Scrooged

Umpteenth screen version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with Murray as a miserly television exec determined to exploit the Yuletide schedules for all they are worth.

He learns the error of his ways just in time for a cringe-inducing finale demanding peace on earth and good will to all men.

Despite lavish effects and a motley constellation of guest stars, this is a formula comedy of contemporary cynicism whose uneasily vicious humour seems at odds with the spirit of the original.

Alastair Sim, where are you now?