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Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

 -  Comedy | Drama | Family  -  2 May 1947 (USA)
7.8
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Ratings: 7.8/10 from 21,055 users  
Reviews: 134 user | 76 critic

When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing.

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Title: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) on IMDb 7.8/10

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Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
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Porter Hall ...
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Jerome Cowan ...
Philip Tonge ...
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Storyline

At the Macy's Department Store Thanksgiving Day parade, the actor playing Santa is discovered to be drunk by a whiskered old man. Doris Walker, the no nonsense special events director, persuades the old man to take his place. The old man proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main Macy's outlet. While he is successful, Ms. Walker learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by Kringle's doctor that he is harmless, Doris still has misgivings, especially when she has cynically trained herself, and especially her daughter, Susan, to reject all notions of belief and fantasy. And yet, people, especially Susan, begin to notice there is something special about Kris and his determination to advance the true spirit of Christmas amidst the rampant commercialism around him and succeeding in improbable ways. When a raucous conflict with the store's cruelly incompetent psychologist erupts, Kris ... Written by Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@rogers.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!


Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

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Release Date:

2 May 1947 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Das Wunder von Manhattan  »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Unbeknownst to most parade watchers, Edmund Gwenn played Santa Claus in the actual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held November 28, 1946. He fulfilled the duties of most parade Santas, including addressing the crowd from the marquee of Macy's after the parade was over. He was introduced to the crowd by actor Philip Tonge (he played Mr. Shellhammer in the movie) and he later unveiled the mechanical Christmas display windows to the accompaniment of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite." This gesture symbolized the opening of the Christmas shopping season at the store. See more »

Goofs

After Kris is accused of being mentally ill but before his hearing occurs, newspaper articles are shown on the screen. The headlines say that Kris will have a hearing, which is correct. But the articles say that the hearing has already occurred, and describe what happened in the courtroom. Yet that has not happened yet. See more »

Quotes

Susan Walker: If you're really Santa Claus, you can get it for me. And if you can't, you're only a nice man with a white beard like mother says.
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Soundtracks

"National Emblem"
(1906) (uncredited)
Music by Edwin Eugene Bagley
Played at the beginning and other times during the parade
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Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

Holiday Combination That Works Well
8 December 2004 | by (Ohio) – See all my reviews

Still among the most worthwhile of the familiar holiday movies, this classic version of "Miracle on 34th Street" has a combination of cast, story, and production that works well. Maureen O'Hara, young Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn would probably have carried it pretty well by themselves, and they are joined by a very good supporting cast. The screenplay is nicely done, bringing out the fantasy elements of the story without letting it become trite.

Gwenn, who played many solid character roles, gets the chance here to play a role for which he was ideally suited, and it works very well. O'Hara and Wood make a good pair to balance him out. The supporting cast gets some very good moments of their own, especially Gene Lockhart and William Frawley, whose scenes are entertaining while also offering some occasionally pointed commentary.

The style of the production is well-suited to the material, offering an innocently upbeat story without overdoing it on sentimentality. For all that this style of the production and acting are out of fashion, they are able to capture a theme like this in a worthwhile way that is simply not possible with the kind of false "sophistication" that permeates so many present-day movies.

That's not to say that this is some kind of masterpiece, which it is not and did not try to be. Instead, it's a light, enjoyable, positive movie that does make a worthwhile point or two. That kind of feature will always find an appreciative audience somewhere.


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