The movie musical SCROOGE and I, are longtime friends. (It's possible that I have seen the movie during its original release.) The film is such a beautiful, albeit musical, retelling of the original Charles Dickens tale. The art of this film - costumes, set, and props - weaves the story together to give it a  beautiful, historically accurate Dickens portrayal. SCROOGE was nominated for Academy Awards in Art, Costume, Original Song and Original Score. I consider it to be the highlight of holiday entertainment that holds up nicely for a yearly re-watch.   Currently, with all the movies that we are viewing for  ChatterBox Divas , I have begun taking a closer look at some of the different aspects of production design. Ronald Searle is the artist behind the illustrations for the SCROOGE title cards. Below is a sampling of those featured in the credits. Please visit   SCROOGE - opening credits  - with Leslie Bricusse's song, "A Christmas Carol....

MIRACLE ON 34th STREET was not originally intended to be released as a 'Christmas' movie. There was no mention of a holiday theme in the movie trailer, of which is very long and unappealing. (I'd be hard pressed to attend it based on the trailer alone!  In my estimation, the worst movie trailer ever - judge for yourself!)  Movie trailer Screenwriter Valentine Davies came up with the story idea (originally titled, THE BIG HEART ) while Christmas shopping for his wife. His struggle to get through the bustle of Christmas crowds, made him wonder how the real Santa Claus would feel about the commercialism he was witnessing. [imdb]   Davies ended up writing the screenplay, as well as this 120 page novella. The book was released in conjunction with the film's release. MIRACLE ON 34th STREET's story was set during Christmas time. Filming took place during the Fall/Winter of 1946, yet ended up being released in May 1947. The studio head, (Darryl F. Zanuck) felt that more peo...

The Little Shop of Horrors  ( aka  Passionate People Eater)  is an American horror comedy film written by Charles B. Griffith, directed by Roger Corman. The concept may have been based on the 1932 short story  Green Thoughts , which in turn may have been inspired by the 1905 H.G. Wells story,  The Flowering of the Strange Orchid.                                                   Roger Corman, Director, (nick name, KING OF THE B'S ) had just completed filming Bucket of Blood. The sets from that film would still be accessible for a few days more. Corman decided to get his money's worth out of his production investment by utilizing his resources and crew at hand. In fact, Corman was known for his ability to shoot a film on a 'shoe string' budget.The running gag in Hollywood was that Corman could -  'negotiate the production of ...