Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

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Regarding the list of Golden Christmas Classics, it's easy to see why this is one of them. It didn't seem to be one we visited much while I was growing up, as the big names in our household for the classic era were 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'A Christmas Carol' (1951, specifically). So, I only actually saw this for the first time, maybe about a decade ago. Over the years, it has grown on me as something to add to the "Golden Classics" category that delivers that good old "Christmas magic" I love so much in a good Christmas movie.

There are a few different ways to tug at my heartstrings enough to reignite my love for Christmas every year, and one. However, it might sound very strange to some, is to reinvigorate my belief in Santa Claus, and 'Miracle on 34th Street' is a beautiful example of one such movie that can do that. But I should probably clarify that by saying that, I don't speak of a physical being who can fly around the world in one night, fit down chimneys, consume half of the snacks we leave out for him and leave gifts for us in our stockings and under our Christmas trees. I'm talking about a symbol, but I'll get to that later.

The story here involves Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), who comes to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan only to find that the Santa they have hired is a disgraceful lush. He then voluntarily replaces him for the parade and does such a good job of representing Santa that he is later asked to be the Santa Claus for Macy's department store, which he agrees to. He's such a good Santa that he even gives parents advice on where to shop instead of Macy's for bargains and deals, which, in turn, gives Macy's loyal customers for their Santa's honesty!

Meanwhile, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), the coordinator of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, is raising her daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood), to not believe in such "nonsense" as Santa Claus, fairy tales or anything of the like. However, her attorney neighbour, Fred Gailey (John Payne), cares a lot for Susan and believes that her upbringing is taking away her childlike sense of wonder (which I tend to agree with). So, one day, Fred takes Susan to visit Santa at Macy's, and after a little conversation, Susan becomes pretty convinced.

The rest of the film leans heavily on Kris, a very sweet, kindhearted old man who believes he is Santa Claus and how people treat him like he's gone off his nut. After he starts to send Macy's shoppers to other stores to find what they're looking for at a bargain, the whole thing turns into Kris against the world as some aim to have him committed for believing that he is actually Santa, which many people find preposterous and even potentially dangerous, especially in an era where mental health was looked at much differently than it is today.

Going back to this talk about Santa being a symbol, this is essentially what I was taught upon finding out the truth about things. He might not be real in the physical sense, but Santa, at least to me, represents joy, happiness, the spirit of giving and even some of the mystique and excitement we experience on the night of Christmas Eve. When one thinks of all the stress that Christmas brings, one can look to Santa to remind them that there's still a lot to love about Christmas that isn't material and doesn't cause you enough stress to rip all your hair out for a partially bald Christmas morning.

That's really what 'Miracle on 34th Street' is all about. It's a very warm and sweet film that does an excellent job of reinvigorating the true spirit of Christmas in the same way 'Wonderful Life' reinvigorates a positive outlook on life, or 'Christmas Carol' reinvigorates a spirit of giving. It may not be at the top of my list as an annual go-to, but it's still undeniably a sweet movie that puts the warmth of Christmas back into my heart when I watch it. And indeed, in its own way, it reminds me that, at least symbolically, there is still a Santa Claus in my life.


4/5

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