Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

"A miracle of originality...  New York Post
"...a beloved and heartwarming film...  The Motion Picture Guide
"Delightful comedy-fantasy...  Leonard Maltin

Editor's Note Kris Kringle--unbeknownst to cynical, market-minded adults, the real Santa Claus--is hired to play himself at Macy's Department Store, New York City. His gentle, joyous spirit and magical powers soon transform those around him, including a little girl and her world-weary mother. Academy Award Nominations: 4, including Best Picture. Academy Awards: 3, including Best Original Story, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor--Edmund Gwenn. The 50th Anniversary Edition includes remastered footage and a promotional short.

	Edmund Gwenn
	Gene Lockhart
	John Payne
	Maureen O'Hara
	Natalie Wood
	Porter Hall
	William Frawley
	George Seaton - Director
	WIlliam Perlberg - Producer
	George Seaton - Screenplay

Heartwarming Christmas story in which a man who moonlights as Kris Kringle at Macy's claims to be the genuine article. The adults refuse to believe him and begin to suspect that the bearded, portly man is not playing with a full deck. But most important to Kris is a little girl who steadfastly refuses to believe that Santa Claus is real. Can he convince her--and everyone else--that he is telling the truth? His freedom may depend on it... Sight and Sound
"...Seaton's paean to seasonal goodwill remains profoundly watchable..." 01/01/2001 p.64

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here really is no better flick to curl up with over the festive season." 01/01/2007 p.137

The Motion Picture Guide 0 of 10
Here is a beloved and heartwarming film that is shown regularly, and rightly so, every Christmas, a tale for young and old, even the cynical who won't stand a chance resisting the message and accepting the glowing image. Gwenn walks away with this film as the man who spreads the true meaning of Christmas and embodies the spirit of Yuletide... [He] gives one of the most charming, endearing performances in the history of film, an image so appealing that his gentle personality has been indelibly identified with the spirit of Santa Claus and Christmas ever since the completion of this superb production. He won an Oscar for this role, and there was never any doubt that he would. Christmas has been profiled in dozens of films, but seldom, if ever, has the Yuletide been so wonderfully presented.