Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.

Director:

Les Mayfield

Writers:

Valentine Davies (story), George Seaton

Stars:

Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Attenborough	...	Kris Kringle
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Dorey Walker
Dylan McDermott	...	Bryan Bedford
J.T. Walsh	...	Ed Collins
James Remar	...	Jack Duff
Jane Leeves	...	Alberta Leonard
Simon Jones	...	Donald Shellhammer
William Windom	...	C.F. Cole
Mara Wilson	...	Susan Walker
Robert Prosky	...	Judge Henry Harper
Kathrine Narducci	...	Mother
Mary McCormack	...	Myrna Foy
Alvin Greenman	...	The Doorman
Allison Janney	...	Woman in Christmas Shop
Greg Noonan	...	Cmdr. Coulson

Storyline

Six-year-old Susan Walker discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. She has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle, Santa Claus. Her mother, Dorey, told her the "secret" about him a long time ago, so she doesn't expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, she is given the most precious gift of all, something to believe in.

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Plot Keywords:

santa claus | girl | remake | parade | court | 

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Taglines:

If you really believe, anything can happen.

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Morrison played the teenage elf assisting Kris at Cole's.

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Goofs

(Around 43 minutes) When Bryan & Dorey go on their date he is wearing a plain blue wool scarf but later on, at the ice rink, it is silk with stars on it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grandson: Ask him. Ask him. Look at him, Grandpa. Ask him.
Judge Henry Harper: Uh, I'm sorry. He, uh he thinks you're Santa Claus.
[Kris Kringle and Judge Harper laugh]
Kris Kringle: [quietly to Harper's grandson] I am.
[to Harper]
Kris Kringle: Merry Christmas.

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Connections

Referenced in Miracle on Canary Wharf (2016)

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Soundtracks

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Performed by Dionne Warwick
Written by Meredith Willson
Produced by Jeremy Lubbock and Elliot Lurie
Courtesy of Arista Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Remake with excellent cast

As far as remakes of classics go this is certainly one of the better examples. The great strength of this film is the casting which throughout matches the excellent class of the original, and this is no mean achievement.

Occasionally the writers felt the need to deviate from the original - perhaps once or twice too often, because the original story was quite modern anyway, i.e. it did not need much updating. Some of these deviations work pretty well (the midnight wedding was a great new idea although left a bit underdeveloped), others very much less so. Using Joss Ackland as a cross between Ebenezer Scrooge and Ernst Stavro Blofeld was a bit daft, but the only real disaster is the resolution of the court case, one of the highlights of the original and a MAJOR let-down in this version.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language Dutch Italian Russian Swahili

Release Date:

18 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miracle on 34th Street

Filming Locations:

Central Park West, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,753,208, 20 November 1994

Gross USA:

$17,320,136

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,264,384

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Hughes Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1