Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

George Seaton (written for the screen by)
Valentine Davies (story)

Release Date:

2 May 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Santa Claus | Department Store | Christmas | Lawyer | Parade

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Maureen O'Hara	...	Doris Walker
John Payne	...	Fred Gailey
Edmund Gwenn	...	Kris Kringle
Gene Lockhart	...	Judge Henry X. Harper
Natalie Wood	...	Susan Walker
Porter Hall	...	Granville Sawyer
William Frawley	...	Charlie Halloran
Jerome Cowan	...	Dist. Atty. Thomas Mara
Philip Tonge	...	Julian Shellhammer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Albertson	...	Post Office Mail Sorter Next to Lou (uncredited)
Harry Antrim	...	Mr. R.H. Macy (uncredited)
Lela Bliss	...	Mrs. Shellhammer (uncredited)
Walden Boyle	...	Judge's Clerk (uncredited)
Kevin Burke	...	Child on Santa's Lap (uncredited)
Dorothy Christy	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Dick Cogan	...	Department Store Head (uncredited)
Jeff Corey	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Teddy Driver	...	Terry (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Dutch Girl's Adopted Mother (uncredited)
William Forrest	...	Doctor Rogers at Bellevue (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Robert Gist	...	Department Store Window Dresser (uncredited)
Jane Green	...	Mrs. Harper (uncredited)
Alvin Greenman	...	Alfred (uncredited)
Alvin Hammer	...	George (uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Cleo (uncredited)
Percy Helton	...	Drunken Santa Claus (uncredited)
Herbert Heyes	...	Mr. Gimbel (uncredited)
Clark Howat	...	Patron in Macy's Lunchroom (uncredited)
Robert Hyatt	...	Thomas Mara Jr. (uncredited)
Richard Irving	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Robert Karnes	...	Second Bellevue Interne (uncredited)
Fran Lee	...	Customer (uncredited)
Marlene Lyden	...	Dutch Girl (uncredited)
Robert Lynn	...	Macy Salesman (uncredited)
Mae Marsh	...	Woman in Santa Line (uncredited)
Ida McGuire	...	Drum Majorette (uncredited)
Joseph McInerney	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Jean O'Donnell	...	Miss Adams (uncredited)
Anne O'Neal	...	Secretary to Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	...	Court Officer Bearing Mail (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Mail-Bearing Court Officer (uncredited)
Lorin Raker	...	Macy Salesman (uncredited)
Bob Reeves	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Thelma Ritter	...	Peter's Mother (uncredited)
Stephen Roberts	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Courtroom Reporter (uncredited)
James Seay	...	Dr. Pierce (uncredited)
Irene Shirley	...	R.H. Macy's Secretary (uncredited)
Patty Smith	...	Alice (uncredited)
Ann Staunton	...	Mrs. Mara (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Guard (uncredited)
Anthony Sydes	...	Peter (uncredited)
Guy Thomajan	...	Lou (uncredited)
Basil Walker	...	Bellevue Intern (uncredited)

Directed by
George Seaton

Writing credits
George Seaton		(written for the screen by)
Valentine Davies		(story)

Produced by
William Perlberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Cyril J. Mockridge		(as Cyril Mockridge)

Cinematography by
Lloyd Ahern		(director of photography)
Charles G. Clarke		(director of photography) (as Charles Clarke)

Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson		(as Robert Simpson)

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Richard Irvine

Set Decoration by
Ernest Lansing		(set decorations)
Thomas Little		(set decorations)

Costume Design by
Kay Nelson		(costumes designed by)

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
Arthur von Kirbach	....	sound (as Arthur L. Kirbach)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lyman Hallowell	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Alfred Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestral arrangements (as Edward Powell)
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
John C. Eagan	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Charlie Hall	....	location manager (uncredited)
Dirk Van H. Labberton	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
May E. Romm	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (released through) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)
• 20th Century Fox (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Netherlands Fox Film Corporation (1947) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Film (1947) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Art Station (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1984) (Australia) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (VHS)
• GP Museum Soft (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Tone (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Legend Films  colorization
• Percepto Records  score album released by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Dutch

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #12122) | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | UK:U | Germany:o.Al. (DVD) | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Portugal:M/6 | Netherlands:AL (original rating) | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

19 East 61st Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The real R.H. (Rowland Hussey) Macy died in 1877, 70 years prior to the time of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Several shots of the judge show a lamp on his desk. When the mail is dumped in front of him, the lamp has disappeared.

Quotes:

Fred:That baseball player sure looks like a giant to me.
Susan:Sometimes people grow very large, but that's abnormal.
Fred:I'll bet your mother told you that, too.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Siskel & Ebert: Hollywood's New Vandalism" (1986)

Soundtrack:

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Holiday Combination That Works Well

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.