I'm trying
something different to get in the holiday spirit this year. Every
day, from now through Christmas, I will be watching a different
Christmas movie or television special. I have compiled the list of
features ahead of time and am drawing one, at random, from my
Christmas stocking everyday to determine what gets watched. Thank
you for joining me in this endeavor. We are already at the half way
point to Christmas and most of my preparations are still not done.
Apparently, I didn't learn that much from Jingle All the Way.
Regardless, let's find out what I'm watching for feature number 15.
Miracle on 34th
Street (1947)
It is safe to say that we are back with more traditional Christmas
movie fare with this pick. I know that I have seen this version of
Miracle on 34th Street at least once, but I'll admit that
it is not the version that I am most familiar with. The one that I
have seen most often is the 1994 remake. I almost selected that one
for the list, but I opted for the original instead for two reasons.
First, the 1994 remake is a John Hughes vehicle and with the Home
Alone series I already had two of those. Second, my girlfriend has
been watching these with me and somehow she is entirely unaware of
the plot of Miracle on 34th Street. It wouldn't be fair
to introduce it to her through a remake. Therefore, it had to be the
original. This is the oldest film selected to this point and doesn't
feature a single Muppet, how will I feel about this Christmas
classic?
Synopsis
Miracle
of 34th
Street opens at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. An old man sets
about giving pointers to the man playing Santa during the parade line
up. He is shocked to find that the man playing Santa is intoxicated.
He sets off to find the person in charge to let them know that this
is unacceptable. The person in charge, Doris Walker, agrees that they
can't have a drunk Santa and hires the man, one Kris Kringle, on the
spot as a replacement. He is such a hit in the parade that Macy's
hires him as their in store Santa.
 |
| This it the only Santa with a nose redder than Rudolph's. |
While
the parade is still going on Doris heads back to her apartment, we
discover that she is a single mother and her daughter, Susan, has
been raised by her to be practical and not give in to flights of
fancy such as fairy tales or Santa Claus. We are also introduced to
their next door neighbor, a lawyer named Fred Gailey who is friends
with Susan and has a romantic interest in Doris. Things are going
smoothly having Kris as Santa at Macy's until he starts making Susan
start to believe that he is the authentic Santa. Doris seeks to get
him to admit otherwise and is shocked to discover that his employee
file lists his name as Kris Kringle (this is the first time she
discovers this) and the reindeer as his next of kin. She decides to
fire him but gets called to Mr. Macy's office before she can go
through with it.
In
Mr. Macy's office she learns that Kris has been directing customers
to which ever location has the presents they seek and not just
internally to Macy's. Contrary to first impressions, this policy
works as quite possibly the greatest public relations coup of the
holiday season and Mr. Macy wants to adopt it store wide. Doris is
still hesitant to keep Kris on but relents after speaking with the
director of the old folk's home that he listed as his residence.
Things keep going well. Susan and Doris grow to believe in Kris
more and more and Doris and Fred are getting closer.
Things
take a turn for the worse when, after an argument over the treatment
of another employee. Kris strikes the man who gives psych
evaluations at Macy's with his cane. Kris is discouraged when, after
this altercation, he is tricked in to going to Bellevue hospital.
After meeting with Fred, he opts to make a legal challenge against
his being committed. Through some interesting legal ploys and finally the fact that the U.S. Postal Service starts delivering letters to Santa to Kris in the courtroom he is
found to be the legitimate Santa Claus.
 |
| Are we sure that the Post Office isn't just misdelivering these? |
Final Thoughts
Miracle on 34th
Street is a classic for a reason. It is schmaltzy but it is the
right kind of schmaltzy. Its story plays successfully with questions
of sanity. As the viewer you are inclined to believe that Kris
really is Santa early on, but the film does a good job of making you
wonder whether you are right to do so. The simple story gets a boost
from the quality of its acting. The two most important roles, Susan
and Kris, are performed admirably by Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn.
The chemistry between them is enchanting and a joy to watch. Some
may be put off by the fact that it is in black and white but that is
a foolish reason to not give something a chance. This was a worth
while watch and I wish it got a yearly network showing instead of
It's a Wonderful Life. That's it for this one. Join me tomorrow to
see what we'll be watching then.
 |
| These two are really enjoyable to watch play off of each other. |
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