Miracle on 34th Street (also titled The Big Heart in the UK) is a 1947 film which tells the story of a gentle old man, working as a Santa Claus at Macy's department store in New York City, who contends that he is the real deal. The movie was written by Valentine Davies and director George Seaton; Davies also penned a short story version of the tale which was published simultaneously with the film's release.

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture. It was placed #9 at AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers.

Plot summary

Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) attends the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and finds to his indignation that the actor cast as Santa (Percy Helton) is drunk. When he complains to the special events director, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to replace him. He proves to be sensational and is hired to be the Santa for Macy's flagship New York City store.

Once there, both his firm belief in the spirit of Christmas and his firm contention that he is actually Santa himself cause problems. Although Doris initially wants to fire him as crazy, Kris' winning ways and unorthodox ideas, such as recommending rival stores when they have better bargains, generate so much good publicity and customer goodwill for Macy's that Mr. Macy himself (Harry Antrim) promises Doris and her boss generous bonuses, making it awkward to get rid of Kris. Meanwhile, her idealistic lawyer boyfriend Fred Gailey (John Payne) and her no-nonsense young daughter Susan (Natalie Wood), who she has raised not to believe in such childish fantasies, gradually come to see there is something special about the man.

Things take a turn for the worse when Kris and incompetent, would-be psychologist Sawyer (Porter Hall) get into a heated argument over the quack's diagnosis of a young, impressionable employee (Alvin Greenman) as mentally ill simply because he is generous and kind hearted. In a fit of anger, Kris raps Sawyer on the head, which Sawyer exaggerates in order to have him sent to Bellevue mental hospital. Once there, the discouraged Kris deliberately fails his mental examination and is recommended for permanent commitment.

However, Fred persuades Kris not to give up and works to secure his release. To that end, Fred gets a formal hearing before Judge Harper (Gene Lockhart), in which he makes the stunning argument that Kris should be released because he really is Santa Claus - at least in the eyes of the law. Although Doris has no faith in Fred's ability, he is able to support his argument with clever questioning of witnesses, including the son of the prosecutor, District Attorney Mara (Jerome Cowan). In addition, Judge Harper is sympathetic, if only because he is has been made aware by his political advisor (William Frawley) that an unfavorable ruling would derail his upcoming bid for re-election.

However, Fred hits a snag when Mara (Jerome Cowan) points out that Kris has no authoritative support for his claim. While Fred searches frantically, Susan, by now firmly believing in Kris, writes him a letter to cheer him up. A mail sorter (Jack Albertson) sees it and realizes that the post office could clear out the many letters to Santa taking up space in their dead letter department by delivering them to Kris at the courthouse. When Fred learns this, he successfully argues that the United States Postal Service, a branch of the federal government, accepts Kris' claim. When asked to produce his evidence, Fred has all the mail brought in and the judge is practically buried beneath bags and bags of letters, which conveniently lets him rule in favor of Kris.

On Christmas morning, Susan is disillusioned because Kris was apparently unable to supply her greatest wish, a house in the suburbs. However as Fred, Doris and Susan are driving along a route Kris recommended, Susan is elated to see the house of her dreams with a for sale sign in the front yard. Fred and Doris decide to get married and purchase the house. Fred boasts that he must be a great lawyer since he managed to do the seemingly impossible in getting Kris officially recognized as Santa. However, he then spots a cane leaning against the fireplace that looks exactly like the one Kris used. Fred then remarks "Maybe I didn't do such a wonderful thing after all."

Trivia

• The main character's name, Kris Kringle, is that of a German giftbringer similar to Santa Claus.
• When Kringle is hired (the second time), he is told to take a "mental exam" because he keeps claiming he is really Santa. Kringle boasts that he knows all of the questions because he has taken many before. The questions include things like "How much is 3x5?" and "Who was the first President?" Kringle then challenges Mrs. Harper with an atypical question: "Who was Vice-President under John Quincy Adams? Daniel D. Tompkins, and I bet your Mr. Sawyer doesn't know that!" Unfortunetely, J.Q. Adams's Vice President was John C. Calhoun, not Daniel D. Tompkins. Tompkins was VP under James Monroe, predecessor to Adams.
• In the book, Reel Justice, the authors point out that Judge Harper had an easy way of dismissing the case early without the political repercussions he feared. This was when the prosecutor rested his case immediately after Kris Kringle admitted in court simply that he believed he was Santa Claus. In doing so, Judge Harper could have ruled that prosecution had forfeited its opportunity to prove that Kringle was dangerous, the basic point of the hearing while his actual mental state itself was irrelevant, and ordered the subject immediately released.

Remakes

• A 1973 television movie starred Jane Alexander, David Hartman, Roddy McDowall, Sebastian Cabot, Suzanne Davidson, Jim Backus, David Doyle and Tom Bosley. It was adapted by Jeb Rosebrook from the George Seaton screenplay, and directed by Fielder Cook. This version is notable for its flat, clichéd dialogue.

• The 1994 version featured Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh, James Remar, Jane Leeves, Simon Jones, William Windom and Mara Wilson. It was adapted by John Hughes from the Seaton script, and directed by Les Mayfield. This remake had a more serious tone than the original and added a subtext concerning religious faith.

1947 films | 1973 films | 1994 films | Best Picture Academy Award nominees | Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winning performance | Christmas films | Film remakes | Legend Films | Public domain films | United States National Film Registry

Il miracolo della 34a strada | Чудо на 34-ой стрит (фильм)