the story for NBC. Told in the Cricket's own words, it featured the voices of Roddy MacDowall as the Cricket, and father and daughter Danny Thomas and Marlo Thomas as Caleb and Bertha, with various other characters voiced by Paul Frees and Hans Conried. This adaptation cuts several characters, including the central pair of John and Dot, focusing solely on Caleb and Bertha. Television Corporation of Japan (now Eiken) provided the animation for the special, while its seven original songs were written and composed by Maury Laws and Jules Bass. Rankin/Bass later produced their adaptations of Dickens's other holiday stories for television: A Christmas Tree (1850) as the ninth episode of their 1972–73 syndicated television series, Festival of Family Classics, and A Christmas Carol (1843) as the 1978 animated remake of the 1956 live action musical special, The Stingiest Man in Town. See also List of Christmas-themed literature Notes External links Online editions The Cricket on the Hearth at Internet Archive. The Cricket on the Hearth at Dickens Literature The Cricket on the Hearth at The University of Adelaide Library Adaptations Dot, A Drama in Three Acts by Dion Boucicault (1859) Picture Gallery from Victorian Web 1845 British novels British novellas British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into television shows Christmas characters Christmas novels Fiction about insects Fictional crickets Novels adapted into operas Novels by Charles Dickens Novels set in London Victorian novels