Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton, 1947): USA

Reviewed by Byron Potau .  Viewed on DVD.

One of the staples of the holiday season, Miracle on 34th Street is a pleasant Christmas film for the family that should help to scratch that itch for Christmas themed films.

When the real Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwynn) is in New York about to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade he is hired on the spot to fill in for the Parade’s other Santa who gets drunk just before the parade begins.  When he is a big hit, especially with the children, he lands a job as the Christmas Santa at Macy’s Department Store.  Santa’s mission is to bring back the Christmas spirit to a holiday that has become overrun with commercialism.  He begins telling parents where they can seek out the gifts they are looking for when Macy’s does not have them.  Macy’s recognizes this as a successful marketing gimmick and goes with it.  However, there are those believe Kris is crazy for thinking he is the real Santa and this lands him in court for an entertaining commitment hearing trying to prove he is Santa.  Among the non believers are Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) and her young daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) whom Santa makes it his mission to make them believers.

This is a charming Christmas movie and Edmund Gwynn (who won a Supporting Actor Oscar) makes a jolly Santa.  A young Natalie Wood is adorable as Susan Walker, the little girl whose mother has taught her that there is no Santa.  There are plenty of humorous scenes to keep the adults amused while the children get lost in the fantasy that there is a real Santa.  While not groundbreaking or extraordinary in any way, this film should still make for a nice evening in front of the T.V. with the family.

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Published:
12.16.08 / 1am
Category:
DVD, Films