Miracle on 34th Street (1973) (TV)

Director:

Fielder Cook

Writers:

Valentine Davies (story)
Jeb Rosebrook (writer)

Release Date:

14 December 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

A department store Santa tries to convince a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus that he is Santa Claus...

Plot Keywords:

Santa Claus | Department Store Santa | Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | Single Mother | Courtroom

Cast

Jane Alexander	...	Karen Walker
David Hartman	...	Bill Schaffner
Roddy McDowall	...	Dr. Henry Sawyer
Sebastian Cabot	...	Kris Kringle
Suzanne Davidson	...	Susan Walker
Jim Backus	...	Horace Shellhammer
David Doyle	...	R.H. Macy
Tom Bosley	...	Judge Harper
James Gregory	...	District Attorney
Roland Winters	...	Mr. Gimbel
Liam Dunn	...	Reindeer Keeper
Conrad Janis	...	Doctor Pierce
Ellen Weston	...	Celeste
Jason Wingreen	...	Halloran
Burt Mustin	...	Roy

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Filming Locations:

Castle Green - 99 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Sebastian Cabot had to shave off his famous beard for this film and wear an artificial one after makeup artists were unable to whiten and fill his real beard out so that it made him look like Santa Claus.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (#4.21)" (1991)

Not Original but Good!

First let me begin by saying that nothing exceeds the original black & white 1947 version of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. It is rare when a movie remake is better than the original. The 1973 version of this film by no means is better than the 47 version, for that matter nor is the 94 version. In my opinion the 94 version is the worst but I'll not comment on that here.

I feel that the 74 version does bring some good things to the table. I find the color here better than the Ted Turner coloring of the 47 version. I believe that movies filmed in black & white should stay in black & white. Turner does an injustice to movie making with his colorization process. I also like the selection of the actors for this film. Both Alexander and Hartman give good performances and come off across as ordinary looking and yet are an attractive couple. Davis did seem to overact a bit in the role of the lead child but she is tolerable.

When looking at a film I like to be able to identify what era it was made in. Both the 47 and 73 are identifiable by the autos, clothes, toys and parade floats & balloons. While not alive in 47 I was a kid in 73 and it's nice to watch a film and be reminded of images from my own youth.

So, while it is true that the 73 version does not do better than the 47 version it does not flop either.