Ronald Searle introduces this behind the scenes short promo for the film "Scrooge" (1970). Searle was involved in the film, creating the illustrated titles for the Albert Finney musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
Background: there was going to be a Ronald Searle-drawn animated adaptation of Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Good news!
But the bad news is: the project did not happen.
The good news: LIFE Magazine presented Searle's concept art -- and these
became the drawings for a Searle edition of A CHRISTMAS CAROL book
edition.
Via Matt Jone's "Ronald Searle in America" Facebook page:
"Did you know Ronald Searle almost made an animated film of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'? Unfortunately it didn't pan out and his pitch drawings were published in LIFE magazine then expanded for an edition of the novel."
Searle illustrated an edition of the book, published in 1960 by Perpetua Press.
His iconic drawings later became the first thing you see when you watch the movie Scrooge. Great to see an illustrator showcased in the movie promo above!
Related:
Art of the Title has scans of Searle's Scrooge film title drawings, as well as video of the opening title sequence here.
Film director Mike Leigh: "Ronald Searle taught me filmmaking"
In 1975 there was a peculiar animated feature, "Dick Deadeye", built on Searle's character designs and directed by Bill Melendez. I recall it was on cable some decades back; there was a VHS release and a storybook. The latter is available on Amazon for anything from six bucks to several hundred.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cG7VZ3T4bM