Scrooge (1951)
The definitive version of Charles Dickens classic Christmas tale of redemption featuring the definitive performance of Ebenezer Scrooge by the brilliant Alistair Sim.
The film is quite creepy to begin with. The striking black and white visuals and jarring music making the appearance of the ghosts quite frightening to begin with which in turn makes the film more faithful to Dickens original ghost story than the subsequent watered down versions that were to come over the next decades.
Sim's performance is so good you actually believe it as he slowly redeems himself and gets a second chance which it appears he can't quite believe he deserved. It's then that Sim's Scrooge goes from mean spirited old man to a delightful grandfather figure and a staple of Christmas viewing for years and decades to come.
Highly recommended.