Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

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.

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

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

Stars:

Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne

Won 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

At the Macy's 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 him to take his place. He proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main store. While he is successful, Doris learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by his 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 among the rampant commercialism around him and succeeding in improbable ways. When a raucous conflict with the store's cruelly incompetent therapist, Granville Sawyer, erupts, he finds himself held at Bellevue where, in ...

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Plot Keywords:

christmas movie | santa claus | christmas | delusion | girl | 

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Taglines:

The Man behind the Miracle is bringing you laughter, tenderness, joy such as you heart has never known before!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alvin Greenman, who played Alfred, was the last surviving cast member at the time of his death on July 14, 2016 at the age of 86.

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Goofs

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is still very much in progress, and a marching band can be heard loudly playing in the background as Doris enters her high-rise apartment building. Her apartment is many levels up, as Susan and Fred can be clearly seen looking down to watch the parade below from his apartment which is located directly across from Doris', and therefore several minutes must pass between the time Doris enters the apartment building and when she arrives (presumably by elevator), at the entrance to her apartment. After we see her enter the apartment building, the very next shot we see of her is at the doorway of her apartment. As she enters it, the band is still playing the same march, just as loudly as it had been when she entered the apartment building, and it has not even skipped a beat.

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Quotes

Alfred, Macy janitor: Yeah, there's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism. Make a buck, make a buck. Even in Brooklyn it's the same - don't care what Christmas stands for, just make a buck, make a buck.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in two computer colorized versions. The film was first colorized in 1985 by Color Systems Technology, Inc. and again in 2006 by Legend Films using much-improved technology. Prints came with a disclaimer: "It has been altered without the participation of the principal director, screenwriter and other creators of the original film."

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.75 (2009)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Feel Good Movie

It's amazing to me when one single movie can brighten your spirits, Miracle On 34th Street is one such movie that has the ability to do just that. A viewer can't help but to wear a smile after watching, which is what makes for a great film. There was nothing bad about this film at all. The acting and the sets were very good. And the whole spirit of Christmas shone throughout the entire movie.

Like I said above, that acting in this movie was superb. Edmund Gwenn playing the role of Kris Kringle was marvelous. He seemed to be happy and jolly throughout the whole movie, all the qualities one thinks of when thinking about Santa, Edmund Gwenn embodied. He even made a believer out of me, well, not really, but close. Natalie Wood as Susan Walker had so much talent for someone her age. The emotion that she put into her role was so great that I kept forgetting that she was only a child. As for the sets, all of them were well done, but the set that stood out the most was definitely the courtroom scene. The detail that went into the making of that set was so good, it surpassed all the other sets in the movie by far.

Personally, I love Christmas movies and am really critical of what ones are good and what ones I'd have rather gouged my eyes out than have to watch. Luckily, Miracle On 34th Street was not one of those movies. The spirit of Christmas was portrayed really well, this was one movie that one couldn't help but feel warm and toasty after viewing. What is probably one of the greatest things about this movie is that it is one that the whole family can enjoy, and more importantly enjoy together. On a scale of 1- 10, Miracle On 34th Street is undeniably a 9, one movie that I wouldn't mind watching over and over again.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Dutch

Release Date:

2 October 1947 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

It's Only Human

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$527

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 101 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White Black and White (B&W) Black and White (Black & White)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1