When you are discussing classic holiday movies, I don’t know that there is a more universally loved film than Miracle on 34th Street. (I’m sure someone out there doesn’t like it, but I’ve yet to meet them.) The bustle of a department store in the lead up to the holidays, the magic of Santa, and the faith of a child- who needs more? So, let’s get into our next Holiday Movie Bite: Miracle on 34th Street!
Synopsis
A classic treatment of the necessity for faith and the importance of miracles in the Christmas season. Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) believes he is Santa Claus, and is in fact hired by Macy’s to work as a department store Santa. There he encounters a little girl (Natalie Wood), who is too worldly-wise to believe in him But Whose desire for a complete home and family overcomes her doubts. Kringle’s claim that he is the real Santa Claus is put to the test in a sanity hearing that is delightfully resolved by the American Postal Service. Also starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and William Frawley, the movie won three Academy Awards won for Gwenn and two for its writers, including Valentine Davies, who wrote the original story. Meredith Wilson adapted the story in 1963 for the Broadway musical Here’s Love. (Encyclopedia, 148)
The History of Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a post-war film and has been a holiday favourite ever since premiering. And if you are a fan of the 1947, you probably know that there is a 1994 remake of the same name, featuring Richard Attenborough, Mara Wilson, Elizabeth Perkins, and Dylan McDermott. While the remake was actually a fairly faithful remake, there is one glaring change: the store name. The store in need of a Santa is no longer Macy’s but rather the fictional C.F. Cole’s. (I mean, it seems fairly dramatic to me for Macy’s to be such a Grinch, but the movie is still entertaining!)
Note: There are also two made-for-TV remakes but they aren’t anything special.
My Review of Miracle on 34th Street
I love both the original 1947 and the newer 1994 Miracle on 34th Street. You don’t see many Christmas films that work well for children, adults, and everyone in-between, and they truly do. I also think that both of the actors that play Santa do such a spectacular job that I can’t imagine anyone better. Miracle is that perfect sweet spot of holiday magic and reality, and I don’t know that another film will ever live up to it! These are both must-watches each year for me.
Do you watch Miracle on 34th Street each holiday season?
Cheers,
The Historian
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