version, Scrooge wakes up, crawls out of his coffin, touches hot stalagmites, runs into Marley, is appointed personal assistant to Lucifer, gets assigned to an icy cold office, and is fitted with his enormous chain. That's why he wakes up strangling on his bedsheets - he was fighting of his chain.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (1562) 2 years ago

The extended Hell sequence is on the version now on YouTube except for one part people remember from theaters of the links of Scrooge's chain growing so enormous they tower over Scrooge and Marley. Ignorance and Want do not appear in that version.

[–] Costumer (1786) 2 years ago

The hell scene was in the original theatrical release. I saw it (several times) in the theater at the time.

Ignorance and Want never appeared in this version.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (1562) 2 years ago

The Hell scene seems to be unique to this version and is kind of contradictory, since Marley was supposed to be an earthbound spirit. As for people's memories of other scenes being cut, some of it could be Mandela effect, remembering other versions, and the like, but I wonder about the giant chain link thing, which two people claim to remember from the theater and sounds like it comes from the Hell scene here. Did the rats actually crawl on Scrooge or was that a viewer's imagination? I wonder at TCM not including these parts if so, as they are always so particular about airing films uncut.

[–] Costumer (1786) 2 years ago

If you mean the scene in Hell where Scrooge is buried in a giant chain, the "chain he forged in life", then yes, that is in the original. I don't recall the rats crawling on him. I'd have to dig up my DVD.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (1562) 2 years ago

No, the scene where he is wrapped in a giant chain is on the version I saw. A couple of people have mentioned a scene where the links grow so gigantic they tower over Scrooge and Marley.

[–] Costumer (1786) 2 years ago

Sorry, misunderstood. No, nothing like that ever happened. The chain is just wrapped and wrapped around him. The links are quite large and, as I recall, he does collapse from the weight. But they don't change size or tower over Scrooge. Marley stands on the sidelines, amused with Scrooge being changed up.

Marley's attitude here is different then his initial appearance. In the Hell scene he is almost gleeful about Scrooge's fate. Why is a question. The Hell scene could be interpreted as Scrooge having a horrible dream before he wakes up. Or it could be part of the whole vision, revealing what would be his ultimate fate if he doesn't change.

[–] Mikey (404) 2 years ago

The scene with Marley and Scrooge in hell is in the original theatrical release and in all commercially released versions of the film. However, the scene was usually cut for network TV showings, so you might be viewing a copy made from a TV presentation. I remember finding that scene quite scary when I was a child, but now I realize it is played for laughs; Finney and Guinness appear to be having a great time hamming it up. The scene was most likely added because when you have one of the greatest English actors of all time in your film (Guinness), you want to use him as much as possible.