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Miracle on 34th Street Overview:

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by George Seaton and produced by William Perlberg.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Valentine Davies published in 1947.

SYNOPSIS

After It's a Wonderful Life (1946), this is the ultimate Hollywood Christmas movie, featuring Gwenn as the real Kris Kringle playing a department-store Santa who teacher the true meaning of Christmas to a doubting 9-year-old Wood, O'Hara's daughter. A sentimental slice of Americana that still brings a smile. Ritter's screen debut. Remade in 1973 and 1994. The 50th-anniversary edition includes remastered footage and a promotional short.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Miracle on 34th Street was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2005.

Academy Awards 1947 --- Ceremony Number 20 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorEdmund GwennWon
Best WritingValentine DaviesWon
Best WritingGeorge SeatonWon
Best Picture20th Century-FoxNominated
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Miracle on 34th Street BlogHub Articles:

75 years and five versions of Miracle on 34th Street

on Dec 21, 2022 From Comet Over Hollywood

Released on June 4, 1947, the 20th Century Fox film, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET celebrates 75 years in 2022. Since its release, the film and story have continued to be a holiday favorite. While the 1947 film continues to be celebrated, the story was retold and adapted for five times over the span of 47 ... Read full article

Maureen O'Hara and John Payne experience the "Miracle on 34th Street"

By Stephen Reginald on Dec 13, 2022 From Classic Movie Man

Maureen O'Hara and John Payne experience the "Miracle on 34th Street" Miracle on 34th Street (1947) is a comedy-drama directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn. Others in the cast include Natalie Wood, Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, Jerome Cowan, William F... Read full article

Review: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 24, 2018 From 4 Star Films

From its opening motif of a man nitpicking the arrangement of reindeer in a shop window, Miracle on 34th Street skates away on a delightful journey that evokes both fanciful whimsy and a liberal amount of holiday sentimentality. However, it also one of the finest examples and greatest purveyors of h... Read full article

25 Days of Christmas: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

on Dec 22, 2017 From Journeys in Classic Film

This review originally ran on December 20th, 2011.  My thoughts on the film itself haven’t changed, and have only grown. Natalie Wood continues to astound me, and the film has such love embedded in it. How can I say I’m a film fan, and actually write reviews for a living, if I’ve ... Read full article

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

on Dec 1, 2017 From Journeys in Classic Film

I gave my thoughts on 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street in a previous review which you can peruse here before reading my thoughts on the remake. I was rather harsh regarding this remake in my original review, if only because I’ve grown to accept this film’s faults and praise what it do... Read full article

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Miracle on 34th Street Quotes:

Fred Gailey: All my life I've wondered something, and now's my chance to find out. I'm going to find the answer to a question that's puzzled the world for centuries. Does Santa Claus sleep with his whiskers outside or in?
Kris Kringle: Always sleep with them out. Cold air makes them grow.
Kris Kringle: [smells other Santa's breath] You've been drinking.
Drunken Santa Claus: Well, it's cold outside. A man's gotta do something to keep warm.
Kris Kringle: Now wait a minute, Susie. Just because every child can't get his wish that doesn't mean there isn't a Santa Claus.
Fred Gailey: Your Honor, every one of these letters is addressed to Santa Claus. The Post Office has delivered them. Therefore the Post Office Department, a branch of the Federal Governent, recognizes this man Kris Kringle to be the one and only Santa Claus.
Judge Henry X. Harper: Uh, since the United States Government declares this man to be Santa Claus, this court will not dispute it. Case dismissed.
Doris Walker: I was wrong when I told you that, Susie. You must believe in Mr. Kringle and keep right on doing it. You must have faith in him.
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Miracle on 34th Street Facts
Despite the fact that the film is set during Christmas, studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May because he argued that more people went to the movies during the summer. So the studio began scrambling to promote it while keeping the fact that it was a Christmas movie a secret.
The scenes of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are of the actual parade held in 1946. As such, careful preparation was necessary for the shots as retakes were obviously out of the question. 20th Century-Fox had cameras positioned along the parade route at the starting line at 77th Street, on Central Park West, on the 3rd floor of an apartment building at 253 West 58th Street, in Herald Square and on 34th Street at 7th Avenue.
The Dutch girl spoke true Dutch, but with a heavy American accent.
Ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Fantasy" in June 2008.
"Screen Director's Playhouse" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 21, 1950 with Edmund Gwenn again reprising his film role.
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