SYNOPSIS

Kris Kringle is a kindly old gentleman who is a dead ringer for Santa Claus. When the Santa hired to ride in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade shows up drunk, store supervisor Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) convinces Kringle to take over the role for the day. Kringle is so successful as Santa that Macy's hires him as the in-store Santa Claus. The trouble is that Kringle not only thinks he really is Santa, but also that he starts sending customers to other stores when Macy's doesn't have what they want to buy. Doris, a divorced and disillusioned single mother, has trained her young daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) not to indulge in silly fairy tales like Santa Claus. When Doris' neighbor, ambitious young attorney Fred Gailey (John Payne), takes an interest in her, he is saddened by Susan's skeptical take on life at so young an age and tries to break through the cynical wall that Doris has built up around them. Meanwhile, Kris Kringle's radical tactics as the new Macy's Santa Claus brings unprecedented success to the famous department store, which inspires the community to adopt the generous spirit of the season year round. However, following an incident with the nasty in-store psychologist Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall), Kringle must face the threat of institutionalization as he goes to court to prove that he is indeed the real Santa Claus.

Director: George Seaton
Writer: George Seaton
Story By: Valentine Davies
Producer: William Perlberg
Cinematography: Charles Clarke, Lloyd Ahern
Art Direction: Richard Day, Richard Irvine
Editing: Robert Simpson
Music Composer: Cyril Mockridge
Music Director: Alfred Newman
Music Arranger: Edward Powell
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 (Mr. Sawyer), William Frawley (Charles Halloran), Jerome Cowan (Thomas Mara), Philip Tonge (Mr. Shellhammer), James Seay (Dr. Pierce), Harry Antrim (Mr. Macy)
BW-96m.

Why MIRACLE ON 34th STREET is Essential

Miracle on 34th Street was a smash hit when it was released in 1947, but no one could have imagined that it would go on to become a holiday classic that continues to be shown every year. Its upbeat story and warm-hearted message of generosity and faith remain more relevant today than ever as the film continues to find new fans generation after generation over 60 years after the film's release.

Edmund Gwenn's delightful Academy Award-winning performance as Kris Kringle created a character that generations of children and adults alike have come to love. Gwenn is so memorable in the role that he came to forever be identified with Santa Claus until his dying day.

Miracle on 34th Street was one of the earliest screen roles for little Natalie Wood, who was just beginning to establish herself as a fine child actress. Her remarkable performance as the skeptical Susan Walker showcases her natural talent as an actress that would take her far in her adult career as one of Hollywood's most luminous movie stars.

Miracle on 34th Street helped make the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade an American institution. The parade had been around since 1924. However, before the film, the parade was a local New York City tradition that was broadcast locally over television beginning in the 1940s. With its on-location opening scenes, Miracle on 34th Street brought the parade into the national consciousness. National television coverage began for the parade in 1948, the year after the film's release, and has remained a part of American popular culture ever since.

by Andrea Passafiume