1 00:00:50,908 --> 00:00:53,476 Oh, hurry up, Mr. Dickens! 2 00:00:53,478 --> 00:00:55,878 Hey, I paid 50 cents for this! 3 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,247 - Come on, Dickens! - Come on, Charley! 4 00:01:00,283 --> 00:01:03,284 We want Charles! 5 00:01:03,286 --> 00:01:05,022 I want to see Charles! 6 00:01:06,323 --> 00:01:08,389 Where is Dickens? 7 00:01:30,147 --> 00:01:31,880 My dear Forster, 8 00:01:31,882 --> 00:01:33,848 how can I give you the faintest notion 9 00:01:33,850 --> 00:01:35,918 of my reception here in America? 10 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,820 Five minutes. Five minutes. 11 00:01:38,822 --> 00:01:42,190 Of the crowds that pour in and out the whole day, 12 00:01:42,192 --> 00:01:44,794 of the people that line the streets when I go out. 13 00:01:53,236 --> 00:01:55,004 Places, please. Places! 14 00:01:55,006 --> 00:01:56,104 Hello, Charley. 15 00:01:56,106 --> 00:01:58,841 Of the balls, dinners, 16 00:01:58,843 --> 00:02:02,344 speeches, parties, assemblies without end. 17 00:02:02,346 --> 00:02:06,248 There never was a king or emperor upon the earth so cheered. 18 00:02:08,953 --> 00:02:11,887 Tonight, live on stage... 19 00:02:11,889 --> 00:02:13,189 Ready? 20 00:02:13,191 --> 00:02:16,424 - the great magician of our time... - Ready. 21 00:02:16,426 --> 00:02:18,828 whose wand is a book! 22 00:02:18,830 --> 00:02:20,963 The Shakespeare of the novel. 23 00:02:20,965 --> 00:02:23,165 The people's author. 24 00:02:23,167 --> 00:02:26,869 The great and marvelous Boz! 25 00:02:26,871 --> 00:02:30,371 Ladies and gentlemen, 26 00:02:30,373 --> 00:02:33,475 Mr. Charles Dickens! 27 00:02:33,477 --> 00:02:37,015 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! 28 00:02:40,016 --> 00:02:41,616 Thank you! Thank you! 29 00:02:41,618 --> 00:02:44,453 Look, it's him! It's really him! 30 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,927 - Hey there, Boz! - Whoo! 31 00:02:51,929 --> 00:02:55,030 Dear friends! Dear friends! 32 00:02:55,032 --> 00:02:59,067 You have welcomed me to your country with such open arms that I fear I... 33 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,513 Americans are friendly, 34 00:03:12,515 --> 00:03:15,250 earnest, hospitable, 35 00:03:15,252 --> 00:03:17,521 kind, frank, accomplished, 36 00:03:18,656 --> 00:03:21,155 warm-hearted, fervent, 37 00:03:21,157 --> 00:03:23,561 and... enthusiastic. 38 00:03:25,395 --> 00:03:27,031 I can't wait to get home. 39 00:04:53,184 --> 00:04:55,550 Mrs. Fisk, I have told you repeatedly 40 00:04:55,552 --> 00:04:57,519 not to disturb me when I am working. 41 00:05:00,690 --> 00:05:04,425 Oh, I beg your pardon, sir. Only, Mr. Forster is here. 42 00:05:04,427 --> 00:05:06,060 Forster. Yes, of course. 43 00:05:06,062 --> 00:05:08,230 As you can see, Mr. Forster, 44 00:05:08,232 --> 00:05:10,598 we're having all-new wallpaper put in, French, 45 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,634 new doors, new door knocker, 46 00:05:12,636 --> 00:05:14,702 new roller blinds for the windows, 47 00:05:14,704 --> 00:05:19,007 new bookcases in the library, a new chandelier, 48 00:05:19,009 --> 00:05:21,243 all chosen by Charles, of course. 49 00:05:21,245 --> 00:05:23,611 And the staircase is to be painted green. 50 00:05:23,613 --> 00:05:26,548 - Though not too dull a green, Signor Mazzini. - Ma certo. Sì. Capisce. 51 00:05:26,550 --> 00:05:28,517 You know how Charles is. 52 00:05:28,519 --> 00:05:31,156 - Only the best for Mr. Dickens. - Yes. 53 00:05:32,288 --> 00:05:36,257 Mr. Forster, if you'll allow me, 54 00:05:36,259 --> 00:05:38,260 how do things stand between you and Miss Wigmore? 55 00:05:38,262 --> 00:05:39,762 Oh, splendid, Mrs. Dickens. 56 00:05:39,764 --> 00:05:42,798 In fact, I intend to ask her to bestow upon me 57 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,703 the greatest happiness a man can ever know. 58 00:05:46,202 --> 00:05:48,570 Well, to marry me. 59 00:05:50,408 --> 00:05:52,440 Oh, I'm very glad to hear that. 60 00:05:52,442 --> 00:05:55,476 Forster! Forster, Forster, Forster. So sorry! 61 00:05:55,478 --> 00:05:57,579 I completely lost track of the time. 62 00:05:57,581 --> 00:05:59,048 - Shall we? - Charles. 63 00:05:59,050 --> 00:06:00,615 - You need to pay Signor Mazzini. - Hmm? 64 00:06:00,617 --> 00:06:02,584 For the parlor mantle. 65 00:06:02,586 --> 00:06:04,752 - How much? - Seventy-five pounds. 66 00:06:04,754 --> 00:06:08,156 Seventy-five? What's it made of, gold? 67 00:06:08,158 --> 00:06:11,360 Carrara marble, Signor. Finest quality. 68 00:06:11,362 --> 00:06:13,394 No gentleman would accept less. 69 00:06:13,396 --> 00:06:15,630 No? Well, quite. 70 00:06:15,632 --> 00:06:18,469 Well, I will have the money for you when I return, Signor Mazzini. 71 00:06:20,071 --> 00:06:21,239 Good day, Mrs. Dickens. 72 00:06:22,173 --> 00:06:23,605 Good day, Mr. Forster. 73 00:06:27,812 --> 00:06:31,079 Ah! Come in! 74 00:06:31,081 --> 00:06:33,082 Good-bye, little strangers! 75 00:06:33,084 --> 00:06:34,315 Bye! 76 00:06:34,317 --> 00:06:36,721 - Say good-bye to Mr. Forster, children! - Bye! 77 00:06:39,189 --> 00:06:42,091 - I'll hail us a cab. - What? No, it's a waste of money. We'll walk. 78 00:06:42,093 --> 00:06:44,093 It's damned expensive being a gentleman. 79 00:06:44,095 --> 00:06:45,526 Forster, this meeting... 80 00:06:45,528 --> 00:06:47,296 - Aye! I know my job. - Good. 81 00:06:47,298 --> 00:06:49,565 - And the money? - Leave the publishers to me. 82 00:06:49,567 --> 00:06:51,433 Good. 83 00:06:51,435 --> 00:06:53,637 Slow down! What's the hurry? 84 00:06:58,408 --> 00:06:59,875 Charles Bloody Dickens, huh? 85 00:06:59,877 --> 00:07:03,545 The best-selling bloody author in the history of English bloody literature. 86 00:07:03,547 --> 00:07:07,315 Three of his books you have published in the last year and a half. Three! 87 00:07:07,317 --> 00:07:09,183 So where's the money? 88 00:07:09,185 --> 00:07:12,654 Mr. Forster, like you, we are as puzzled as the Egyptians in their fog. 89 00:07:12,656 --> 00:07:14,723 - How's that? - Martin Chuzzlewit. 90 00:07:14,725 --> 00:07:18,459 A masterpiece of the picaresque genre, and yet... 91 00:07:18,461 --> 00:07:20,796 Barnaby Rudge. A fine book. An important subject. 92 00:07:20,798 --> 00:07:22,764 But, alas... 93 00:07:22,766 --> 00:07:25,233 And the travel book, American Notes. 94 00:07:25,235 --> 00:07:27,668 Perhaps a little too candid for our American cousins. 95 00:07:27,670 --> 00:07:30,171 No joke. I heard they were burning copies of it in the streets. 96 00:07:31,408 --> 00:07:34,308 Well, they're mad as snakes, the Yanks. 97 00:07:34,310 --> 00:07:37,613 But what about this 50 pound a month you're withholding from his royalties? 98 00:07:37,615 --> 00:07:39,581 What is the explanation for that? 99 00:07:39,583 --> 00:07:42,885 You may remember that when Mr. Dickens approached us about the tour to America, 100 00:07:42,887 --> 00:07:45,521 we were pleased to provide him with an interest-free loan. 101 00:07:45,523 --> 00:07:48,490 With the provision that, in the unlikely case of profits 102 00:07:48,492 --> 00:07:50,858 being inadequate to certain repayments... 103 00:07:50,860 --> 00:07:54,396 What? So he's had a couple of flops? Well, who hasn't? Huh? 104 00:07:54,398 --> 00:07:56,264 Your publishing house wouldn't exist without this man. 105 00:07:56,266 --> 00:07:58,834 What about an advance? 106 00:07:58,836 --> 00:08:01,736 - On? - A new book. 107 00:08:01,738 --> 00:08:03,440 You have a new book in mind? 108 00:08:05,809 --> 00:08:08,343 Yes. Of course he does. 109 00:08:08,345 --> 00:08:11,647 Well, in that case, I mean we'd obviously love to consider it. 110 00:08:11,649 --> 00:08:14,451 - Consider? - That is to say, if we like it. 111 00:08:15,685 --> 00:08:18,322 - If? - I'm sure that we will. 112 00:08:20,790 --> 00:08:22,591 Gentlemen, I bid you good day. 113 00:08:22,593 --> 00:08:26,228 Mr. Forster, please, we had no intention of causing offense. 114 00:08:26,230 --> 00:08:27,663 Well, he's in a fettle now. 115 00:08:27,665 --> 00:08:29,865 I'll give him a day to calm down. 116 00:08:29,867 --> 00:08:32,700 And then... It's most awkward. 117 00:08:32,702 --> 00:08:35,337 He was in last week, 118 00:08:35,339 --> 00:08:37,238 in some difficulty. 119 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:38,574 Again. 120 00:08:38,576 --> 00:08:40,876 No, that's not possible. He's in the countryside. 121 00:08:40,878 --> 00:08:43,214 He's under strict instructions to remain there. 122 00:08:45,515 --> 00:08:46,750 What is it this time? 123 00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,962 "I need money immediately or productive of fatal consequences, 124 00:08:59,964 --> 00:09:02,797 I beseech you to do the needful..." 125 00:09:02,799 --> 00:09:06,803 He's been offering Mr. Dickens's autographs for sale in the newspapers. 126 00:09:12,308 --> 00:09:15,477 - How much did you give him? - Forty-five, all told. 127 00:09:15,479 --> 00:09:16,447 Forty-five? 128 00:09:18,749 --> 00:09:22,316 Well, I'll pay it all back. 129 00:09:22,318 --> 00:09:24,521 But not a word of this to Charles, do you hear? 130 00:09:38,701 --> 00:09:40,701 "What's the secret?" they say. 131 00:09:40,703 --> 00:09:42,206 There is no secret. I sit down... 132 00:09:44,942 --> 00:09:48,910 - Charles. What are you doing here? - I'm hiding from Thackeray. 133 00:09:48,912 --> 00:09:51,345 They absolutely come pouring out of me. 134 00:09:51,347 --> 00:09:53,781 He'll no doubt want to commiserate me on my Chuzzlewit reviews, 135 00:09:53,783 --> 00:09:55,783 which he will quote by heart. 136 00:09:55,785 --> 00:09:57,287 Come on. 137 00:10:07,664 --> 00:10:11,699 I am clammin' for some scran. Where's Robertson? 138 00:10:11,701 --> 00:10:13,602 Why do we come here, hmm? 139 00:10:13,604 --> 00:10:17,339 The service is terrible. The food is inedible. The fees keep going up. 140 00:10:17,341 --> 00:10:19,344 It's full of... 141 00:10:23,413 --> 00:10:24,945 Gentlemen. 142 00:10:24,947 --> 00:10:26,714 You're not Robertson. 143 00:10:26,716 --> 00:10:28,586 The name is Marley, sir. 144 00:10:29,886 --> 00:10:32,753 - Marley? Marley with an "E"? - Yes, sir. 145 00:10:34,825 --> 00:10:37,658 Uh, oh, don't worry. He collects names. 146 00:10:37,660 --> 00:10:39,895 We'll have some oysters and a bottle of champagne. 147 00:10:39,897 --> 00:10:41,466 Very good, sir. 148 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,633 - Champagne? - We're celebrating. 149 00:10:45,635 --> 00:10:48,369 - Celebrating? - Hello, Thackeray. 150 00:10:48,371 --> 00:10:50,571 - How are you? - Tolerable. 151 00:10:50,573 --> 00:10:52,074 I thank ye. 152 00:10:52,076 --> 00:10:54,776 Charles, I must say I am relieved to see you out and about. 153 00:10:54,778 --> 00:10:56,777 Relieved? 154 00:10:56,779 --> 00:10:59,781 You know, after those vile things they wrote about Chuzzlewit. 155 00:10:59,783 --> 00:11:02,584 I won't even call them reviews. 156 00:11:02,586 --> 00:11:04,685 - No matter. I never read them. - Quite right. 157 00:11:04,687 --> 00:11:07,457 Scandalous what one is allowed to print nowadays. 158 00:11:15,532 --> 00:11:17,531 Go on. What did they say? 159 00:11:17,533 --> 00:11:20,901 "Dull, vapid, and vulgar. 160 00:11:20,903 --> 00:11:25,806 Not a single character capable of exciting the reader's sympathies." 161 00:11:25,808 --> 00:11:28,776 I certainly didn't think it was vulgar. 162 00:11:28,778 --> 00:11:31,079 Oh, look. There's Macready. 163 00:11:31,081 --> 00:11:34,583 Poor thing. His Macbeth was absolutely shredded in the Times. 164 00:11:34,585 --> 00:11:36,921 I must go and give him my condolences. 165 00:11:40,657 --> 00:11:42,690 I'm sick of London. 166 00:11:42,692 --> 00:11:44,425 It's overcrowded, overpriced... 167 00:11:44,427 --> 00:11:46,795 - You love this town. - No place for a man without money. 168 00:11:46,797 --> 00:11:48,930 Not to mention the bloody fog. 169 00:11:48,932 --> 00:11:51,836 But it's your inspiration, your what-do-you-call-it... your magic lamp. 170 00:11:58,174 --> 00:12:00,441 I tell you, Forster, my lamp's gone out. 171 00:12:00,443 --> 00:12:02,511 I've run out of ideas. 172 00:12:02,513 --> 00:12:04,045 I feel old. 173 00:12:07,259 --> 00:12:08,693 Old? You're a puppy. 174 00:12:10,052 --> 00:12:12,820 You're exhausted, that's all. Too many speeches. 175 00:12:12,822 --> 00:12:15,456 I've got another one tomorrow for the Children's Refuge. 176 00:12:15,458 --> 00:12:16,966 Well, you have to learn to say no. 177 00:12:16,991 --> 00:12:21,139 How can I say no if I can be useful, if I can lighten the burden of another? 178 00:12:21,164 --> 00:12:24,031 Well, you have to, what with your new commission to think about. 179 00:12:24,033 --> 00:12:26,801 Forster, I just told you that... sorry. New commission? 180 00:12:26,803 --> 00:12:29,905 It's from Chapman and Hall, for your new book. 181 00:12:29,907 --> 00:12:32,473 I've told them you'll have the first chapter done by the end of the year. 182 00:12:32,475 --> 00:12:35,109 You like a deadline. 183 00:12:35,111 --> 00:12:37,881 - Do you mind telling me what it's about? - I'll leave that up to you. 184 00:13:30,567 --> 00:13:33,734 And on Christmas Eve, they say, 185 00:13:33,736 --> 00:13:35,871 the fairy mounds open wide 186 00:13:35,873 --> 00:13:38,839 and the fire spirits pour into the night. 187 00:13:38,841 --> 00:13:41,675 And then the Lord of the Dead 188 00:13:41,677 --> 00:13:44,813 leads all of the spirits into a wild hunt. 189 00:13:44,815 --> 00:13:46,214 And he calls to them... 190 00:14:09,907 --> 00:14:12,641 - Do we have a new housemaid? - What? 191 00:14:12,643 --> 00:14:15,075 Uh, yes. Tara. 192 00:14:15,077 --> 00:14:18,081 She's Irish. Charley adores her. 193 00:14:22,653 --> 00:14:23,921 What are you doing? 194 00:14:25,688 --> 00:14:28,290 - It was only a stub. - Another hour in that. 195 00:14:28,292 --> 00:14:31,660 - Oh, really, Charles. - If you carry on like this, we'll end up in the poor house. 196 00:14:31,662 --> 00:14:33,328 - You're funny. - I'm not joking. 197 00:14:33,330 --> 00:14:35,095 Charles! 198 00:14:35,097 --> 00:14:38,233 You give money to every and any beggar in the street. 199 00:14:38,235 --> 00:14:42,036 You insist we move to a bigger house and order in all new fixtures, 200 00:14:42,038 --> 00:14:44,138 and then you complain about a new candle. 201 00:14:44,140 --> 00:14:46,877 Debt is an ogre, Kate. If you're not careful, it can eat you up. 202 00:14:49,779 --> 00:14:51,166 Are we in trouble? 203 00:14:51,782 --> 00:14:53,400 No, of course not. 204 00:14:54,051 --> 00:14:55,686 Then what? 205 00:14:56,653 --> 00:14:57,700 Nothing. 206 00:14:58,889 --> 00:15:02,125 I'm just sick of writing tooth and nail for bread, that's all. 207 00:15:04,995 --> 00:15:07,896 - Should've become a journalist. - You hate the press. 208 00:15:07,898 --> 00:15:10,198 - Or a lawyer. - "The law is an ass." 209 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,267 I believe you wrote that. 210 00:15:12,269 --> 00:15:14,905 A hairdresser, then, in the Burlington Arcade. 211 00:15:16,306 --> 00:15:18,607 Do you know what I should have liked to be? 212 00:15:18,609 --> 00:15:20,050 An explorer, 213 00:15:20,644 --> 00:15:23,877 paddling a canoe somewhere in the wilds of Canada 214 00:15:23,879 --> 00:15:26,100 in a pair of buckskin breeches, 215 00:15:26,716 --> 00:15:28,782 all on my own. 216 00:15:28,784 --> 00:15:30,288 No nappies to change. 217 00:15:36,192 --> 00:15:37,727 By the way, dear, 218 00:15:38,861 --> 00:15:40,932 I... I saw the doctor today. 219 00:15:46,736 --> 00:15:48,637 Not another... little stranger. 220 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:50,200 Are you pleased? 221 00:15:50,740 --> 00:15:52,706 Well, of course. 222 00:15:55,879 --> 00:15:57,748 - Well, that's splendid. - Yes. 223 00:16:10,860 --> 00:16:14,764 I am a necromancer. 224 00:16:16,133 --> 00:16:17,868 Behold. 225 00:16:34,317 --> 00:16:36,751 And now... 226 00:16:49,308 --> 00:16:51,616 Charley. 227 00:16:52,101 --> 00:16:54,416 Charley, it's all right. 228 00:16:54,971 --> 00:16:56,366 I'm here. 229 00:17:14,223 --> 00:17:16,533 Mistress Chickenstalker! 230 00:17:17,193 --> 00:17:19,728 Mistress Chickenstalker, what has happened to your pinnie? 231 00:17:19,730 --> 00:17:21,729 You look as if you've been caught in a cyclone. 232 00:17:21,731 --> 00:17:23,016 That's much better. 233 00:17:23,333 --> 00:17:26,633 Master Corporal Skittles, sir. On your feet, sir! 234 00:17:33,210 --> 00:17:36,413 Ah, Lucifer Box. 235 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,317 Would you do me the honor? 236 00:17:41,384 --> 00:17:42,683 Good. 237 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:47,221 Ah, the Snodgering Blee. We meet at last. 238 00:17:47,223 --> 00:17:49,056 What's this? 239 00:17:49,058 --> 00:17:52,026 You have forgotten to wash behind your ear. 240 00:17:52,028 --> 00:17:54,362 Cor! 241 00:17:54,364 --> 00:17:57,201 Now you must be... don't... don't tell me. 242 00:17:58,367 --> 00:18:00,034 - Who is that? - Tara. 243 00:18:00,036 --> 00:18:01,916 Tara. Of course. 244 00:18:02,239 --> 00:18:04,439 I see you've made a conquest. 245 00:18:04,441 --> 00:18:06,940 What was that wonderful story I overheard you telling 246 00:18:06,942 --> 00:18:10,411 about fairy mounds and the fire spirits? 247 00:18:10,413 --> 00:18:14,882 Only a story my gran used to tell us, sir, back home in Ireland. 248 00:18:14,884 --> 00:18:16,985 She used to say that on Christmas Eve 249 00:18:16,987 --> 00:18:20,220 the veils between this world and the next thin out, 250 00:18:20,222 --> 00:18:23,894 and that's when the spirits cross over and walk among us. 251 00:18:25,194 --> 00:18:26,797 Do they indeed? 252 00:18:28,030 --> 00:18:29,250 Well, well, well. 253 00:18:30,366 --> 00:18:32,001 Christmas Eve. 254 00:18:40,442 --> 00:18:42,943 Thank you so much for coming. 255 00:18:42,945 --> 00:18:45,815 - It was such an interesting speech. - Thank you very much. 256 00:18:46,817 --> 00:18:49,083 - Your hat, sir. - Thank you. 257 00:18:49,085 --> 00:18:51,885 Oh, Mr. Dickens, it's such an honor to meet you. 258 00:18:51,887 --> 00:18:54,389 - We just adore your books. - No, we don't. 259 00:18:54,391 --> 00:18:58,026 - Well, I love them. - Nonsense. You just like a good cry. 260 00:18:58,028 --> 00:19:01,062 What is it you particularly object to in my books? 261 00:19:01,064 --> 00:19:04,097 Pickpockets, streetwalkers, charity boys. 262 00:19:04,099 --> 00:19:06,100 Those people don't belong in books. 263 00:19:06,102 --> 00:19:08,135 "Those people"? You mean, the poor? 264 00:19:08,137 --> 00:19:11,005 Look here, Mr. Dickens. I'm a self-made man. 265 00:19:11,007 --> 00:19:13,274 Pulled myself up by my own bootstraps. 266 00:19:13,276 --> 00:19:16,844 Never asked for anything from anyone that I wasn't willing to pay for. 267 00:19:16,846 --> 00:19:19,913 - Really? No help from anyone? - None. 268 00:19:19,915 --> 00:19:23,788 Well, Papa did give us a very small cotton mill when we were married. 269 00:19:26,189 --> 00:19:28,922 What do you suggest we do with "those people"? Hmm? 270 00:19:28,924 --> 00:19:30,126 Are there no workhouses? 271 00:19:32,863 --> 00:19:35,263 Do you know how many people would rather die than go there? 272 00:19:35,265 --> 00:19:37,065 Then they'd better do it 273 00:19:37,067 --> 00:19:39,303 and reduce the surplus population. 274 00:19:44,941 --> 00:19:46,576 Can you spare a bob, please? 275 00:19:56,353 --> 00:19:59,557 Care to buy, sir? Hard workers. 276 00:20:02,659 --> 00:20:04,124 Fit any chimney. 277 00:20:04,126 --> 00:20:06,196 You f... 278 00:20:13,435 --> 00:20:15,338 Quick! Come on! In here! 279 00:20:18,909 --> 00:20:20,845 Down here now! 280 00:20:22,979 --> 00:20:24,347 - Come on! - No! 281 00:20:34,190 --> 00:20:37,225 I lift mine eyes unto the hills 282 00:20:37,227 --> 00:20:40,094 from whence cometh my help. 283 00:20:40,096 --> 00:20:43,297 My help cometh even from the Lord, 284 00:20:43,299 --> 00:20:45,533 who hath made heaven and earth... 285 00:20:45,535 --> 00:20:49,437 All right, all right. I'm not paying you by the hour. Skip to the end. 286 00:20:49,439 --> 00:20:52,206 Rest eternal, grant to him, O Lord. Let light perpetual shine upon him. 287 00:20:52,208 --> 00:20:54,107 - Amen. Amen. - Amen. 288 00:20:54,109 --> 00:20:56,009 Shame, innit? 289 00:20:56,011 --> 00:20:59,247 All that money and no one here to mourn him except Old Scratch there. 290 00:20:59,249 --> 00:21:02,150 - Who's that? - His business partner. 291 00:21:02,152 --> 00:21:04,952 The meanest cur on two legs, so they say. 292 00:21:04,954 --> 00:21:06,890 Aye, right. Come on. 293 00:21:46,766 --> 00:21:47,464 Ah... humbug. 294 00:21:57,507 --> 00:21:58,642 "Humbug." 295 00:22:02,545 --> 00:22:05,013 "Are there no workhouses? 296 00:22:05,015 --> 00:22:06,447 Well, then they'd better do it 297 00:22:06,449 --> 00:22:08,649 and decrease the surplus population." 298 00:22:08,651 --> 00:22:12,423 "Old Scratch. All that money. Shame." 299 00:22:14,423 --> 00:22:16,150 Good evening, sir. 300 00:22:16,792 --> 00:22:18,127 Yes, it is, Mrs. Fisk. 301 00:22:19,528 --> 00:22:21,528 - Charles? - Humbug! Humbug! 302 00:22:21,530 --> 00:22:24,134 Humbug! Ha-ha! 303 00:22:30,773 --> 00:22:34,074 It's about a businessman. Or a factory owner. A miser. 304 00:22:34,076 --> 00:22:38,179 His partner dies. He doesn't shed a tear. Thinks only of the money. 305 00:22:38,181 --> 00:22:39,713 And on Christmas Eve... 306 00:22:39,715 --> 00:22:43,351 On Christmas Eve, he meets some kind of... of... 307 00:22:43,353 --> 00:22:47,154 of supernatural guides, or spirits, possibly, 308 00:22:47,156 --> 00:22:49,257 who in the course of one night 309 00:22:49,259 --> 00:22:52,794 teach him what a miserable, loathsome, selfish toad he is. 310 00:22:52,796 --> 00:22:55,065 It's a short book. Short and sharp. 311 00:22:56,199 --> 00:22:57,498 A hammer blow to the heart 312 00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:00,069 of this smug, self-satisfied age. 313 00:23:06,342 --> 00:23:08,375 It's a comedy. 314 00:23:08,377 --> 00:23:09,321 Brilliant. 315 00:23:11,314 --> 00:23:13,780 - Does it have a title? - Yes. 316 00:23:13,782 --> 00:23:16,352 Humbug: A Miser's Lament. 317 00:23:19,689 --> 00:23:22,190 A Christmas Ghost Story... Christmas Song... 318 00:23:22,192 --> 00:23:23,824 Christmas Ballad. Something like that. 319 00:23:23,826 --> 00:23:27,828 Intriguing, really. Ah, just one question. 320 00:23:27,830 --> 00:23:29,198 Why Christmas? 321 00:23:31,134 --> 00:23:33,534 - Well, why not? - Does anybody really celebrate it anymore? 322 00:23:33,536 --> 00:23:36,170 Apart from our clerk, who never misses an opportunity 323 00:23:36,172 --> 00:23:38,639 to take a day off... with pay. 324 00:23:38,641 --> 00:23:42,776 More or less an opportunity for picking a man's pocket every 25th of December. 325 00:23:42,778 --> 00:23:46,213 What we mean to say, Mr. Dickens, is, 326 00:23:46,215 --> 00:23:48,751 not much of a market for Christmas books, what? 327 00:23:54,190 --> 00:23:58,625 It is a Christmas book because Christmas is, or ought to be, the one time of year 328 00:23:58,627 --> 00:24:02,563 when men and women open their shut-up hearts 329 00:24:02,565 --> 00:24:06,467 and think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave 330 00:24:06,469 --> 00:24:08,568 and not another race of creatures altogether. 331 00:24:08,570 --> 00:24:10,837 We are already halfway through October. 332 00:24:10,839 --> 00:24:14,174 Even if you had already written it, we couldn't possibly get it illustrated, 333 00:24:14,176 --> 00:24:17,344 typeset, printed and bound, advertised and distributed to shops 334 00:24:17,346 --> 00:24:18,816 in only six weeks. 335 00:24:21,483 --> 00:24:22,586 Well... 336 00:24:23,752 --> 00:24:25,585 thank you for your opinion. 337 00:24:25,587 --> 00:24:26,690 Mr. Dickens! 338 00:24:30,593 --> 00:24:33,527 Tie it off now. That's it. 339 00:24:33,529 --> 00:24:37,864 Scaly-headed vultures. Money-grubbing, scum-sucking... 340 00:24:37,866 --> 00:24:40,567 - But, Charles... - I'll do it myself. 341 00:24:40,569 --> 00:24:43,504 - What? - I'll pay for it myself... all of it. 342 00:24:43,506 --> 00:24:45,672 Illustrations, everything. I'll distribute it myself. 343 00:24:45,674 --> 00:24:49,209 But, Charles, this is madness. Think of your finances, huh? 344 00:24:49,211 --> 00:24:51,379 Come on. We'll go back. We'll renegotiate. 345 00:24:51,381 --> 00:24:53,280 No shame in it. It's just business. 346 00:24:53,282 --> 00:24:56,449 Why throw everything away for a minor holiday? 347 00:24:56,451 --> 00:24:59,353 No, I've never felt so strongly about anything in my life, John. 348 00:24:59,355 --> 00:25:01,455 You can help me or not, as you wish. 349 00:25:01,457 --> 00:25:03,824 - Where are you off to? - Going to raise some capital. 350 00:25:03,826 --> 00:25:05,593 One thing I've learned from my father... 351 00:25:05,595 --> 00:25:07,961 people will believe anything if you're properly dressed. 352 00:25:07,963 --> 00:25:10,698 Mr. Trabb! Your finest cravats! 353 00:25:20,676 --> 00:25:22,776 Nothing like the air of the metropolis 354 00:25:22,778 --> 00:25:25,313 to put color in your cheeks, eh, Mother? 355 00:25:36,226 --> 00:25:39,994 There you are, sir. Best quality. A-1 condition. 356 00:25:39,996 --> 00:25:42,263 And look inside. 357 00:25:42,265 --> 00:25:44,334 Autographed by the author. 358 00:25:46,536 --> 00:25:49,539 "To Papa. Love, Charles." 359 00:25:52,008 --> 00:25:54,644 Five bob. 360 00:25:55,621 --> 00:25:56,916 Hello, old dog. 361 00:25:59,548 --> 00:26:03,017 Perhaps we could, um, strike a bargain. 362 00:26:03,019 --> 00:26:05,923 - Hello. - Good with children, is it? 363 00:26:14,263 --> 00:26:15,565 Too much? 364 00:26:17,532 --> 00:26:20,934 Aha! Mr. Dickens and Mr. Forster. 365 00:26:20,936 --> 00:26:23,270 How do you? 366 00:26:23,272 --> 00:26:25,408 Very well, thank you, Mr. Haddock. 367 00:26:26,476 --> 00:26:27,874 Mittens. 368 00:26:29,578 --> 00:26:32,380 You are a bad boy. 369 00:26:41,023 --> 00:26:43,990 Now, how may I be of service to you? 370 00:26:43,992 --> 00:26:46,459 Well, sir, it's about the loan. 371 00:26:46,461 --> 00:26:49,398 There was something I wanted to tell you. What was it? 372 00:26:50,799 --> 00:26:54,035 It was some rather good news, if I recall correctly. 373 00:26:54,037 --> 00:26:55,670 What, uh... 374 00:26:59,409 --> 00:27:00,674 Biscuit? 375 00:27:03,566 --> 00:27:04,216 Well... thank you. 376 00:27:13,990 --> 00:27:16,590 Now, what was I, uh... what... 377 00:27:16,592 --> 00:27:20,026 Uh, you said something about good news? 378 00:27:20,028 --> 00:27:22,063 Possibly about the lawsuit? 379 00:27:23,283 --> 00:27:24,731 Ah, the lawsuit. 380 00:27:24,733 --> 00:27:26,901 Yes, the copyright infringement. 381 00:27:26,903 --> 00:27:29,636 Oliver Twisted. "As re-originated from the original." 382 00:27:29,638 --> 00:27:32,038 Yes! Ha! I have it here. 383 00:27:35,644 --> 00:27:38,978 Good news indeed. We won. 384 00:27:38,980 --> 00:27:41,882 The fine was set at £2,200. 385 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:46,720 The bad news is, the defendants have no money. 386 00:27:46,722 --> 00:27:48,625 - Ah. - Bankrupt. 387 00:27:49,726 --> 00:27:51,728 Disappointing, I know. 388 00:27:54,463 --> 00:27:57,030 But we'll have them arrested, throw them into debtor's prison. 389 00:27:57,032 --> 00:27:58,599 No. No, no. 390 00:27:58,601 --> 00:27:59,803 No? 391 00:28:01,371 --> 00:28:02,806 As you wish. 392 00:28:03,705 --> 00:28:05,940 In the meantime, 393 00:28:05,942 --> 00:28:08,077 if you would be so good... 394 00:28:15,718 --> 00:28:17,321 here's my bill. 395 00:28:23,125 --> 00:28:26,427 No rush. Next week will be fine. 396 00:28:27,997 --> 00:28:32,600 Tell you what. Why don't we defer this until... January? 397 00:28:32,602 --> 00:28:35,469 And while we're at it, perhaps you might add a little bit more. 398 00:28:35,471 --> 00:28:37,171 I'll make it worth your while. 399 00:28:37,173 --> 00:28:38,674 More? 400 00:28:41,176 --> 00:28:43,413 You wish to borrow more? 401 00:28:46,048 --> 00:28:47,683 Not very much. Just... 402 00:28:49,085 --> 00:28:52,486 £300... till January. 403 00:28:52,488 --> 00:28:54,889 I think we can increase your loan 404 00:28:54,891 --> 00:28:58,159 at, shall we say, 25 percent? 405 00:28:58,161 --> 00:28:59,696 God's teeth! 406 00:29:01,899 --> 00:29:03,033 Thank you. 407 00:29:06,836 --> 00:29:08,739 Charles. Charles. 408 00:29:09,939 --> 00:29:11,838 - Are you all right? - Yeah. 409 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:13,606 Never better. 410 00:29:13,608 --> 00:29:15,745 Now find me an illustrator. 411 00:29:22,117 --> 00:29:26,786 He was a tight-fisted, hand to the grindstone 412 00:29:26,788 --> 00:29:30,557 old... scratch. 413 00:29:32,662 --> 00:29:34,597 Scrounger. 414 00:29:35,565 --> 00:29:36,732 He was a... 415 00:29:38,134 --> 00:29:41,137 covetous old sinner. 416 00:29:43,038 --> 00:29:44,604 Name! 417 00:29:44,606 --> 00:29:46,006 Shh. 418 00:29:46,008 --> 00:29:48,642 Screwpull! Scrabbly. 419 00:29:48,644 --> 00:29:49,983 Name! Ah! 420 00:29:50,980 --> 00:29:52,846 Well, go on. He won't bite. 421 00:29:52,848 --> 00:29:55,149 Screwpull. 422 00:30:15,938 --> 00:30:16,871 Scrimple! 423 00:30:17,455 --> 00:30:20,274 You're... What are you doing in here? 424 00:30:20,276 --> 00:30:22,575 I've just come to see to the fire, sir. 425 00:30:22,577 --> 00:30:25,578 I'm not to be interrupted under any circumstances! Do you hear? 426 00:30:25,580 --> 00:30:28,048 I beg your pardon, sir. It won't happen again. 427 00:30:28,683 --> 00:30:30,619 Wait. What's that in your pocket? 428 00:30:37,692 --> 00:30:41,094 Varney the Vampire, or The Feast of Blood. 429 00:30:41,096 --> 00:30:44,566 You won't tell Mrs. Fisk, will ya? She'll think I was shirkin'. 430 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,903 - Where did you learn to read? - My mum taught me. 431 00:30:48,671 --> 00:30:50,069 But then she died 432 00:30:50,071 --> 00:30:52,074 and I had to go to the Grubber. 433 00:30:53,576 --> 00:30:54,783 The workhouse? 434 00:30:59,048 --> 00:31:03,116 - Is it any good? - Well, yes, sir. Thrilling. 435 00:31:04,987 --> 00:31:07,990 Tell you what. I'll make you a trade. 436 00:31:11,693 --> 00:31:14,161 Varney the Vampire for... 437 00:31:14,163 --> 00:31:15,895 Uh, where is it? 438 00:31:21,069 --> 00:31:23,170 Aladdin and His Magic Lamp. 439 00:31:23,172 --> 00:31:25,038 Oh, my. 440 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,240 Read it. Let me know what you think. 441 00:31:27,242 --> 00:31:29,144 Thank you, sir. 442 00:31:38,788 --> 00:31:40,621 Who is Scrimple? 443 00:31:40,623 --> 00:31:42,021 Hmm? Scrimple? 444 00:31:42,023 --> 00:31:44,924 - When I come in, you were saying... - Oh! 445 00:31:44,926 --> 00:31:48,761 It's just a name for a story I'm concocting. 446 00:31:48,763 --> 00:31:52,583 Get the name right and then, if you're lucky, the character will appear. 447 00:31:55,738 --> 00:31:56,972 He's not here yet. 448 00:31:58,974 --> 00:32:01,877 Scrantish? 449 00:32:03,945 --> 00:32:06,148 Scrarmer. 450 00:32:08,049 --> 00:32:09,382 Come on. 451 00:32:09,384 --> 00:32:12,686 Scrunge. 452 00:32:12,688 --> 00:32:14,622 Aw, come on! 453 00:32:14,624 --> 00:32:16,026 Come on, you old sinner! 454 00:32:18,326 --> 00:32:19,996 Scrooge! 455 00:32:21,696 --> 00:32:25,132 Shut the window! Do you think I'm made of money? 456 00:32:25,134 --> 00:32:27,634 Mr. Scrooge. 457 00:32:27,636 --> 00:32:31,037 - How delightful to meet you, sir. - Sorry I can't say the same. 458 00:32:31,039 --> 00:32:33,774 Come now. Don't be standoffish. We ought to be friends. 459 00:32:33,776 --> 00:32:35,742 - Don't have friends. Don't need 'em. - Ah. 460 00:32:35,744 --> 00:32:36,933 Naturally. 461 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:39,747 - I know. Let's play a game. - Don't like games. 462 00:32:39,749 --> 00:32:41,748 Well, humor me. 463 00:32:41,750 --> 00:32:45,919 What do you think of when I say the word... "darkness"? 464 00:32:45,921 --> 00:32:47,190 Cheap. 465 00:32:48,223 --> 00:32:50,125 Love. - Swindle. 466 00:32:51,794 --> 00:32:53,830 - Money. - Security. 467 00:32:55,397 --> 00:32:57,965 - Children. - Useless. 468 00:32:57,967 --> 00:33:00,070 - Workhouse. - Useful. 469 00:33:03,172 --> 00:33:04,307 Christmas. 470 00:33:07,676 --> 00:33:09,111 Christmas? 471 00:33:10,413 --> 00:33:11,847 That's right. 472 00:33:16,117 --> 00:33:18,786 Help! Help! Get it away! 473 00:33:18,788 --> 00:33:20,754 Away! 474 00:33:22,424 --> 00:33:24,091 What is going on? 475 00:33:24,093 --> 00:33:25,992 Get it away, the filthy thing. 476 00:33:25,994 --> 00:33:28,194 Come on, Grip, old chap. Back in the cage. 477 00:33:28,196 --> 00:33:30,130 - Father? - Ah. Charles. 478 00:33:30,132 --> 00:33:31,998 - Good day. - What are you doing here? 479 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,101 Well, we were in the neighborhood 480 00:33:34,103 --> 00:33:37,203 and we thought we'd drop by with a present for the children. 481 00:33:37,205 --> 00:33:39,273 His name is Grip. He talks! 482 00:33:39,275 --> 00:33:41,808 - Can we keep him? - Hello, old girl. 483 00:33:41,810 --> 00:33:44,077 It's bad luck, a bird in the house. It means death. 484 00:33:44,079 --> 00:33:45,813 - Hello! - Father, in here. 485 00:33:47,066 --> 00:33:47,717 Of course. 486 00:33:50,352 --> 00:33:53,319 Charles? Charles? 487 00:33:53,321 --> 00:33:55,988 What are you doing back in London? 488 00:33:57,450 --> 00:33:58,491 My dear Charles. 489 00:33:58,493 --> 00:34:01,394 I will not disguise from you that this is not the ardor 490 00:34:01,396 --> 00:34:03,396 with which a loving father might be expected... 491 00:34:03,398 --> 00:34:05,766 You are supposed to be in Devon. 492 00:34:06,102 --> 00:34:07,334 Banishment! 493 00:34:07,336 --> 00:34:10,350 Be merciful and say "death," 494 00:34:10,505 --> 00:34:13,583 for exile has more terror in its look. 495 00:34:14,342 --> 00:34:17,244 Father, we had an agreement. 496 00:34:18,947 --> 00:34:20,281 I bought you a house. 497 00:34:20,782 --> 00:34:22,666 I gave you an allowance. 498 00:34:23,018 --> 00:34:25,818 For which I am very grateful. 499 00:34:25,820 --> 00:34:28,889 As for me, I'm happy wherever the weather. 500 00:34:28,891 --> 00:34:32,762 But your mother is of a more delicate sensibility. 501 00:34:33,795 --> 00:34:36,963 Charles, the mere sight of cows 502 00:34:36,965 --> 00:34:39,950 causes her actual physical pain. 503 00:34:40,402 --> 00:34:41,800 Father. 504 00:34:42,438 --> 00:34:45,340 And I have research to do in the London Library. 505 00:34:48,010 --> 00:34:49,713 - Research? - Oh, yes. 506 00:34:51,045 --> 00:34:52,945 Yeah. 507 00:34:52,947 --> 00:34:55,433 I have a commission from The Spectator 508 00:34:55,818 --> 00:34:58,421 to write a feature on the Bank Charter Act. 509 00:34:59,454 --> 00:35:01,487 The editor was very impressed 510 00:35:01,489 --> 00:35:04,391 with my series on marine insurance. 511 00:35:04,393 --> 00:35:08,929 Good for you, Father. I do hope that you and Mother will stay here with us. 512 00:35:08,931 --> 00:35:12,068 The children and I will so enjoy having some company in the evenings. 513 00:35:19,537 --> 00:35:21,706 The Spectator. Well, that's, um... 514 00:35:22,829 --> 00:35:24,832 That's most impressive. 515 00:35:26,414 --> 00:35:28,817 Thank you, dear boy. 516 00:35:29,451 --> 00:35:31,150 Oh, by the way, 517 00:35:31,152 --> 00:35:33,420 you couldn't lend me a tenner, could you? 518 00:35:33,422 --> 00:35:36,123 That blighter took my last farthing for the cage. 519 00:35:41,429 --> 00:35:44,331 It was the bird, sir. It flew upstairs. 520 00:35:45,533 --> 00:35:48,666 Oh, um, I'll see that it's all cleared up. 521 00:35:49,304 --> 00:35:52,005 Please, can we keep him? 522 00:35:52,007 --> 00:35:52,900 Well, I, um... 523 00:35:56,824 --> 00:35:58,793 Come on, Walter. 524 00:36:03,485 --> 00:36:06,523 "This is not the ardor with which a loving father..." 525 00:36:10,893 --> 00:36:11,994 Humbug! 526 00:36:13,161 --> 00:36:15,497 - What is? - Christmas. 527 00:36:18,434 --> 00:36:20,032 What about it? 528 00:36:20,034 --> 00:36:22,101 Well, what is it but an excuse 529 00:36:22,103 --> 00:36:25,541 for picking a man's pocket every 25th of December? 530 00:36:26,790 --> 00:36:28,656 Yes. Keep going. 531 00:36:29,244 --> 00:36:31,900 A time for paying bills without money. 532 00:36:32,525 --> 00:36:36,366 A time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer. 533 00:36:36,798 --> 00:36:39,316 If I could work my will, 534 00:36:39,554 --> 00:36:42,121 every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips 535 00:36:42,123 --> 00:36:44,291 should be boiled in his own plum pudding 536 00:36:44,293 --> 00:36:48,061 and buried with a stake of holly through his heart, he should. 537 00:36:48,063 --> 00:36:52,600 Oh, Mr. Scrooge, you and I are going to do wonderful things together. 538 00:36:53,001 --> 00:36:57,670 Oh, but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge. 539 00:36:57,672 --> 00:37:00,574 A squeezing, wrenching, 540 00:37:00,576 --> 00:37:04,211 grasping, scraping, 541 00:37:04,213 --> 00:37:07,014 clutching, covetous old sinner. 542 00:37:09,018 --> 00:37:10,353 Charles? 543 00:37:13,588 --> 00:37:15,389 Hard at work? 544 00:37:15,391 --> 00:37:17,557 What can I help you with, Father? 545 00:37:17,559 --> 00:37:21,461 Well, I was wondering if we might have an extra candlestick for our room. 546 00:37:21,463 --> 00:37:23,429 - Of course. - Oh! 547 00:37:23,431 --> 00:37:26,368 Cigars. Oh, yes. 548 00:37:27,469 --> 00:37:29,403 I must confess, 549 00:37:29,405 --> 00:37:34,273 I have acquired an irrepressible habit of smoking whilst I write. 550 00:37:34,275 --> 00:37:35,708 Dreadful habit, I know, but... 551 00:37:35,710 --> 00:37:37,613 Oh, yes. 552 00:37:38,947 --> 00:37:40,215 Thank you. 553 00:37:43,952 --> 00:37:45,485 Hmm. Going well? 554 00:37:49,324 --> 00:37:51,326 I won't detain you. 555 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:08,508 Don't do that. D-Don't. 556 00:38:08,510 --> 00:38:10,000 Why not? 557 00:38:10,545 --> 00:38:12,112 Too late. 558 00:38:14,349 --> 00:38:15,615 Who is it? 559 00:38:15,617 --> 00:38:17,120 Who is it? 560 00:38:18,554 --> 00:38:19,987 Bunsby? 561 00:38:21,623 --> 00:38:22,692 Clennam? 562 00:38:24,693 --> 00:38:27,427 Heep? Hexam? 563 00:38:27,429 --> 00:38:29,195 - Oh, stop, stop! - Magwitch? 564 00:38:29,197 --> 00:38:30,299 No. 565 00:38:31,599 --> 00:38:32,701 Marley. 566 00:38:41,643 --> 00:38:44,577 Is that you, Jacob? 567 00:38:44,579 --> 00:38:46,746 - You know him? - My business partner. 568 00:38:46,748 --> 00:38:49,516 Last time I saw him he was dead as a doornail. 569 00:38:49,518 --> 00:38:51,616 How do you, Jacob? 570 00:38:52,221 --> 00:38:54,100 Business, business. 571 00:38:54,757 --> 00:38:57,724 Mankind was my business. 572 00:38:57,726 --> 00:39:00,296 The common welfare was my business. 573 00:39:01,663 --> 00:39:03,132 Charity... 574 00:39:04,365 --> 00:39:05,568 mercy... 575 00:39:07,235 --> 00:39:09,135 forbearance, and benevolence 576 00:39:09,137 --> 00:39:11,371 were all my business. 577 00:39:11,373 --> 00:39:13,183 He was never one for a straight answer. 578 00:39:13,208 --> 00:39:15,275 And yet I practiced none of them! 579 00:39:17,350 --> 00:39:18,077 Come in. 580 00:39:18,079 --> 00:39:19,414 Come in, please. 581 00:39:42,838 --> 00:39:46,600 You are fettered. Why? 582 00:39:47,643 --> 00:39:50,612 I wear the chain I forged in life. 583 00:39:53,849 --> 00:39:55,284 I made it... 584 00:39:57,286 --> 00:39:58,653 link by link, 585 00:40:00,222 --> 00:40:02,191 yard by yard. 586 00:40:03,759 --> 00:40:07,463 And of my own free will, I girded it about me. 587 00:40:08,730 --> 00:40:10,933 Of my own free will, 588 00:40:11,532 --> 00:40:13,166 I wore it. 589 00:40:22,710 --> 00:40:26,415 Do you know the weight and length of the chain you bear yourself? 590 00:40:28,901 --> 00:40:30,169 You mean him, surely. 591 00:40:35,257 --> 00:40:36,659 You, Charley. 592 00:40:39,260 --> 00:40:42,130 Your chains, all around you. 593 00:40:43,865 --> 00:40:46,335 Past and present... 594 00:40:48,137 --> 00:40:49,572 and what is to come. 595 00:40:54,409 --> 00:40:57,776 Hail to thee, blithe turkey, 596 00:40:57,778 --> 00:41:00,246 whose exquisite odors 597 00:41:00,248 --> 00:41:03,349 now perfume the circumambient air. 598 00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,720 And let this day be fragrant 599 00:41:07,722 --> 00:41:11,258 with the love we bear one another. 600 00:41:11,260 --> 00:41:14,360 And may God bless us, every one. 601 00:41:14,362 --> 00:41:16,396 Every one. 602 00:41:21,269 --> 00:41:23,403 Mr. John Dickens. 603 00:41:23,405 --> 00:41:26,373 You're under arrest for a debt of 42 pounds. 604 00:41:26,375 --> 00:41:27,606 - Father! - Charley. 605 00:41:27,608 --> 00:41:29,744 Father, tell them to stop! 606 00:41:30,878 --> 00:41:32,445 Take everything that shines, boys. 607 00:41:32,447 --> 00:41:34,748 It's all right, Charley. 608 00:41:34,750 --> 00:41:37,617 - Tell them to stop, Father! - It's all right. 609 00:41:37,619 --> 00:41:39,822 Please, Charley, don't worry. 610 00:41:54,503 --> 00:41:56,936 What about Leech for the illustrations? 611 00:41:56,938 --> 00:41:58,637 Leech? He's so prickly. 612 00:41:58,639 --> 00:42:01,541 - And he's by no means the cheapest. - I don't want the cheapest. 613 00:42:01,543 --> 00:42:04,778 Oh, Charles, for God's sake, slow down. You move at railway speed. 614 00:42:04,780 --> 00:42:06,746 I don't want the cheapest. I want the best. 615 00:42:06,748 --> 00:42:08,347 - It's going well then? - What? 616 00:42:08,349 --> 00:42:10,749 - The book. - It's brilliant. Best thing I've ever written. 617 00:42:10,751 --> 00:42:12,385 - What, so you... - I've got 11 pages. 618 00:42:12,387 --> 00:42:14,787 Eleven? - Well, if it weren't for constant interruptions. 619 00:42:14,789 --> 00:42:17,990 We've got my father staying with us. He could not have come at a worse time. 620 00:42:19,494 --> 00:42:20,896 Miss Wigmore. 621 00:42:26,716 --> 00:42:27,434 Come. 622 00:42:27,436 --> 00:42:28,668 Come along. 623 00:42:33,909 --> 00:42:34,933 Who was that? 624 00:42:35,811 --> 00:42:37,666 - Charlotte. - Who? 625 00:42:37,813 --> 00:42:39,778 My fiancée. I told you. 626 00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:41,947 Fiancée? 627 00:42:41,949 --> 00:42:45,318 - She's a canny lass, is she not? - Indeed. Most amiable. 628 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:46,383 Amiable? 629 00:42:47,289 --> 00:42:50,257 Why, man, she's an angel, a sylph. 630 00:42:50,259 --> 00:42:52,726 She's a goddess on a... 631 00:42:52,728 --> 00:42:54,266 Whatever is the matter? 632 00:42:55,530 --> 00:42:58,597 Charlotte and I have come to a parting of the ways. 633 00:42:58,599 --> 00:43:01,034 - I thought you said you were engaged. - We were. 634 00:43:01,036 --> 00:43:04,273 But then her father had no intention for her to marry the son of a butcher. 635 00:43:06,275 --> 00:43:07,643 Here. 636 00:43:11,741 --> 00:43:13,500 Perhaps it's for the best, eh? 637 00:43:13,949 --> 00:43:17,116 The life matrimonial, it's not for everyone, old stick. 638 00:43:18,387 --> 00:43:20,222 Aye. Aye, no doubt. 639 00:43:21,422 --> 00:43:23,133 So... Leech. 640 00:43:23,791 --> 00:43:25,358 That's the ticket. 641 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:26,825 Four wood cuts, four etchings. 642 00:43:26,827 --> 00:43:28,394 The cover in red. Hand-colored. 643 00:43:28,396 --> 00:43:31,298 The title in rustic, spectral writing. 644 00:43:31,300 --> 00:43:33,432 The end papers to be green and all three edges to be gilded. 645 00:43:33,434 --> 00:43:35,750 Gilded? It'll cost you. 646 00:43:36,538 --> 00:43:39,539 Well, it must be exquisite. That's why we came to you. 647 00:43:39,541 --> 00:43:42,766 You'll have to sell every copy to make your money back. 648 00:43:42,978 --> 00:43:45,000 That is my intention. 649 00:43:45,347 --> 00:43:46,566 You brought the manuscript? 650 00:43:47,782 --> 00:43:49,648 I'll have something for you in a week. 651 00:43:49,650 --> 00:43:51,450 - A week? - Mmm. 652 00:43:51,452 --> 00:43:53,820 That leaves only four weeks to do all the illustrations 653 00:43:53,822 --> 00:43:56,733 and get it to the printer in time for Christmas. 654 00:43:58,693 --> 00:44:01,927 - Can you do it? - Mr. Dickens, I'm not a hired hand. 655 00:44:01,929 --> 00:44:04,883 I am an artist. 656 00:44:05,766 --> 00:44:07,602 What you are asking is impossible. 657 00:44:08,836 --> 00:44:11,338 Impossible for an ordinary man. 658 00:44:11,340 --> 00:44:13,742 But you are no ordinary man, Mr. Leech. 659 00:44:14,543 --> 00:44:15,878 You are a genius. 660 00:44:20,266 --> 00:44:21,300 Fifty pounds. 661 00:44:21,650 --> 00:44:23,483 Paid in advance. 662 00:44:23,485 --> 00:44:26,021 Plus more for the plates. 663 00:44:31,659 --> 00:44:34,283 Done. Thank you, Mr. Leech. 664 00:44:36,731 --> 00:44:39,566 Look, Charles, I don't want to be the voice of doom, 665 00:44:39,568 --> 00:44:41,934 but before we lay out money for illustrations, 666 00:44:41,936 --> 00:44:45,373 we should consider what happens if you don't finish on time. 667 00:44:46,141 --> 00:44:48,010 I will finish on time. 668 00:44:49,378 --> 00:44:50,846 Quite. 669 00:44:54,483 --> 00:44:57,516 Mr. Dickens. I fix the chandelier. See? 670 00:44:57,518 --> 00:45:00,487 Yes. Good. Grazie, Signor Mazzini. 671 00:45:00,489 --> 00:45:02,021 Is no problem. 672 00:45:02,023 --> 00:45:03,766 Only 12 guineas extra. 673 00:45:05,783 --> 00:45:07,033 12... 674 00:45:07,496 --> 00:45:10,829 I thought my father was off to the British Library. 675 00:45:10,831 --> 00:45:13,833 Your sister's here, sir. Come from Manchester with her little boy. 676 00:45:16,405 --> 00:45:18,938 - My dear sister! Ha-ha! - Charley. 677 00:45:21,143 --> 00:45:22,742 Henry, how are you? 678 00:45:22,744 --> 00:45:24,878 Very well, grace be to God. 679 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:27,914 This cannot be young Master Henry. I barely recognize you. 680 00:45:27,916 --> 00:45:30,483 - How old are you now? - Nine, if you please, sir. 681 00:45:30,485 --> 00:45:32,918 Nine? I shall soon run out of fingers. 682 00:45:39,388 --> 00:45:40,693 Excuse me, sir. 683 00:45:40,695 --> 00:45:42,900 The children are having their tea in the dining room. 684 00:45:43,831 --> 00:45:45,701 Come on then, young 'un. Up! 685 00:45:51,072 --> 00:45:52,575 Mind your head. 686 00:45:53,842 --> 00:45:55,874 There goes my heart. 687 00:45:55,876 --> 00:45:58,010 What did the doctor say? 688 00:45:58,012 --> 00:45:59,848 He says we have to wait and see. 689 00:46:00,849 --> 00:46:02,416 Won't you let us help? 690 00:46:02,717 --> 00:46:05,552 - We'll manage. - At least until Henry finds a new position. 691 00:46:05,554 --> 00:46:07,333 Something will come up. I'm sure of it. 692 00:46:07,856 --> 00:46:09,650 You sound just like Father. 693 00:46:10,192 --> 00:46:12,300 How is the old reprobate? 694 00:46:12,927 --> 00:46:16,662 "This morning I had 25 shillings in my hand. And now, observe the vacancy." 695 00:46:16,664 --> 00:46:18,630 He means no harm. 696 00:46:18,632 --> 00:46:22,501 It's not enough. He bobs around like a cork on the surface of life. 697 00:46:22,503 --> 00:46:24,670 - Not a thought for the future. - Oh, Charley. 698 00:46:24,672 --> 00:46:27,250 Let it go, can't you? 699 00:46:27,509 --> 00:46:31,478 Come on, me army! Me landlubbers, me lovelies! 700 00:46:31,480 --> 00:46:35,248 Oh! Up we go. Ha-ha! Me landlubbers! 701 00:46:35,250 --> 00:46:39,586 Come aboard my ship! Here we go! Let's set sail! 702 00:46:39,588 --> 00:46:42,921 Brail your capstan bar! Come here, Walter. 703 00:46:42,923 --> 00:46:45,825 - Brail your capstan bar! - No one is useless in this world... 704 00:46:45,827 --> 00:46:48,133 Who lightens the burden of another. I know. 705 00:46:48,963 --> 00:46:51,950 For all his faults, you won't find a kinder man. 706 00:46:53,201 --> 00:46:55,934 How long he is growing up to be one. 707 00:46:59,173 --> 00:47:01,811 Here we go! Full sail ahead! 708 00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:12,719 Why are you here? 709 00:47:12,721 --> 00:47:16,224 You'd better come and see who's just turned up. 710 00:47:22,597 --> 00:47:23,932 Charles? 711 00:47:26,268 --> 00:47:28,967 Just a bit of indigestion. Go back to sleep. 712 00:47:48,722 --> 00:47:50,683 Tell him who you are. 713 00:47:51,126 --> 00:47:53,963 I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. 714 00:47:57,097 --> 00:47:58,366 Follow. 715 00:47:58,833 --> 00:48:00,766 Not bloody likely. 716 00:48:01,835 --> 00:48:05,137 - Why not? - Mucking around in the past? What's the point? 717 00:48:05,139 --> 00:48:06,905 You might learn something. 718 00:48:06,907 --> 00:48:09,000 Well, I already know everything I need to know. 719 00:48:10,283 --> 00:48:12,744 - Uh, take him, why don't you? - Me? 720 00:48:12,746 --> 00:48:15,315 - Yes, if you're so keen. - It's not about me! 721 00:48:15,317 --> 00:48:18,583 Well, you're the author, aren't you? 722 00:48:22,657 --> 00:48:23,992 Follow. 723 00:48:25,893 --> 00:48:29,996 Don't cry. We'll be back when the debt's paid. 724 00:48:29,998 --> 00:48:34,099 - Why can't I stay with you? - You're a big boy, Charley. 725 00:48:34,101 --> 00:48:35,650 You're the breadwinner now. 726 00:48:36,036 --> 00:48:39,133 You'll see. It'll be an adventure. 727 00:48:39,740 --> 00:48:41,911 You'll hardly think of us at all. 728 00:48:43,811 --> 00:48:46,179 Time to go! 729 00:48:46,181 --> 00:48:48,213 Now, sir, enough of that. 730 00:48:48,215 --> 00:48:50,083 Stand up tall. 731 00:48:50,085 --> 00:48:52,050 Blood of iron, heart of ice. 732 00:48:55,021 --> 00:48:56,616 And remember! 733 00:48:57,257 --> 00:48:59,358 You're the son of John Dickens! 734 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:00,816 A gentleman! 735 00:49:01,161 --> 00:49:03,164 You be sure and tell them that! 736 00:49:14,675 --> 00:49:15,777 Well, come on then! 737 00:49:17,846 --> 00:49:19,778 Blood of iron, 738 00:49:19,780 --> 00:49:21,182 heart of ice. 739 00:49:28,422 --> 00:49:31,157 Good morning. - What? Oh. 740 00:49:31,159 --> 00:49:33,392 You were tossing and turning all night, you know. 741 00:49:33,394 --> 00:49:35,130 Yes. Bad dreams. 742 00:49:36,030 --> 00:49:37,200 What about? 743 00:49:38,333 --> 00:49:41,202 I don't know. Shadows. 744 00:49:44,271 --> 00:49:46,371 a little daylight will cure you. 745 00:49:46,373 --> 00:49:48,206 Now, Constable, 746 00:49:48,208 --> 00:49:51,043 shall we ask Mr. Punch where the baby's daddy's gone? 747 00:49:51,045 --> 00:49:52,845 I bet he knows. 748 00:49:52,847 --> 00:49:56,349 - Oh! Where's the baby's daddy gone? - Where's he gone, Mr. Punch? 749 00:49:56,351 --> 00:49:58,885 Daddy's off to prison! 750 00:49:58,887 --> 00:50:01,019 Off to prison? Oh-ho! 751 00:50:01,021 --> 00:50:04,057 Come on. We're wasting time. Let's get to work. 752 00:50:04,059 --> 00:50:05,891 I am working. 753 00:50:05,893 --> 00:50:08,927 - Here? - Yes. Gathering inspiration. 754 00:50:08,929 --> 00:50:11,097 Gathering what? 755 00:50:11,099 --> 00:50:15,200 - What do you see when you look around? - Well, it's a market, you idiot. 756 00:50:15,202 --> 00:50:16,969 What else? 757 00:50:16,971 --> 00:50:20,238 Hot pies! Eel, beef or mutton pies! 758 00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:22,378 - Buyers and sellers. - What else? 759 00:50:24,244 --> 00:50:26,445 Never say die. Have a look, sir. 760 00:50:26,447 --> 00:50:28,046 Thieves and ruffians. 761 00:50:28,048 --> 00:50:30,749 Highly interesting murder, gentlemen! 762 00:50:30,751 --> 00:50:33,286 Hold! Hold! 763 00:50:33,288 --> 00:50:35,987 Clear the way! Clear the way, lads! 764 00:50:35,989 --> 00:50:37,990 Mr. Fezziwig! 765 00:50:44,965 --> 00:50:46,798 Life, Mr. Scrooge. 766 00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:49,168 It's London. The great theater of the world. 767 00:50:49,170 --> 00:50:51,436 - It's all here. - Bah. Humbug! 768 00:50:51,438 --> 00:50:54,507 I'm a man of facts, of calculations. 769 00:50:54,509 --> 00:50:56,943 Realities, not fancy. 770 00:50:56,945 --> 00:50:58,447 What the devil is that? 771 00:50:59,748 --> 00:51:01,016 Here you go, sir. 772 00:51:10,492 --> 00:51:12,992 - Must go. - Where to? 773 00:51:12,994 --> 00:51:14,229 It's time to write. 774 00:51:23,204 --> 00:51:25,470 - Come along. - Good night, children! 775 00:51:25,472 --> 00:51:28,143 Bye! Shoo! 776 00:51:33,782 --> 00:51:37,550 Well, looks as though Charles won't be joining us. Again. 777 00:51:37,552 --> 00:51:39,519 - We may as well start. - Oh. 778 00:51:39,521 --> 00:51:41,787 Ah, the parties. 779 00:51:41,789 --> 00:51:43,923 We used to keep such hours. 780 00:51:43,925 --> 00:51:46,858 Balls, dinners, champagne. 781 00:51:46,860 --> 00:51:49,028 First-rate capon, Mrs. Fisk. 782 00:51:49,030 --> 00:51:51,798 Oh, thank you, sir. I'll let the cook know. 783 00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:54,333 And the chairs had turned legs, 784 00:51:54,335 --> 00:51:57,135 with green squabs to match the curtains. 785 00:51:57,137 --> 00:51:59,005 What was that story, Mother? 786 00:51:59,007 --> 00:52:03,075 Oh, I was just telling Kate about the dining room set we used to have. 787 00:52:03,077 --> 00:52:06,512 Rosewood. In the most approved taste. 788 00:52:06,514 --> 00:52:08,914 You mean the one we pawned? 789 00:52:10,451 --> 00:52:14,383 Charles! You are a satirical monster. 790 00:52:15,088 --> 00:52:17,255 - Is that a joke, Charles? - Not a very amusing one. 791 00:52:17,257 --> 00:52:19,025 Is that a new waistcoat, Father? 792 00:52:19,027 --> 00:52:24,229 What? Oh, yes. It's Persian crimson. A little more expensive. 793 00:52:24,231 --> 00:52:27,532 But as I always say, people will believe anything 794 00:52:27,534 --> 00:52:29,066 if you are properly dressed. 795 00:52:30,266 --> 00:52:32,905 Kate, will you ask Tara to bring a tray up with something on it? 796 00:52:32,907 --> 00:52:35,842 - I'll bring it up. - No. I need Tara to do it. 797 00:52:35,844 --> 00:52:38,577 I'll get her, sir. Tara! 798 00:52:38,579 --> 00:52:41,414 That's the spirit, my boy. Hmm? 799 00:52:41,416 --> 00:52:44,983 Procrastination is the thief of time, eh, Charles? 800 00:52:44,985 --> 00:52:46,954 Collar him! 801 00:52:51,458 --> 00:52:53,291 We must not disturb the poet 802 00:52:53,293 --> 00:52:55,628 when the divine frenzy is upon him. 803 00:53:09,210 --> 00:53:11,146 Know the place? 804 00:53:13,981 --> 00:53:16,018 Was I apprenticed here? 805 00:53:17,652 --> 00:53:21,519 Clear the way, lads! Clear the way. It's Friday night. 806 00:53:21,521 --> 00:53:23,816 Why, it's old Fezziwig. 807 00:53:36,271 --> 00:53:37,566 Who is it? 808 00:53:38,273 --> 00:53:40,309 It's Tara, sir, with your dinner. 809 00:53:47,315 --> 00:53:49,050 Tara. Come in. Come in. 810 00:53:50,918 --> 00:53:52,100 Close the door. 811 00:53:55,123 --> 00:53:56,988 Sit. I want to read you something. 812 00:53:56,990 --> 00:53:58,990 Oh... oh, I... I don't think Mrs. Fisk would... 813 00:53:58,992 --> 00:54:01,693 Ah! Skittleshins to Mrs. Fisk. 814 00:54:01,695 --> 00:54:03,628 Come. Sit. 815 00:54:06,567 --> 00:54:08,700 Now, since you like ghost stories, 816 00:54:08,702 --> 00:54:11,505 see if this can rival Varney the Vampire. 817 00:54:14,275 --> 00:54:16,409 "With cherry-cheeked apples, 818 00:54:16,411 --> 00:54:19,679 juicy oranges, luscious pears, 819 00:54:19,681 --> 00:54:22,715 immense Twelfth cakes and seething bowls of punch 820 00:54:22,717 --> 00:54:26,184 that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam. 821 00:54:26,186 --> 00:54:30,322 In easy state, upon this couch, there sat a jolly giant..." 822 00:54:30,324 --> 00:54:32,590 - The second ghost. - The second ghost. 823 00:54:38,132 --> 00:54:41,032 I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. 824 00:54:41,034 --> 00:54:45,737 These are the gifts of abundance, goodwill, 825 00:54:45,739 --> 00:54:47,405 and of generosity. 826 00:54:49,242 --> 00:54:52,345 Of course, you wouldn't understand much about that, would you? 827 00:54:52,347 --> 00:54:54,082 Unlike these good people. 828 00:54:56,617 --> 00:54:59,719 My dear Mrs. Cratchit, you have outdone yourself this year. 829 00:54:59,721 --> 00:55:02,054 Oh, everyone pitched in. Even Tim. 830 00:55:02,056 --> 00:55:04,358 - I set the table. - Yes, you did. 831 00:55:07,027 --> 00:55:09,662 I didn't know Cratchit had a crippled son. 832 00:55:09,664 --> 00:55:11,363 Didn't you ever think to ask? 833 00:55:11,365 --> 00:55:14,266 A merry Christmas to us all, my dears. 834 00:55:14,268 --> 00:55:17,498 - And may God bless us. - God bless us, every one. 835 00:55:19,039 --> 00:55:22,240 He's my clerk. I don't pay him to tell me about his personal life. 836 00:55:22,242 --> 00:55:24,642 - You hardly pay him at all. - Fifteen shillings a week. 837 00:55:24,644 --> 00:55:27,545 For a man with a family, not to mention a sick child? 838 00:55:31,485 --> 00:55:33,454 That's the market rate. 839 00:55:35,123 --> 00:55:38,090 Do you really believe that every inch of existence 840 00:55:38,092 --> 00:55:40,492 is a bargain across the counter? 841 00:55:40,494 --> 00:55:42,494 Observe this family. 842 00:55:42,496 --> 00:55:46,766 They don't have much, but they're happy, grateful, contented with their lot. 843 00:55:47,101 --> 00:55:51,237 Whereas you are miserable and content with nothing. 844 00:55:51,239 --> 00:55:53,233 Never heard such folly. 845 00:55:57,811 --> 00:56:00,315 Heed well what I've said. 846 00:56:01,416 --> 00:56:03,182 Farewell. 847 00:56:03,184 --> 00:56:05,187 And... intermission! 848 00:56:06,820 --> 00:56:09,789 - Thrilling performance. - That's very kind. Thank you. 849 00:56:09,791 --> 00:56:12,995 And that is as far as I've got. 850 00:56:18,365 --> 00:56:19,831 - Tara. - Hmm? 851 00:56:21,668 --> 00:56:24,403 - How do you do that, sir? - Do what? 852 00:56:24,405 --> 00:56:26,572 Make a world come alive. 853 00:56:26,574 --> 00:56:29,211 I could almost see and hear them people. 854 00:56:30,844 --> 00:56:33,311 Especially that Tiny Tim. 855 00:56:33,977 --> 00:56:35,446 Poor mite. 856 00:56:44,759 --> 00:56:46,983 Um... A word in your ear. 857 00:56:47,494 --> 00:56:51,130 - About what? - The scene. 858 00:56:51,132 --> 00:56:54,867 - It's very one-sided. - What? One-sided? 859 00:56:54,869 --> 00:56:57,916 Well, my character doesn't get to explain his side of things. 860 00:56:59,773 --> 00:57:02,708 - So I've taken the liberty of writing a short speech. - No. 861 00:57:02,710 --> 00:57:05,778 Something about the rational self-interest... 862 00:57:05,780 --> 00:57:07,780 and the natural tendencies of free markets... 863 00:57:07,782 --> 00:57:10,318 No. No. And no. 864 00:57:12,286 --> 00:57:14,153 Well, what sort of book is this anyway? 865 00:57:15,489 --> 00:57:18,624 No! It's too... ew. It's too gloomy. 866 00:57:18,626 --> 00:57:20,793 The Ghost of Christmas Present should be wonderful. 867 00:57:20,795 --> 00:57:22,862 Warm, jolly! 868 00:57:22,864 --> 00:57:24,796 - Jolly? - Yes! 869 00:57:24,798 --> 00:57:26,632 A jolly ghost? 870 00:57:26,634 --> 00:57:28,135 That's it. 871 00:57:39,666 --> 00:57:41,313 - What's this? - Find another artist. 872 00:57:41,315 --> 00:57:43,315 We don't want another artist. 873 00:57:43,317 --> 00:57:47,586 A jolly Christmas ghost? What's that mean? 874 00:57:47,588 --> 00:57:51,490 I can't draw what I don't understand. 875 00:57:51,492 --> 00:57:55,360 Well, it is everything that's best about Christmas. 876 00:57:55,362 --> 00:58:00,167 He's the soul of kindness and generosity. He's... 877 00:58:01,434 --> 00:58:03,369 Well, he's Forster. 878 00:58:04,938 --> 00:58:06,366 With a beard. 879 00:58:11,512 --> 00:58:12,847 Come on. Jolly. 880 00:58:54,922 --> 00:58:57,856 In shops by Christmas? 881 00:58:57,858 --> 00:58:59,657 That'll be a miracle. 882 00:58:59,659 --> 00:59:01,594 Go away. 883 00:59:01,596 --> 00:59:05,766 Three flops in a row. Up to your eyeballs in debt. 884 00:59:07,268 --> 00:59:09,534 I'd think you'd be glad of some advice. 885 00:59:09,536 --> 00:59:12,237 So, you've had a few flops. What of it? 886 00:59:12,239 --> 00:59:15,340 You're still young. It's not as if you're an old man. 887 00:59:15,342 --> 00:59:17,378 You've still got lots of time to be... 888 00:59:44,405 --> 00:59:47,539 Are we in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come? 889 00:59:50,137 --> 00:59:52,006 - Why doesn't he speak? - Shh! 890 00:59:56,583 --> 01:00:00,033 You are here to show us the shadows of the things that have not been, 891 01:00:00,987 --> 01:00:04,100 but will happen, in the time before us. 892 01:00:04,125 --> 01:00:04,950 Is that so? 893 01:00:16,603 --> 01:00:18,336 Where does it want us to go? 894 01:00:18,950 --> 01:00:20,241 I think I know. 895 01:00:24,311 --> 01:00:26,981 I have a bad feeling about this. I... 896 01:00:33,788 --> 01:00:37,389 And then they entered poor Bob Cratchit's house 897 01:00:37,391 --> 01:00:39,791 and found the mother and the children round the fire. 898 01:00:44,532 --> 01:00:45,831 It's okay. It's okay. 899 01:00:45,833 --> 01:00:47,735 Then Bob came in the door. 900 01:00:56,110 --> 01:00:57,809 You went today then, Robert? 901 01:00:57,811 --> 01:01:00,047 To the cemetery? 902 01:01:01,950 --> 01:01:03,449 Yes, my dear. 903 01:01:04,550 --> 01:01:08,333 I wish you could have gone to see how green a place it is. 904 01:01:08,822 --> 01:01:10,500 But you'll see it often. 905 01:01:11,833 --> 01:01:15,764 I promised him that I would take a walk there on a Sunday. 906 01:01:21,469 --> 01:01:22,950 My little child. 907 01:01:27,474 --> 01:01:29,007 - My little, little child. - "...little child." 908 01:01:29,009 --> 01:01:31,008 - No! - Uh, rude! 909 01:01:31,010 --> 01:01:33,748 - Is Tiny Tim dead? - Well, of course he is. Imbecile. 910 01:01:35,583 --> 01:01:37,115 He was very ill. 911 01:01:37,117 --> 01:01:39,366 You can't save every child in London. 912 01:01:39,366 --> 01:01:41,519 And the family has no money for a doctor. 913 01:01:41,521 --> 01:01:43,554 Then Scrooge must save him! 914 01:01:43,556 --> 01:01:44,591 Me? 915 01:01:46,059 --> 01:01:47,793 - But he wouldn't... - Why? 916 01:01:47,795 --> 01:01:50,461 - Well, he's too selfish. - He can change. 917 01:01:50,463 --> 01:01:52,530 There's good in him somewhere, I know it! 918 01:01:52,532 --> 01:01:54,200 People don't change. 919 01:01:56,737 --> 01:01:59,104 He's been this way for a long time. 920 01:01:59,106 --> 01:02:01,407 I'm not sure he can change. 921 01:02:01,409 --> 01:02:04,112 Of course he can. He's not a monster. 922 01:02:06,012 --> 01:02:08,479 I thought this was a ghost story, not a fairy tale. 923 01:02:08,481 --> 01:02:11,716 He wouldn't let Tiny Tim die, Mr. Dickens. 924 01:02:12,018 --> 01:02:13,866 He has a heart, doesn't he? 925 01:02:15,323 --> 01:02:17,525 It would be too wicked... 926 01:02:19,025 --> 01:02:20,961 even for him. 927 01:03:04,170 --> 01:03:08,740 'Tis now the very witching time of night... 928 01:03:08,742 --> 01:03:09,941 Hush! 929 01:03:09,943 --> 01:03:12,144 when graveyards yawn and hell... 930 01:03:12,146 --> 01:03:14,947 Aha, Shakespeare. 931 01:03:14,949 --> 01:03:16,816 There's a man who could write. 932 01:03:17,083 --> 01:03:19,550 I doubt he ever had a blockage. 933 01:03:20,653 --> 01:03:23,722 Self-preservation... first law of nature. 934 01:03:24,036 --> 01:03:25,338 And that's just a fact. 935 01:03:29,730 --> 01:03:32,164 Oh, Charles! Good evening. 936 01:03:32,166 --> 01:03:34,199 We'll get him straight into bed, Charles. 937 01:03:34,201 --> 01:03:38,036 We were up the river to Kew, and I think perhaps it was too long a day. 938 01:03:38,038 --> 01:03:41,005 - Kew. - Kew? 939 01:03:41,007 --> 01:03:43,608 - What about your newspaper article? - Article? 940 01:03:43,610 --> 01:03:46,583 Yes, the one you're writing. It's been over a month. 941 01:03:51,436 --> 01:03:52,818 No, the, um... 942 01:03:52,820 --> 01:03:57,588 The editor felt that due to pecuniary complications 943 01:03:57,590 --> 01:03:59,791 of a most complicated nature, 944 01:03:59,793 --> 01:04:02,793 he felt he could not proceed with the commission. 945 01:04:02,795 --> 01:04:04,595 So, no newspaper article. 946 01:04:04,597 --> 01:04:08,233 No. However, I rejoice in saying 947 01:04:08,235 --> 01:04:11,637 I have every hope something will turn up. 948 01:04:11,639 --> 01:04:14,541 I think it's time you went back to Devon, Father. 949 01:04:15,876 --> 01:04:18,213 - Indeed. - As soon as possible. 950 01:04:22,181 --> 01:04:23,633 Of course, dear boy. 951 01:04:24,751 --> 01:04:27,188 We shall catch the afternoon train tomorrow. 952 01:04:30,791 --> 01:04:31,933 No, sweet. 953 01:04:32,626 --> 01:04:34,496 I can manage from here. 954 01:04:35,329 --> 01:04:36,865 Thank you. 955 01:04:38,231 --> 01:04:39,633 Good night, Charles. 956 01:04:43,804 --> 01:04:46,950 Ride on, ride on, 957 01:04:47,206 --> 01:04:49,575 over all obstacles 958 01:04:49,577 --> 01:04:51,842 and win the race. 959 01:04:51,844 --> 01:04:54,211 Don't be unkind, Charley. 960 01:04:54,213 --> 01:04:56,280 You don't know what he's been through. 961 01:04:56,282 --> 01:04:59,184 He feels it all, you know. 962 01:04:59,186 --> 01:05:03,124 He would never tell you, but he feels it all. 963 01:05:22,742 --> 01:05:26,950 That's it. Blood of iron, heart of ice. 964 01:05:27,181 --> 01:05:29,717 Now perhaps we can finish this little book. 965 01:05:34,855 --> 01:05:37,800 "Are these the shadows of the things that will be, 966 01:05:38,291 --> 01:05:41,328 or are they shadows of the things that may be only?" 967 01:05:45,032 --> 01:05:46,901 That is as far as I've got. 968 01:05:48,702 --> 01:05:50,016 It's brilliant. 969 01:05:51,005 --> 01:05:53,300 - Are you pulling my leg? - No. No, of course not. 970 01:05:53,740 --> 01:05:57,633 Well, now... that's encouraging. 971 01:05:59,179 --> 01:06:01,880 My... my one criticism... 972 01:06:01,882 --> 01:06:03,250 Yes? 973 01:06:03,416 --> 01:06:06,150 - Tiny Tim. - Go on. 974 01:06:06,152 --> 01:06:09,021 - Are you really going to let him die? - Aw, not you as well. 975 01:06:09,023 --> 01:06:12,190 It's a Christmas book. Shouldn't it be hopeful? 976 01:06:12,192 --> 01:06:14,325 I mean, isn't that what... what... what Christmas is all about? 977 01:06:14,327 --> 01:06:18,016 The hope that in the end, our better natures will prevail? 978 01:06:18,733 --> 01:06:21,133 You were the one who persuaded me to kill off Little Nell. 979 01:06:21,135 --> 01:06:22,767 Yeah. Well, I stand by that decision. 980 01:06:22,769 --> 01:06:24,369 John, my readers implored me... 981 01:06:24,371 --> 01:06:28,242 But this is different. If Tiny Tim dies, then what's the point? 982 01:06:30,210 --> 01:06:31,842 - Thank you, John. - You're welcome. 983 01:06:31,844 --> 01:06:34,679 For reminding me why I never ask your opinion on my work. 984 01:06:34,681 --> 01:06:37,014 Your services are no longer required. 985 01:06:37,016 --> 01:06:38,950 - You cannot sack me. - Why not? 986 01:06:38,952 --> 01:06:42,277 Because I don't work for you. I do what I do as a friend. 987 01:06:43,824 --> 01:06:45,516 John, please leave. 988 01:06:47,450 --> 01:06:49,033 See you on Friday. 989 01:06:49,762 --> 01:06:51,850 Last chapter's due at the printers. 990 01:07:02,009 --> 01:07:04,976 Right. Let's run it again from the scene with Scrooge's debtors. 991 01:07:04,978 --> 01:07:06,878 - Oh, what's the point? - The point? 992 01:07:06,880 --> 01:07:08,713 We keep stopping at the same place. 993 01:07:08,715 --> 01:07:11,182 Yes, because I'm working out the ending. 994 01:07:11,184 --> 01:07:14,179 - Admit it, you're blocked! - I'm not blocked. 995 01:07:14,204 --> 01:07:15,473 Now, if you take my advice... 996 01:07:16,824 --> 01:07:19,333 - I'm the author here. - Allegedly. 997 01:07:21,494 --> 01:07:22,666 I'm going out. 998 01:07:26,500 --> 01:07:28,133 - Alone! - Aw. 999 01:07:37,911 --> 01:07:39,744 Forster. I need your help. 1000 01:07:39,746 --> 01:07:42,416 - What is it? The children? - No. The children are fine. 1001 01:07:43,449 --> 01:07:44,550 What's this? 1002 01:07:45,251 --> 01:07:49,186 "Candle-scandal, flirt-hurt, Charlotte-poor heart." 1003 01:07:49,188 --> 01:07:52,566 Is that a poem? That's atrocious. What has got into you? 1004 01:07:53,827 --> 01:07:56,327 You look terrible. What's the matter? 1005 01:07:56,329 --> 01:07:58,829 It's the book. I'm struggling with one of the characters. 1006 01:08:05,873 --> 01:08:08,773 - Quite a few of them, actually. - What exactly is the problem? 1007 01:08:08,775 --> 01:08:14,146 The problem is, could a man as mean-spirited as Scrooge, as evil as Scrooge... 1008 01:08:14,148 --> 01:08:17,348 Could he become a different person overnight? 1009 01:08:17,350 --> 01:08:19,150 What is so evil about him? 1010 01:08:20,154 --> 01:08:22,254 - Well, he's a miser. - Well, that doesn't make him evil. 1011 01:08:22,256 --> 01:08:24,790 - It just makes him cheap. - He worships money. 1012 01:08:24,792 --> 01:08:26,894 - It's the only thing that matters to him. - Why? 1013 01:08:29,328 --> 01:08:31,897 He has nothing else. 1014 01:08:31,899 --> 01:08:33,801 No friends? No family? 1015 01:08:36,837 --> 01:08:38,350 No one he trusts. 1016 01:08:38,872 --> 01:08:40,083 Why? 1017 01:08:40,474 --> 01:08:42,300 Because he's afraid. 1018 01:08:44,511 --> 01:08:46,010 Of? 1019 01:08:50,384 --> 01:08:52,217 Being found out. 1020 01:08:52,219 --> 01:08:55,269 Hello, chaps. - Thackeray. 1021 01:08:56,256 --> 01:09:00,357 Charles, I haven't seen anything of yours in print for ages. 1022 01:09:00,359 --> 01:09:02,593 Don't tell me you've had a blockage. 1023 01:09:03,533 --> 01:09:05,996 Not in the least. I'm neck and heels into a Christmas book. 1024 01:09:05,998 --> 01:09:09,968 - What the deuce is that? - A story about Christmas. 1025 01:09:09,970 --> 01:09:11,316 For Christmas. 1026 01:09:11,572 --> 01:09:13,633 A story... about...? 1027 01:09:14,875 --> 01:09:17,008 How amusing. 1028 01:09:17,010 --> 01:09:18,966 Well, best of luck with it. 1029 01:09:20,086 --> 01:09:24,148 Oh, dear, my last book has come out in a Railway edition. 1030 01:09:24,150 --> 01:09:26,483 Sold 10,000 copies, in a week. 1031 01:09:27,450 --> 01:09:29,019 "There's gold in them thar hills," 1032 01:09:29,021 --> 01:09:31,233 as your American friends would say. 1033 01:09:35,362 --> 01:09:38,865 Come on. Let's go somewhere else, get a real drink. 1034 01:09:47,006 --> 01:09:51,409 She's a big lass, and a bonny lass, and she likes her beer. 1035 01:09:51,411 --> 01:09:55,966 And I call her Cushie Butterfield, and I wish she was here. 1036 01:09:56,649 --> 01:09:58,950 What language is that? 1037 01:09:58,952 --> 01:10:01,055 That's Geordie, man. We're gods. 1038 01:10:03,002 --> 01:10:06,391 - Where are we? - Oh, it's Hungerford Stairs. 1039 01:10:06,393 --> 01:10:08,333 Oi, I smell the river. 1040 01:10:11,876 --> 01:10:13,166 What's that? 1041 01:10:13,934 --> 01:10:15,599 It's a graveyard. 1042 01:10:15,601 --> 01:10:19,336 Ah, it's the old Warren's Factory. They moved from there years ago. 1043 01:10:19,338 --> 01:10:21,339 I wonder they've not pulled it down yet. 1044 01:10:21,341 --> 01:10:23,400 Yeah. Or burnt it down. 1045 01:10:24,144 --> 01:10:26,111 Might do it myself one day. 1046 01:10:26,113 --> 01:10:28,200 Why? What have you got against boot blacking? 1047 01:10:29,115 --> 01:10:30,016 Charles. 1048 01:10:31,284 --> 01:10:32,050 What is it? 1049 01:10:34,154 --> 01:10:36,183 I just have this recurring nightmare. 1050 01:10:36,590 --> 01:10:38,383 Oh, nightmares, aye. 1051 01:10:39,091 --> 01:10:41,660 I've got one where I'm being chased by a giant badger. 1052 01:10:44,430 --> 01:10:45,932 What's yours? 1053 01:10:48,601 --> 01:10:50,333 Never mind. 1054 01:10:51,003 --> 01:10:53,338 Well, come on. It's time to go home. 1055 01:10:53,340 --> 01:10:55,540 I'll see you at the printers. Friday morning, nine o'clock. 1056 01:10:55,542 --> 01:10:57,411 - I can't. - Well, why not? 1057 01:10:59,947 --> 01:11:01,083 It's the book. 1058 01:11:03,216 --> 01:11:06,650 I can't... the characters won't do what I want. 1059 01:11:10,056 --> 01:11:11,690 And I'm afraid. 1060 01:11:11,692 --> 01:11:13,050 Of what? 1061 01:11:14,161 --> 01:11:17,361 If I can't finish it, I'll never write again. 1062 01:11:17,363 --> 01:11:20,598 Oh, come on, man, come on. Have some sleep, hear? 1063 01:11:20,600 --> 01:11:22,136 I can't. 1064 01:11:23,670 --> 01:11:26,516 The wrong fire is burning in my head. 1065 01:11:27,274 --> 01:11:30,040 Oh, don't be daft. Now, come on, your wife will be worried sick. 1066 01:11:30,042 --> 01:11:31,977 Who? Kate? She doesn't understand me. 1067 01:11:31,979 --> 01:11:35,245 I've got news for you, Charles. None of us understand you. 1068 01:11:35,247 --> 01:11:37,549 You're... you're a freak of nature. 1069 01:11:37,551 --> 01:11:40,216 I'm exhausted spending two hours in your company. 1070 01:11:40,654 --> 01:11:42,971 Come on, go home. It's cold tonight, yeah? 1071 01:11:43,222 --> 01:11:44,716 I'll see you Friday. 1072 01:12:02,175 --> 01:12:04,278 Here. Bye. 1073 01:12:11,551 --> 01:12:13,454 Put that one over there! 1074 01:12:20,092 --> 01:12:22,160 Boys! 1075 01:12:22,162 --> 01:12:25,562 This here is Charley Dickens. 1076 01:12:25,564 --> 01:12:28,201 And what was you just telling me, lad? About your dad? 1077 01:12:35,341 --> 01:12:37,107 My father is a gentleman. 1078 01:12:38,633 --> 01:12:40,178 Where is he then? 1079 01:12:40,180 --> 01:12:43,380 - Dining with the queen? - I heard he's been sent to prison. 1080 01:12:43,382 --> 01:12:45,383 Hush, you lot. Get back to work! 1081 01:12:45,385 --> 01:12:46,320 Master Dickens. 1082 01:12:47,820 --> 01:12:49,756 No shirkin' here. 1083 01:12:53,159 --> 01:12:56,229 You're no better than us, cocker, and you'd best learn that. 1084 01:13:30,162 --> 01:13:31,966 You. What are you doing? 1085 01:13:32,565 --> 01:13:34,799 Hello, Charley, old boy. 1086 01:13:34,801 --> 01:13:37,201 Father? What are you doing here? 1087 01:13:37,203 --> 01:13:40,871 Oh, I had some business that I had to attend to, so I thought... 1088 01:13:40,873 --> 01:13:43,741 You just left town. What business could you possibly have? 1089 01:13:43,743 --> 01:13:45,579 - Oh, I... - What's that? 1090 01:13:48,614 --> 01:13:50,117 You're going to sell this? 1091 01:13:51,451 --> 01:13:53,050 Well, it's no good to you, is it? 1092 01:13:54,001 --> 01:13:55,316 Is that what you've been doing? 1093 01:13:55,822 --> 01:13:58,755 Going through the rubbish like a tramp, selling bits and pieces of me. 1094 01:13:58,757 --> 01:14:00,350 Is this your business? 1095 01:14:02,500 --> 01:14:04,533 - Aren't you ashamed? - What? 1096 01:14:05,198 --> 01:14:08,050 I bought you a house. I gave you an allowance. 1097 01:14:08,734 --> 01:14:10,835 What more can you possibly need? 1098 01:14:10,837 --> 01:14:15,240 Need? Oh, reason not the need. 1099 01:14:15,242 --> 01:14:18,175 - You see me here, you gods? - No. No. Shh. No. 1100 01:14:18,177 --> 01:14:20,116 - A poor old man! - No! Shh! Stop it. 1101 01:14:20,713 --> 01:14:26,617 Charley, you don't know what it's like to be poor, to be nothing. 1102 01:14:26,619 --> 01:14:29,320 At 11 years old I was made to know. 1103 01:14:29,322 --> 01:14:31,889 Working 12 hours a day, 1104 01:14:31,891 --> 01:14:36,427 going hungry, alone and afraid 1105 01:14:36,429 --> 01:14:39,464 because your father, who is supposed to care for you, 1106 01:14:39,466 --> 01:14:41,532 is so utterly thriftless! 1107 01:14:41,534 --> 01:14:43,634 No, please. I beg you. 1108 01:14:43,636 --> 01:14:45,702 No, you are not the victim here. 1109 01:14:45,704 --> 01:14:47,738 This is about me and your family and all of us 1110 01:14:47,740 --> 01:14:50,866 who've lived our whole lives in the shadow of your recklessness. 1111 01:14:50,891 --> 01:14:51,833 Charley... 1112 01:14:54,314 --> 01:14:57,983 Go away. I am sickened at the sight of you. 1113 01:14:58,551 --> 01:15:02,219 You are nothing but a drag and chain upon my life. 1114 01:15:02,221 --> 01:15:04,589 I owe you nothing. Go! 1115 01:15:04,591 --> 01:15:05,893 Ah, Charley. 1116 01:15:35,689 --> 01:15:37,455 - Who's that then? - Nobody. 1117 01:15:37,457 --> 01:15:39,257 - The author. - Huh. 1118 01:15:39,259 --> 01:15:41,261 No wonder he looks so depressed. 1119 01:15:46,699 --> 01:15:48,900 Right. That's enough. Back to work. 1120 01:15:48,902 --> 01:15:51,001 God bless us, every one. 1121 01:15:51,003 --> 01:15:53,338 Why are you so miserable? 1122 01:15:53,340 --> 01:15:56,273 What else can I be, when I live in such a world of fools as this? 1123 01:15:56,275 --> 01:15:58,543 - You mean-spirited, cynical... - Oh, yes? 1124 01:15:58,545 --> 01:16:00,544 Well, you look in the mirror sometime. 1125 01:16:00,546 --> 01:16:02,379 "Is that a new candle, Kate?" 1126 01:16:02,381 --> 01:16:04,415 "Your services are no longer required." 1127 01:16:04,417 --> 01:16:06,900 Ah, a hypocrite. 1128 01:16:09,622 --> 01:16:11,421 - What? - Pardon me, sir. 1129 01:16:11,423 --> 01:16:13,391 - Mrs. Dickens just wanted me to ask... - This is intolerable. 1130 01:16:13,393 --> 01:16:17,894 - Mrs. Fisk! Mrs. Fisk! - Yes, sir? 1131 01:16:17,896 --> 01:16:22,200 Take this child away from here and see that she never disturbs me ever again. Do you hear? 1132 01:16:22,969 --> 01:16:25,471 Yes, sir. Come with me, girl. 1133 01:16:26,905 --> 01:16:29,906 Oh, yes. Banish her. Banish them all. 1134 01:16:29,908 --> 01:16:32,643 - Quiet! - Humanity's great benefactor. 1135 01:16:32,645 --> 01:16:34,379 - Humbug! - Shut it. 1136 01:16:34,381 --> 01:16:36,848 Or I'll make you bald, with bad teeth. 1137 01:16:36,850 --> 01:16:39,616 Oh, yeah, go ahead. It won't change a thing. 1138 01:16:39,618 --> 01:16:41,688 You still won't have an ending. 1139 01:16:47,426 --> 01:16:48,966 This is ridiculous. 1140 01:16:49,695 --> 01:16:51,966 You're all being ridiculous. 1141 01:16:59,506 --> 01:17:02,973 If you be a man! 1142 01:17:02,975 --> 01:17:05,466 Come on then, coward! 1143 01:17:05,679 --> 01:17:07,512 Fight me! 1144 01:17:07,514 --> 01:17:09,714 You miserable old fool! 1145 01:17:09,716 --> 01:17:11,933 Fight me! Come on! 1146 01:18:00,699 --> 01:18:02,099 Tara. 1147 01:18:03,156 --> 01:18:04,233 Tara! 1148 01:18:06,939 --> 01:18:08,805 Has anybody seen Tara? 1149 01:18:08,807 --> 01:18:12,241 - She's gone. - You asked Mrs. Fisk to send her away. 1150 01:18:12,866 --> 01:18:14,911 Well, go and search for her. Find her. 1151 01:18:14,913 --> 01:18:17,482 Rehire her at once. 1152 01:18:17,484 --> 01:18:22,786 An Irish orphan in London? That would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. 1153 01:18:23,616 --> 01:18:26,523 Come on, out. Come on, children, off you go. 1154 01:18:26,525 --> 01:18:28,561 Quick sticks. That's it. 1155 01:18:30,462 --> 01:18:32,129 Why didn't you stop her? 1156 01:18:32,131 --> 01:18:34,766 How was I to know you didn't mean it? You said... 1157 01:18:34,768 --> 01:18:38,402 I say a lot of things that are nonsense when I'm working. 1158 01:18:38,404 --> 01:18:42,173 - Charles... - You know how ideas take possession of me. 1159 01:18:42,175 --> 01:18:46,579 - You knew what I was like when you married me. - Yes. I did. 1160 01:18:48,480 --> 01:18:51,818 But you have no idea what it's like to live with you. 1161 01:18:53,273 --> 01:18:55,106 Always walking on eggshells, 1162 01:18:55,226 --> 01:18:57,126 trying to guess your mood, 1163 01:18:57,323 --> 01:19:00,327 to know which of your commands are a whim and which are in earnest. 1164 01:19:01,860 --> 01:19:03,730 You know, sometimes I... 1165 01:19:05,564 --> 01:19:08,598 I feel your characters matter more to you 1166 01:19:08,600 --> 01:19:10,703 than your own flesh and blood. 1167 01:19:19,051 --> 01:19:20,387 I am who I am. 1168 01:19:22,047 --> 01:19:23,366 And who is that? 1169 01:19:24,583 --> 01:19:26,566 It's as if there are two of you. 1170 01:19:27,020 --> 01:19:29,466 One who's kind and gentle, 1171 01:19:29,922 --> 01:19:31,716 and a secret self 1172 01:19:32,192 --> 01:19:34,927 that no one is allowed to know or question. 1173 01:20:54,845 --> 01:20:56,945 This here is Charley Dickens. 1174 01:20:57,143 --> 01:21:00,680 What was it you was telling me, lad, about your dad? 1175 01:21:02,681 --> 01:21:05,016 My father is a gentleman. 1176 01:21:06,920 --> 01:21:09,620 Where is he then? Dining with the queen? 1177 01:21:09,622 --> 01:21:11,621 I heard he's been sent to prison! 1178 01:21:11,623 --> 01:21:14,825 Hush, you lot! Where's your manners? Get back to work. 1179 01:21:14,827 --> 01:21:16,760 Master Dickens. 1180 01:21:16,762 --> 01:21:19,229 Got a present for the young gentleman, 1181 01:21:19,231 --> 01:21:21,935 seeing as it's Christmas. 1182 01:21:32,145 --> 01:21:34,678 Blood of iron, heart of ice. 1183 01:21:34,680 --> 01:21:36,282 You're no better than us, cocker! 1184 01:21:43,221 --> 01:21:44,660 Hello, Charley. 1185 01:21:45,891 --> 01:21:49,333 So, this is your miserable secret. 1186 01:21:50,063 --> 01:21:54,365 The famous author, the inimitable Charles Dickens, 1187 01:21:54,367 --> 01:21:58,969 was once a scabby little factory boy. 1188 01:21:58,971 --> 01:22:00,705 Leave me be. 1189 01:22:00,707 --> 01:22:04,642 A common bit of riffraff, a squalid wretch. 1190 01:22:04,644 --> 01:22:07,247 No use to anyone! 1191 01:22:19,024 --> 01:22:22,893 Look for yourself. What do you see, huh? 1192 01:22:22,895 --> 01:22:26,964 A nothing. A nobody. A debtor's son. 1193 01:22:26,966 --> 01:22:29,202 Who could ever care for you? 1194 01:22:31,871 --> 01:22:35,805 Certainly not your father. He abandoned you. 1195 01:22:35,807 --> 01:22:38,776 Enough of that. Stand up tall. 1196 01:22:38,778 --> 01:22:40,314 Blood of iron, heart of ice. 1197 01:22:41,847 --> 01:22:43,750 He failed you again and again. 1198 01:22:50,055 --> 01:22:51,888 You said so yourself. 1199 01:22:51,890 --> 01:22:55,795 Nothing but a drag and chain upon your life. 1200 01:22:57,162 --> 01:22:58,764 Who are you? Huh? 1201 01:23:00,800 --> 01:23:02,336 You know me, Charley. 1202 01:23:03,770 --> 01:23:07,838 I'm hunger. I'm cold. 1203 01:23:07,840 --> 01:23:09,775 I'm darkness. 1204 01:23:11,444 --> 01:23:16,350 I'm the shadow on your thoughts, the crack in your heart, 1205 01:23:17,850 --> 01:23:21,154 and the stain upon your soul. 1206 01:23:22,755 --> 01:23:25,891 And I will never, ever leave you. 1207 01:23:28,293 --> 01:23:29,860 Go away. 1208 01:23:29,862 --> 01:23:31,965 Why? We're having such fun. 1209 01:23:32,998 --> 01:23:34,831 People don't change, Charley. 1210 01:23:34,833 --> 01:23:39,035 Look around you. You're still the same scabby boy. 1211 01:23:39,037 --> 01:23:41,707 Useless, just like your father. 1212 01:23:44,342 --> 01:23:45,533 No. 1213 01:23:48,146 --> 01:23:51,851 "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another." 1214 01:23:53,786 --> 01:23:56,155 My father taught me that. 1215 01:24:07,265 --> 01:24:09,135 Which grave is that? 1216 01:24:11,970 --> 01:24:14,273 - There's no name on it. - Well, why should there be? 1217 01:24:16,175 --> 01:24:18,308 The man to whom this grave belongs 1218 01:24:18,310 --> 01:24:20,279 never made himself useful to anyone but himself. 1219 01:24:21,747 --> 01:24:23,513 No friends. 1220 01:24:23,515 --> 01:24:25,051 No family. 1221 01:24:26,752 --> 01:24:29,689 Never felt love or joy. 1222 01:24:31,224 --> 01:24:33,694 Never took any kind of pleasure in life. 1223 01:24:42,033 --> 01:24:44,304 And now it's too late. 1224 01:24:45,771 --> 01:24:48,207 It's time, Mr. Scrooge. 1225 01:24:49,307 --> 01:24:51,310 We've come to the end. 1226 01:25:19,372 --> 01:25:21,166 I don't want to die. 1227 01:25:23,376 --> 01:25:24,650 Not like this... 1228 01:25:25,377 --> 01:25:26,783 alone, 1229 01:25:28,180 --> 01:25:30,082 unloved, forgotten. 1230 01:25:31,683 --> 01:25:33,349 It's too late. 1231 01:25:33,351 --> 01:25:35,419 No, it's never too late. 1232 01:25:35,421 --> 01:25:38,291 It's never... it's never too late. 1233 01:25:45,264 --> 01:25:48,464 I will honor Christmas in my heart 1234 01:25:48,466 --> 01:25:50,934 and try to keep it all the year. 1235 01:25:50,936 --> 01:25:54,205 I will live in the past, the present, and the future. 1236 01:25:54,207 --> 01:25:57,974 The spirits of all three will strive within me. 1237 01:25:57,976 --> 01:26:02,248 I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. 1238 01:26:03,882 --> 01:26:06,485 Oh, please. I beg you. 1239 01:26:09,855 --> 01:26:12,958 Let me do some good... 1240 01:26:14,961 --> 01:26:16,716 before I die. 1241 01:26:23,402 --> 01:26:25,538 So we come to the final chapter. 1242 01:26:29,942 --> 01:26:32,912 Oh, I told you we'd do great things together, Mr. Scrooge. 1243 01:26:58,970 --> 01:27:00,416 Stave five. 1244 01:27:02,408 --> 01:27:04,211 "The End of It." 1245 01:27:07,212 --> 01:27:09,679 Yes. And the bedpost was his own, 1246 01:27:09,681 --> 01:27:13,050 the bed was his own, the room was his own. 1247 01:27:14,119 --> 01:27:17,858 Best and happiest of all, the time before him was his own to make amends in. 1248 01:27:19,926 --> 01:27:21,558 Scrooge was better than his word. 1249 01:27:21,560 --> 01:27:24,294 He did it all and infinitely more. 1250 01:27:24,296 --> 01:27:27,263 And to Tiny Tim, who did not die, 1251 01:27:27,265 --> 01:27:29,016 he was a second father. 1252 01:27:29,668 --> 01:27:32,436 And so, as Tiny Tim observed, 1253 01:27:32,438 --> 01:27:35,208 "God bless us, every one." 1254 01:27:38,411 --> 01:27:39,945 The end. 1255 01:27:42,480 --> 01:27:43,617 The end. 1256 01:27:51,524 --> 01:27:53,389 - Charles? - What? 1257 01:27:53,391 --> 01:27:55,558 - There is someone here to see you. - Not now, Kate, please. 1258 01:27:55,560 --> 01:27:58,230 I have to get this to the printer by nine o'clock. 1259 01:28:06,706 --> 01:28:08,240 Tara. 1260 01:28:09,274 --> 01:28:10,643 Thank you for the loan. 1261 01:28:14,180 --> 01:28:15,548 Well, thank you. 1262 01:28:17,716 --> 01:28:19,184 It's good, isn't it? 1263 01:28:21,052 --> 01:28:25,522 Oh, yes, sir. It was fizzing. 1264 01:28:25,641 --> 01:28:29,266 Fizzing? That's delightful. 1265 01:28:31,262 --> 01:28:32,631 Tara. 1266 01:28:35,667 --> 01:28:38,535 I am very sorry that I sent you away. That was a mistake. 1267 01:28:38,537 --> 01:28:40,106 And I was... 1268 01:28:43,309 --> 01:28:45,209 And you were right about Tiny Tim. 1269 01:28:45,211 --> 01:28:46,400 He doesn't die. 1270 01:28:47,078 --> 01:28:49,679 Scrooge helps him to get better. 1271 01:28:49,681 --> 01:28:52,318 And does he help Scrooge get better too? 1272 01:28:55,453 --> 01:28:57,100 Yes. 1273 01:28:57,622 --> 01:29:00,326 Yes, he does. 1274 01:29:05,030 --> 01:29:07,563 - Where did that come from? - A gift. 1275 01:29:07,565 --> 01:29:10,701 For the children. From your father. 1276 01:29:11,383 --> 01:29:12,635 My father was here? 1277 01:29:13,316 --> 01:29:15,966 You can still catch him, if... 1278 01:29:20,345 --> 01:29:22,147 Kate. 1279 01:29:25,384 --> 01:29:27,683 I know. You don't deserve me. 1280 01:29:28,227 --> 01:29:30,350 Go. Go. 1281 01:29:35,261 --> 01:29:37,197 - Cab! - Whoa! 1282 01:29:38,663 --> 01:29:40,630 - Paddington Station! - Right-o, governor. 1283 01:29:40,632 --> 01:29:43,002 - As fast as you can! - Oi! Oi! 1284 01:29:48,506 --> 01:29:51,375 Turn it around. And wait for me here! 1285 01:29:51,377 --> 01:29:53,343 Oi! Stop! 1286 01:29:53,345 --> 01:29:55,144 - Hey! - Stop! Police! 1287 01:29:55,146 --> 01:29:57,080 Wait! 1288 01:29:57,082 --> 01:29:59,482 Wait, wait, please! Where do you think you're going? 1289 01:29:59,484 --> 01:30:01,652 - What? - Oh, please, dear. 1290 01:30:01,654 --> 01:30:05,333 - Don't make a scene. We're going away. - No, you're not. Please. 1291 01:30:05,824 --> 01:30:08,692 Police! Get out of my way! Clear the way! Let me through! 1292 01:30:09,550 --> 01:30:11,160 Oh. What have I done now? 1293 01:30:11,162 --> 01:30:13,597 No, it's... it's what you haven't done. 1294 01:30:14,033 --> 01:30:17,701 - What do you mean? - Well, who's going to carve the turkey? 1295 01:30:18,249 --> 01:30:20,403 And who's going to make the Christmas pudding? 1296 01:30:20,405 --> 01:30:22,438 It won't be the same without you. 1297 01:30:22,440 --> 01:30:26,643 The pudding! The secret is to warm the treacle first. 1298 01:30:26,645 --> 01:30:28,812 There, you... you see, my dear? 1299 01:30:28,814 --> 01:30:31,100 I told you something would turn up. 1300 01:30:31,583 --> 01:30:33,050 Oh, my son. Oh. 1301 01:30:35,453 --> 01:30:36,789 Gotcha! 1302 01:30:38,323 --> 01:30:40,257 You're that Charles Dickens, aren't you? 1303 01:30:40,259 --> 01:30:41,458 Uh, guilty. 1304 01:30:41,460 --> 01:30:44,160 That last one. Chuzzlewit. 1305 01:30:44,162 --> 01:30:46,796 Wept like a baby, I did. 1306 01:30:46,798 --> 01:30:49,433 Well, that's... that's very kind. What's your name, Constable? 1307 01:30:49,435 --> 01:30:51,805 My name? Copperfield, sir. 1308 01:30:52,837 --> 01:30:54,737 Copperfield. 1309 01:30:54,739 --> 01:30:56,807 Any chance of a new book soon? 1310 01:30:56,809 --> 01:30:59,183 New book. New book! 1311 01:30:59,878 --> 01:31:02,812 Wait. New book. 1312 01:31:02,814 --> 01:31:04,317 Merry Christmas! 1313 01:31:05,751 --> 01:31:08,188 I'm his father. 1314 01:31:09,622 --> 01:31:11,354 Santa bells for sale! 1315 01:31:11,356 --> 01:31:14,327 Shoe Lane! As fast as you can go. 1316 01:31:21,533 --> 01:31:23,634 - Charles, where have you been? - It's all right. I've got it! 1317 01:31:23,636 --> 01:31:27,403 Mr. Grub! Mr. Grub. We're here. 1318 01:31:27,405 --> 01:31:30,810 I have it. I have the ending. You can finish it now. 1319 01:31:32,444 --> 01:31:34,577 It's too late. - What? 1320 01:31:34,579 --> 01:31:37,748 Oh, come on. You've already printed the other four chapters, and it's just one more. 1321 01:31:37,750 --> 01:31:40,185 Get the whole book finished today. 1322 01:31:45,256 --> 01:31:48,491 - I can't guarantee anything. - Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Grub! 1323 01:31:48,493 --> 01:31:50,295 Thank you. 1324 01:31:51,462 --> 01:31:53,233 I didn't say I could do it. 1325 01:32:07,246 --> 01:32:09,582 Well, I'll see what I can do. 1326 01:32:20,359 --> 01:32:22,629 Oh, come on, man. Don't prolong the agony. 1327 01:33:12,011 --> 01:33:13,713 It's exactly as I'd imagined it. 1328 01:33:19,417 --> 01:33:22,652 Hello, gents. Extraordinary weather, isn't it? 1329 01:33:22,654 --> 01:33:23,833 Looks like snow. 1330 01:33:24,590 --> 01:33:27,958 - Hello, Thackeray. - Oh, what's this I have? 1331 01:33:27,960 --> 01:33:30,861 Yes. It's a proof copy of your new book. 1332 01:33:31,450 --> 01:33:33,583 I'm going to review it for The Spectator. 1333 01:33:34,500 --> 01:33:37,834 I'm told you wrote it in only six weeks, Charles. 1334 01:33:37,836 --> 01:33:39,838 What a prodigy you are. 1335 01:33:45,377 --> 01:33:47,643 Did you bring that all the way from Italy? 1336 01:33:47,645 --> 01:33:48,981 Sì. Venezia. 1337 01:33:50,048 --> 01:33:51,947 And now... 1338 01:33:51,949 --> 01:33:57,086 And now the beautiful mermaid floats through the sea. 1339 01:34:10,469 --> 01:34:12,639 Hello, old girl! 1340 01:34:14,372 --> 01:34:16,940 Oh, my goodness. That is beautiful. 1341 01:34:16,942 --> 01:34:19,576 Isn't it? The Germans call it a Tannenbaum. 1342 01:34:19,578 --> 01:34:22,446 It's a tree for Christmas. A Christmas tree, I suppose. 1343 01:34:22,448 --> 01:34:25,081 Now the royal family have got one, it'll be all the rage. 1344 01:34:27,953 --> 01:34:30,387 - Hello. - Miss Wigmore! 1345 01:34:30,389 --> 01:34:31,990 Papa had a change of heart. 1346 01:34:33,591 --> 01:34:36,893 So he did. Oh, I'm so pleased! Congratulations. 1347 01:34:36,895 --> 01:34:39,396 Charles, uh, I think you're going to want to hear this. 1348 01:34:39,398 --> 01:34:40,897 - It's by Thackeray. - Not now. 1349 01:34:40,899 --> 01:34:43,036 No, please. Everyone, gather round. 1350 01:34:52,677 --> 01:34:55,010 "It was a blessed inspiration 1351 01:34:55,012 --> 01:34:59,400 that put such a book into the head of Charles Dickens. 1352 01:35:00,666 --> 01:35:03,387 A happy inspiration of the heart 1353 01:35:03,389 --> 01:35:05,883 that warms every page. 1354 01:35:06,891 --> 01:35:12,728 It is impossible to read without a glowing bosom and burning cheeks, 1355 01:35:12,730 --> 01:35:16,916 between love and shame of our kind." 1356 01:35:17,703 --> 01:35:19,339 - Aw. - Bravo, Charles. 1357 01:35:24,777 --> 01:35:28,081 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. 1358 01:35:31,060 --> 01:35:32,952 And those on the way. 1359 01:35:34,752 --> 01:35:36,066 A toast. 1360 01:35:36,555 --> 01:35:41,525 I wish you all many, many happy Christmases 1361 01:35:41,527 --> 01:35:46,862 and friendships, and great accumulation of cheerful recollections 1362 01:35:46,864 --> 01:35:48,800 and heaven at last for all of us. 1363 01:35:49,501 --> 01:35:53,573 In the season of hope, we will shut out nothing from our firesides 1364 01:35:54,640 --> 01:35:56,533 and everyone will be welcome. 1365 01:36:05,451 --> 01:36:08,550 Welcome what has been and what is 1366 01:36:10,756 --> 01:36:12,923 and what we hope may be, 1367 01:36:12,925 --> 01:36:14,924 to this shelter underneath the holly. 1368 01:36:21,934 --> 01:36:25,235 Merry, merry Christmas to one and all. 1369 01:36:25,237 --> 01:36:27,739 Merry Christmas! 1370 01:36:56,268 --> 01:36:57,804 Thank you.