“I worshiped the film’s writing,” said Carol Kane, who spooked up the joint as the Ghost of Christmas Present. “I agree with Carol,” says Karen Allen, who played Murray’s love interest. “I think the script was wonderful."
And yet Murray was never satisfied, making life miserable for O’Donoghue, himself a real-life Scrooge.
“I have a beautiful image of the very first day I shot with Bill,” remembers Allen. “We were in New York City during the winter, so it was bitter cold. And, because the days were so short, we were on set really early in the morning. Bill said, “I don’t know about the way this script is written.”
“And while we’re talking in the trailer, the crew’s standing outside, turning blue. Suddenly, there’s a little knock knock knock on the trailer door.” And shivering in the cold, at 5:30 in the morning, there’s O’Donoghue, wearing bedroom slippers, pinstripe pajamas, and a ski hat, waiting to make Bill happy.
Paramount Pictures
But it wasn’t just Murray making life miserable for O’Donoghue -- it went both ways. According to Dennis Perrin’s Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O’Donoghue, the writer hated what Murray did with the movie’s final redemption speech. Despite co-writer Glazer imploring the actor to get over his nerves and just deliver the words as written, Murray went off on an emotional, big-actor-moment tirade. Glazer actually thought Murray was having a nervous breakdown.