The Stingiest Man in Town

On another Scrooge Sunday edition of the Advent Calendar House, we fly back in time to 1978 to revisit Rankin/Bass’s turn at “A Christmas Carol,” “The Stingiest Man in Town.”

On This Episode

1. Mike Westfall (@fallwestmike), your ghost host of Christmases Past and Present.
2. Michael DiGiovanni (@theatomicgeeks), the scariest door knocker in all of Scroogedom, from the Classic Film Jerks, Pop Culture Retrofit, and The Atomic Geeks podcasts.
3. Michael May (@michaelmaycomix), hobo insect taking a break from rockin’ and rollin’ all week long, from his Adventure Blog and the Sleigh Bell Cinema, Mystery Movie Night, and AfterLUNCH podcasts.

Topics and Tangents

1. This is specifically an adaptation of a 1956 production on “The Alcoa Hour,” starring Basil Rathbone as Scrooge. Rankin/Bass uses most of the songs from that special.
2. The original “Stingiest Man in Town” on Sleigh Bell Cinema.
3. Michael May’s annual coverage of scenes from this and other “Christmas Carol” adaptations.
4. Sonny Melendrez (Bob Cratchit) in “You and Me, Kid.”
5. This has my all-time favorite, super creepy version of Marley’s face appearing on Scrooge’s door knocker.
6. This special gets older Belle completely wrong.
7. Tiny Tim has skinny robot legs.
8. The eldest Cratchit sibling, Martha, is Debbie Clinger of the Clinger Sisters, a.k.a. Superchick from the “Krofft Supershow” host band Kaptain Kool and the Kongs.
9. Rankin/Bass should have made a south seas-themed special called “Christmas Island.”
10. Scrooge’s grave morphing into a giant devil face is a reminder in hindsight that this special was animated in Japan by Topcraft, the predecessor to Studio Ghibli.

Previous Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• The First Easter Rabbit (Season 1, Bonus)
• ’Twas the Night Before Christmas (Season 2, Episode 3)
• Mickey’s Christmas Carol (Season 3, Episode 1)
• Cricket on the Hearth (Season 3, Episode 4)
• Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (Season 4, Episode 2)
• The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold (Season 4, Episode 9)

“The Stingiest Man in Town” © 1978 Rankin/Bass Productions.

Commercial Break: Glad Trash Bags Commercial starring Tom Bosley, 1981.

The Advent Calendar House is on the web at adventcalendar.house, on Twitter @adventcalhouse, and part of the Christmas Podcast Network.