Today’s movie is a
fantasy drama with a scene that happens on December 23. Watch it tonight and
enjoy.
MIRACLE ON 34TH
STREET (1947)
At the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade when Santa Claus turns out to be a drunk, Doris Walker, who’s in charge
of the parade hires a man who looks just like Santa Claus to play the part. Her
daughter Susan watches the parade with Fred Gailey, an attorney who has just
moved into their apartment building. Doris has raised her daughter on strictly
scientific lines, with no fantasy or myths. She hires the parade Santa as the
Macy’s department store Santa. When he
starts sending customers to other stores when Macy’s doesn’t have what they
want, customers love the idea. When Susan starts to think the man really may be
Santa, Doris asks him to tell Susan he’s not, but instead he says his name is
Kris Kringle. Since customers love Kris, Mr. Macy insists he be retained. Mr. Sawyer,
who gives personality tests at the store takes a dislike to Kris. Kris helps
Susan begin to develop her imagination and she finally tells him she wants a
little house in the suburbs for Christmas.
Then Kris learns that Sawyer has been telling Alfred, a young employee
at the store that Alfred’s desire to dress up as Santa for the kids at the YMCA
is a sign of a guilt complex. Kris
confronts Sawyer and pops him on the head with an umbrella. With Doris’s reluctant
approval, her assistant and Sawyer take Kris to Belleview mental hospital
where, saddened by Doris’s continued doubts about him, he deliberately flunks
the psychiatric tests given to him. Mr. Gailey files a protest to Kris’s
commitment. He announces he intends to prove Kris is Santa Claus. This causes a
fight between Fred and Doris, who have started to become interested in each
other romantically. On December 23, 1947
[1:14:05 to 1:25:17] the second day of Kris Kringle’s sanity hearing,
the state concedes the existence of Santa Claus, but wants definitive proof
that Kris is Santa Claus. Susan and Doris write a letter to Santa addressed to
Kris at the courthouse, saying they believe in him. The next day all of the
Post Office’s letters to Santa are delivered to Kris. Since the US government,
through the Post Office recognizes Kris as Santa Claus, the judge says the
state of New York will agree. The next day Kris sends Susan, Fred and Susan to
a house that is exactly like the one she wanted and they find Kris’s cane by
the fireplace.
A wonderful classic film for the
ages. You should never be too old to watch and enjoy this film. If you think
you are, I feel sorry for you.
Date given in the film when at 1:22:04 the judge adjourns
until “tomorrow” and that day is described as “Christmas Eve” at 1:26:25
Producer - William Perlberg
Director - George Seaton
Awards – This movie won the Best Supporting Actor (Gwenn),
Best Original Story and Best Original Screenplay Oscars. It was also nominated
for the Best Picture Oscar at the 20th Academy Awards.
Screenplay - George Seaton
Runtime – 1 hour 36 minutes
Released – May 2, 1947
Starring –
Maureen O'Hara as Doris Walker
John Payne as Frederick M. "Fred" Gailey
Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle
Natalie Wood as Susan Walker
Porter Hall as Granville Sawyer
William Frawley as Charlie Halloran
Jerome Cowan as District Attorney Thomas Mara
Philip Tonge as Julian Shellhammer
Alvin Greenman as Alfred
Gene Lockhart as The Hon. Henry X. Harper
Harry Antrim as R. H. Macy
Herbert Heyes as Mr. Gimbel
James Seay as Dr. Pierce, a geriatrics physician
Thelma Ritter as a harried shopper
Percy Helton as the drunken Santa Claus stand-in at the
parade
Ann Staunton as Mrs. Mara
Bobby Hyatt as Thomas Mara, Jr.
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.
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