SHOW NOTES: Scrooged (1988)

The movie Scrooged is a modern take on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Frank Cross, played by Bill Murray, is a wildly successful television executive whose ruthless ambition and curmudgeonly nature have driven away the love of his life, Claire, played by Karen Allen. But after firing staff member Eliot Loudermilk on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.

Bill Murray – born 1950 in Illinois, one of 8 children. Big Irish Catholic family, his sister Nancy is an Adrian Dominican nun. 3 of his brothers are actors, including his brother Ed, who died in 2020 (and played his father in the movie). Murray got his comedic start at Second City, moving to SNL shortly thereafter. He has over 90 acting credits to his name and he has been awarded a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and 2 Primetime Emmy awards.
Karen Allen – born in 1951 also in Illinois, Allen made her film debut in the 1978 comedy, Animal House. Her breakthrough role was opposite Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark. She’s also appeared in 2 of the Indiana Jones movies as well as Mrs. Smalls in the Sandlot (You’re killing me Smalls).
John Forsythe – born in 1918 and passed away in 2010, Forsythe is notably recognized as the voice of Charles Townsend from the 1970s TV series, Charlie’s Angels, as well as patriarch Blake Carrington on Dynasty which ran from 1981 – 1989.
The movie also stars Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot, Carol Kane as the Fairy Ghost of Christmas Present, and Alfre Woodard as Grace.
Cameos included: Lee Majors (Six Million Dollar Man), John Houseman (Silver Spoons), and Robert Goulet portraying themselves. Miles Davis, Paul Shaffer, David Sanborn, and the Solid Gold Dancers. Buddy Hackett as Scrooge, Mary Lou Retton as “Tiny Tim” Cratchit, and Jamie Farr as Jacob Marley.

Written by 2 SNL alums
All 4 Murray brothers were in the movie
David Johnson = Buster Poindexter
Murray has gone as far as to say that he experienced a “fair amount of misery” shooting “Scrooged.”
“Feed me, Seymour” is from Little Shop of Horrors, in which he played a small role
Bill Murray was the first guest David Letterman had on his show and he was also his last guest.

Release date

November 23, 1988

Budget	$32 million
Box office	$100.3 million

Roger Ebert called it one of the most “disquieting, unsettling films to come along in quite some time”, saying that it portrays pain and anger more than comedy
The Washington Post’s Joe Brown said that it was a “sprawling mess”, but that he liked it. Brown said that Scrooged was unlikely to become a seasonal tradition like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947), considering that it would age poorly and either scare or be too adult for child audiences.
O’Donoghue (co-writer) was very critical of the finished film. He said, “We wrote a fucking masterpiece. We wrote It Happened One Night (1934). We wrote a story that could make you laugh and cry. You would have wanted to share it with your grandchildren every fucking Christmas for the next 100 years. The finished film was a piece of unadulterated, unmitigated shit.”
Since its release, Scrooged has become a cult classic and a Christmas classic, being regularly shown on television during the holiday period. Entertainment Weekly’s Whitney Pastorek called it an immortal classic and argued that it is the most underrated Christmas movie. Pastorek said that the film is “both crude and sentimental, resonant and ludicrous…Scrooged is the perfect holiday movie for bitter, reluctant, closet Christmas lovers”. The Boston Globe’s Maura Johnston said that the film was ahead of its time, which allowed it to remain relevant years later.”