I'll never understand why Margaret O'Brien wasn't cast as the lead in Miracle on 34th Street. She was the right age, the right look, and had practically played the part before in Lost Angel. If you've ever wondered how she would have played Susan Walker, rent Lost Angel to find out.
Margaret stars as a child raised by a group of scientists, Henry O'Neill, Philip Merivale, Donald Meek, Elisabeth Risdon, Howard Freeman, Walter Fenner, and Sara Haden, instead of parents. She has a rigorous and strict study schedule including Chinese, yoga, economics, world history, and philosophy. She eats healthy, has regular exercise and playtime, and wants for nothing. When an irresponsible but charming reporter, James Craig, interviews her, he shows her the shadows on Plato's cave. He asks her if she ever reads fairy tales, and she scoffs, saying there's no point because magic isn't real. She corrects his grammar, and while he wonders what she does for fun, she tells him she has everything she needs at the institute. Sound familiar? That scene and the following scene during which she runs away from the institute and claims she's looking for Santa Claus feels like they were a rough draft of Miracle on 34th Street.
This movie is actually pretty cute, and I was a particularly hard sell on the premise. If someone is perfectly happy in her structured idyll, why give her a "better" life by showing her the real world of human emotions, arguments, and heartbreak? When Margaret runs away, she gloms onto James, insisting he show her a world of magic. During the course of her vacation, she eats junk food, gets into a fist-fight, cries her eyes out, discovers unrequited love, and has her life endangered by a runaway criminal, Keenan Wynn. Why did I like this movie? Because I just couldn't help it. Margaret is the exact precursor to Natalie Wood, and when she falls in love with James, it's unbelievably cute. James is very sweet, too, and even though he's flighty and not a good influence for a six-year-old, he's pretty irresistible. I dare you to get through this movie with a clear throat. I was a very hard sell, and even I got a lump in mine. It's pretty similar to Little Miss Marker, so if you liked watching Shirley Temple charm Adolphe Menjou, you'll like watching Margaret and James.
