A review by healingtothemax
A Christmas Carol / The Chimes by Charles Dickens

3.0

The edition I listened to isn't listed on this site, so this version was closest - I was lucky enough to find and enjoy Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre production of Dickens' classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL starring Mr. Barrymore. Presented by Campbell's Soup to boot! It was a time traveling trip back into radio's heyday fueled by a timeless holiday tale about redemption. The other story THE CHIMES was also listened to via a different audio production and I disliked the story, finding it a pale ghost of CAROL. It only "sang" to me at the supernatural reveal of the powers behind the chiming clock tower, where I think the story's heart beat versus the "trotting" messenger and his poor circumstances that ground on and wore on this listener's ears (and patience). Still, what a prolific writer Dickens was, unafraid to tackle the challenges in his society with its classist problems. This pick was OPT'd's second holiday-themed choice, easy to find a multitude of this story's adaptations playing near and far on-stage, on TV and film screens, and over the "radio."