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 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

santa claus character | christmas movie | national film registry | commercialism | department store | 

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Taglines:

Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Dutch

Release Date:

2 October 1947 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Christmas Miracle on 34th Street

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,650,000

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maureen O'Hara was ultimately forced into her role against her will, as she had just returned to Ireland before being called back to America for the film. However, she immediately changed her sentiments upon reading the script.

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Goofs

The woman tells Santa that all the department stores are out of the toy fire truck her son wants. Kris directs her to a store that has them. A few scenes later Mr. Shellhammer's secretary goes in to his office to talk to him. Behind her is a toy fire truck, perhaps the one they are supposedly out of.

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Quotes

Fred Gailey: Look Doris, someday you're going to find that your way of facing this realistic world just doesn't work. And when you do, don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll discover those are the only things that are worthwhile.

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Connections

Referenced in Barry Norman's Christmas Movie Quiz (2007)

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Soundtracks

Hark The Herald Angels Sing
(uncredited)
Written by Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (as Felix Mendelssohn)

User Reviews

The Genuine Article, Still A Miracle

There's a "legend" connected with this film, one which has recently gained new life via AMC: Supposedly, upon completion of principle filmmaking, 1947's "Miracle On 34th Street" then had to be submitted to the heads of Macy's and Gimble's department stores who -- had either man withheld approval -- could have cost 20th Century Fox a small fortune in rewrites and reshootings.

Frankly, in view of the fact that much of "Miracle" had already been shot on location in Macy's New York City store (to say nothing of the fact that studio heads of that era -- or any era, for that matter -- were notoriously prone not to take such financial risks), this "legend" is likely just so much "hype," otherwise known as "nonsense."

Thankfully, this is the only trace of phoniness attached to this jewel of a movie. "Miracle On 34th Street" is just that, in every sense of the word: a miracle.

Take a perfectly-crafted, thoughtful screenplay. Add an impeccable cast (from top-to-bottom, by the way; catch, just as one example, Thelma Ritter's uncredited turn as "Peter's Mother"). Throw into this mix an on-location "shoot" (along with Macy's, there's the store's actual 1946 Thanksgiving Parade, footage in a post office facility and a courthouse) which gives this film a nice sense of verisimilitude . . . just in case you're not already prepared (courtesy of Edmund Gwenn, in a totally-deserved Oscar-winning performance) to recapture your belief in Santa Claus.

"Miracle On 34th Street" is many things: a celebration of the Christmas spirit, a heartfelt plea against the "over-commercialism" (even in 1947)of Christmas, an examination of faith itself . . . just to name a few.

It works on every level. Every bit as well today, 54 years after its initial release, as then. Don't waste your time with the remakes -- both on TV as well as theatrical productions (and the less said about an abortive 1963 Broadway musical adaptation, "Here's Love," the better.)

Go for the original film. Go for the genuine article. Again and again and again.