Miracle on 34th Street

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Christmas 2017

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I dunno exactly why, but this was one we didn't really visit as a family. My best guess is that it lies somewhere between the potential for Santa Claus to not be real and the fact that we already had some well-established classics we'd watch.

The story involves a man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) who comes to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade only to find that the Santa they hired is a lush. He replaces him for the parade, and is later asked to be the Santa Claus for Macy's, which he agrees to.

Meanwhile, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), the coordinator of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, is raising her daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood) to not believe in such nonsense as Santa Claus or any sort of fairy tales. However, her attorney neighbour, Fred Gailey (John Payne) cares a lot for Susan, and believes that the way she's being raised is taking away her childlike sense of wonder. So, upon taking Susan to visit Santa (Kris), she starts to become convinced that perhaps there is a Santa after all.

The rest of the film leans heavily on Kris, being a very sweet, kindhearted old man who believes himself to really be Santa Claus. As a result, after beginning 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's Santa, which, as some small-minded adults are concerned, is preposterous, and potentially dangerous.

Though this one is pretty new to me, and perhaps a little dated, I did manage to find quite a bit of Christmas magic to it. One can't help but fall in love with Gwenn's performance as an incredibly convincing Santa Claus in this, but the charm doesn't stop there. This film isn't just to make kids believe there's a Santa, it's to make adults believe there is as well.

When I found out Santa wasn't real, it was explained to me that the figure of Santa wasn't necessarily real, but that's an easier thing for kids to wrap their heads around, as it's something physical. I was then told that what Santa really is, is that feeling of magic, wonder, joy and spirit of giving around Christmas time. In other words, Santa was the spirit of Christmas. And as far as I'm concerned, no better film portrays that than this one.

4/5

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