MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Back in 1947, as I was having my first birthday, director and Academy Award winning writer George Seaton gave the nation a Christmas present called MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. With the great cast of Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, Gene Lockhart and Natalie Wood, the film is both imaginative and witty.
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET examines the age old Christmas question of whether there is a Santa Claus. Its approach is simple -- put St. Nick on trial. The plot device for this is a sanity hearing for the man who claims to be Kris Kringle (Gwenn). Gwenn's Academy Award winning performance should delight everyone, young and old.
Just before New York City's big Thanksgiving Day parade, Macy's Santa turns up drunk. Someone who claims to be named Kris Kringle is hired to take his spot. He is such a hit with the crowd that store executive Doris Walker (O'Hara) asks him to take the in-store job at Macy's flagship store on 34th Street.
Kris turns out to be a bit of a radical. When a mother complains that Macy's doesn't stock a toy that Santa promised the child, he tells her the name of a rival department store that does have it. He explains to her, "The only important thing is to make the children happy. It doesn't make any difference if Macy's or someone else sells the toy." This altruism does not endear him to the store's management. They plan on firing him until people start coming to Macy's because of this gimmick. Seeing the public relations beauty of it, they decide to tout it in their advertising.
Gwenn is a sweet actor who was perfectly cast for the role. His Kris Kringle is an everyday man with a big heart. He looks more like a benevolent old man than the Santa Claus he claims to be, which makes his claims both dubious and interesting at the same time.
Doris is a divorcee with one child, a daughter named Susan (Wood). Susan is an overly practical six year old. Not only does she not believe in Santa Claus, she refuses even to play make believe games. Natalie Wood is precious as the little girl who never had a sense of imagination. She ridicules Kris with, "You're not Santa Claus. You're just a nice old man with whiskers." One of the more moving scenes in the show has him trying to convince her of the importance of an imagination. In the saddest she tells him that, if he is really Santa, "I want a backyard with a tree and a swing on it," This is a pretty tall order, and he worries that he will not be able to fulfill her request.
One of the themes in the show has to do with insanity. People suspect Kris must be crazy because of his eccentric belief that he is Santa Claus. Doris's boss, Mr. Shellhammer (Philip Tonge), defends him with the logic, "Maybe he's only a little crazy, like painters or composers or some of those men in Washington." Eventually, they decide he is crazy, which begs the question of whether he is dangerous or not. An envious store doctor gets him committed. A hearing to get him released forms the dramatic core of the picture.
I am a big fan of movie trials. This one is trickier than most. Judge Henry X. Harper (Lockhart) has a moral dilemma. His own family is not speaking to him for taking the case. He sees no way to let Kris out since, as the prosecutor Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) argues, "There is no such person as Santa Claus and everybody knows it." The judge see no way to find a resolution. His political backer admonishes him that ruling against St. Nick would be suicide.
The acting is superb all around. The script is lovely, good spirited and perfect viewing for the Christmas season. A show that teaches good morals, but is never pedantic. The ending could not be a better.
The music by Cyril J. Mockridge alternates between the sugary sweet and the dramatically melancholy. Maybe a little sappy, but I loved it.
Yes, this classic black and white movie was remade in 1994 in color. Amazingly George Seaton even did the script for both. Although I liked the remake, the original is much better. This 1947 classic, sentimental Christmas movie is worth seeing again and again. Perhaps its best message is that of the mother's, "If things don't turn out just the way you want the first time, you still have to believe."
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET runs a fast 1:36. It is not rated, but would certainly get a G. There is no sex, nudity, violence, or profanity. My son Jeffrey, age 7 1/2, says, "I liked it a lot!" He thinks the show is for kids two and up, and I agree. I strongly recommend this marvelous film to you and give it *** 1/2.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: December 23, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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