Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

HotToastyRag In my family, we've probably taken more household phrases from Miracle on 34th Street than from all versions of A Christmas Carol combined. It's a very special movie with a very special place in our family's Christmas traditions. The tree is up and decorated, all twelve varieties of Christmas cookies have been baked, and we gather around the television to hum along with Cyril J. Mockridge's delightful theme, and to enjoy and recite all our favorite lines from start to finish. "It's cold, a man's gotta do something to keep warm!" "Throw it on the floor!" "I'll just have a sandwich or something." "To be completely honest and truthful with the child. . ." "I'll go check on the meat." "First of all, I'm not persecuting him; I'm prosecuting him." "And they're gonna say it in votes-you're gonna be an awful popular fellow!"Even the movie's flaws are delightful, and my family loves to anticipate Maureen O'Hara's overacting-"This is going to hurt Kris very badly, and I don't want to be the one to do it!"-the wrong answer given to the question of who was Vice-President under James Quincy Adams, and the silly little loopholes in the plot that are meant to be overlooked. Miracle on 34th Street is a fantastic, sentimental, nostalgic, perfect Christmas movie. It embodies everything about the Christmas spirit, so even though there are little flaws in George Seaton's script, the magic and happiness of the season glosses over them. Even though Maureen's delivery is a little stylized, we're still rooting for her. Natalie Wood, in an adorable, charming performance full of an incredible talent for her age, captures the heart of all who watch her. I think it's impossible to be in a bad mood when you watch this movie, especially when Natalie's on the screen. She never acts like she's acting. She's truly a little girl in need of the Christmas spirit, and her mom really is Maureen O'Hara. She has great, believable chemistry with everyone in the cast.Edmund Gwenn, in an Oscar-winning performance, sets the bar so high, no one else has ever been able to play a truly believable Santa Claus-besides Jim Broadbent; I can't ignore him. Teddy has a constant twinkle in his eye, and his jolly, sweet disposition soothes even the greatest of doubts. John Payne costars as Maureen's love interest and Edmund's greatest advocate. He's a great match for Maureen, balancing out her edges and teaching her to dream. In addition to the main leads, everyone in the supporting cast has memorable and hilarious parts and lines. Jerome Cowan as the district attorney, Gene Lockhart as the judge, Porter Hall as Teddy's foe at work, Philip Tonge as Maureen's coworker, Alvin Greenman as Teddy's young friend, and a pre-famous Thelma Ritter all contribute to the nearly perfect Christmas movie. Without each of them, it would feel like something was missing. Thankfully, nothing is missing, and every Christmas my family and I can rejoice with all our old friends.Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since the main plot deals with whether or not there is a Santa Claus, I wouldn't let my kids watch it until they were a little older. My mom didn't let me watch this one until I was eleven.

Jonathan Berk Miracle on 34th Street, the original from 1947, is one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies. Particularly, Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle who is the iconic Santa Claus in my opinion. Most of the film features an endearing story of a non-believer being presented with an unbelievable reality. There is the court case aspect of the film, which is a little silly but doesn't tarnish this classic film. I give Miracle on 34th Street the Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy rating.Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) winds up working as a Macy's Santa Claus after covering for a drunk during the annual parade. He manages to convince many that he is the real thing except for a psychiatrist named Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall). Sawyer looks to prove Kringle is insane while Kris focuses on convincing Susan (Natalie Wood) and her mother Doris (Maureen O'Hara) that he is in fact Santa.The theme in this film is one common within Christmas movies about Santa Claus. The power of believing is so great that it defies logic. It's a positive idea that is displayed by the characters in the film at various periods. The adults are all hesitant to accept Kris Kringle as the one true Santa Claus, but they are also hesitant to outright dismiss it. There is clearly something about his presence that they can't quite pinpoint. It's the same feeling I get when I watch the movie as I know it's Edmund Gwenn, but he really looks and acts like Santa. It's why I come back to this film almost every Christmas.The film culminates with Kris's sanity being put on trial after he strikes Sawyer with his cane. Sawyer had predicted that Kris would go violent, but he fabricated the facts as to why. Ultimately, Kris ends up trying to help Alfred (Alvin Greenman) who Sawyer has been manipulating. After confronting Sawyer, Kris does strike him only because he finds him a horrible human being. The court case is interesting and eventually comes down to Fred Gailey's (John Payne) ability to prove that Kris is the one true Santa. I won't spoil it, but you can guess it'll end in a happy way.This classic Christmas movie is one that I'll watch probably the rest of my life. It reminds me of my childhood and the power of believing. Sure, logic dictates most of my actions, but sometimes it's more fun to believe. What's wrong with a magical man delivering presents to all the good children across the world. Nothing...nothing is wrong with that.

jimbo-53-186511 Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) employs a kindly old man to be her Santa Claus both on parade and in Macy's department store after discovering that her intended Santa Claus is intoxicated. Doris is initially happy with her new Santa Claus as he actually looks like Santa Claus (real whiskers and all). However, when Santa Claus (played by Edward Gwenn) starts claiming that he is the real Santa Claus Doris is horrified especially after she's explained to her young daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) that Santa Claus isn't real. Santa Claus AKA Kris Kringle ends up institutionalised as a result of his claims (and also due to the behaviour of unscrupulous psychiatrist Granville Sawyer). Having established enough evidence to believe that Kringle is the real Santa Claus lawyer Fred Gailey (John Payne) takes Kringle's case to court to prove once and for all that he is the real Santa Claus.I think one of the key successes with a film like Miracle on 34th Street is that it is a film that has great appeal to very young children but it also has some themes running throughout the film that adult audiences can also pick up upon. Clearly children are the key target audience here (given the nature of the premise it's probably a film that will work better with very young children). However, if you delve deeper then it's clear that there is also plenty of content and commentary on offer to an adult audience as well.The selling point for an adult audience is that the film also remembers what Christmas is actually about and actually manages to turn negatives into positives - the film focuses on such things as Christmas being far too commercialised, it also focuses on corporate greed and consumerism (department stores trying to manipulate kids into buying items they're overstocked with rather than toys that they actually want). It then turns these negatives into positives by Kringle's notion of being honest with the kids by referring them to another store if Macy's doesn't have the toy that they want. Initially, the head of Macy's department store is angry about the idea of losing business, but Kringle's actions have so much positivity about them that it ends up bringing good PR to Macy's. This leads to a funny moment where the heads of the two biggest department stores are actually encouraging shoppers to buy things from their rivals store which is both ironic and very clever.I think some of the best moments in the film are the scenes between Kris Kringle and Susan Walker (Natalie Wood). As mentioned, Gwenn is excellent here and is probably everything that kids imagine Santa Claus to be - kind, wise, caring, selfless. Considering Natalie Wood was only around 9 years old when this was made I thought her performance here was terrific and at times she almost steals the show from Gwenn. She's neither overly-cute, annoying or bratty and basically just portrays a young girl who slowly starts to believe in something that she's always been told isn't real. The chemistry and warmth displayed between the two characters was a joy to behold. Of course the film had other strengths as well, but Gwenn and Wood were the real stars of the show here.Miracle on 34th Street is a film with plenty for children and adults alike to enjoy. Young children will bear witness to a wonderful interpretation of the mythical man with the white beard who delivers all their presents on Christmas morning. For adults there's a bit of escapism and subtle nods about commercialisation, corporate greed and consumerism and again I liked the idea that these negative aspects were given a positive spin. It's certainly a film I wouldn't mind watching every now and again at Christmas.

Uriah43 "Doris Walker" (Maureen O'Hara) is an employee of Macy's department store in New York City and is in charge of the big Thanksgiving parade which is held every year. Much to her chagrin, she discovers at the last minute that the person she hired to be Santa Claus has gotten himself quite intoxicated and cannot do his job. Fortunately, she just happens to find a person who is both capable and willing to fill in and so she hires him on the spot. He then does such an outstanding job that he is hired to work in the department store from that moment until Christmas. Unfortunately, Doris soon learns that the person they hired actually believes that he is "Kris Kringle" (Edmund Gwenn) in actual life and this results in his sanity being questioned. Now rather than reveal any more of this film I will just say that, although it has aged quite a bit, it is still a fun and enjoyable movie which is suitable for the entire family. As a matter of fact, Edmund Gwenn won the Academy Award for "Best Actor" and the movie itself was nominated for "Best Picture". Again, it's a nice little film and definitely worth a watch--especially during the holidays.