Writer(s): Seaton, based on a story by Valentine Davies
Starring: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and Natalie Wood
Miracle on 34th
Street is the best all-around Christmas movie ever
made. Sure, there are movies that are a
lot more fun, or movies that are funnier and goofier, but there is no movie
that exudes the true spirit of Christmas quite like this one. It doesn’t have to resort to over-the-top
performances by a famous actor to force-feed you holiday cheer, like It’s a
Wonderful Life—it starts off with a very simple idea, and cleverly wrings every
last drop of hope and cheerfulness out of it.
In other words, it avoids the syrupy sentimentality that
plagues many of the other “classics”, instead presenting its story with an
earnest straightforwardness and clever subtlety. It has an agenda, of course—after all, it is
a Christmas movie—but it’s understatedness never feels like it’s pushing our
nose in it, or forcing it down our throats.
It’s just letting its story unfold, allowing us to feel like the
children do as each little detail is revealed.
It all begins rather innocently: Doris Walker is a special
events director for Macy’s, her main role consisting of organizing their famous
Thanksgiving Day parade. A bearded man
complains to her that the hired Santa Claus is drunk on the job mere moments
before it is to begin. She promptly
fires him, then asks the bearded man if he would want to step in as
replacement. At first he is hesitant,
but all it takes is one look at all the hopeful children to get him to change
his mind.
His appearance goes over so well, that he is given the job
as Santa in the actual department store.
He offends his supervisor, toy department head Julian Shellhammer, by
informing parents where to buy their toys, even if Macy’s does not carry them,
or they are sold out, actions that clearly go against his directives. But just as Shellhammer is about to complain to his
superiors, he learns that the Santa’s unorthodox methods are actually winning
over the customers—soon, their competitors vow to also put the customers interests,
instead of their profits, first.
Things sure sound like they’re going swell, but there surely
has to be some kind of resistance, or else we wouldn’t have much of a
movie—sure enough, this new Santa, who goes by the name of Kris Kringle—creates
a fuss simply because he adamantly maintains that he is the real Santa
Claus! What’s refreshing about this turn
is that he doesn’t turn the whole world against him; many people actually
defend him, even if only on the grounds that, whether or not he is telling the
truth, it doesn’t take away the fact that he is a generous, kindhearted man.
The main holdouts are Ms. Walker (the recently departed
Maureen O’Hara) and her young daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood). The elder Walker acknowledges that she has prevented
Susan from believing anything outside the known realms of “reality”; it’s
gotten to the point that she even refuses to play with the (assumedly) poorer
neighbor kids, who have to resort to using their imaginations in the games that they play.
Meanwhile, following an accusation of lunacy from a quack
psychiatrist, Kris is put on trial. If
he loses, he will be committed to a mental institution, while if he wins, the
world will know he is Santa Claus. But
how can you prove to the faithless that you are the real thing?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where this is
headed, or how it’s all going to play out.
We know going in that he’s the real deal, and we know that he is going
to win the case. We also know that he
will eventually get Doris and little Susan to change their minds. We know that the quack doctor will eventually
get what’s coming to him. But this is
one of those ultra-rare instances where knowing every nuance of the screenplay
does nothing to deter the excitement of watching it all unfold. There’s a wry humor throughout, and just a
warmhearted tenderness to everything that I couldn’t help but smile and giggle
at several scenes.
Forget the overhyped, disgustingly theatrical It’s a
Wonderful Life, which has somehow become the sole benchmark for holiday films—Miracle on 34th Street is as good as Christmas movies get. I have to admit that the final “proof” of
Santa Claus existing during the trial was a little underwhelming, especially
given the high quality level of writing throughout the rest, but it does little
to detract from the above statement. If
you want a movie that naturally elicits an emotional response instead of
wasting all its resources trying to force you into one, look no further than this little number.
RECAP: A holiday movie that transports you back to the
freewheeling carelessness of childhood, Miracle on 34th Street is a
delightful Christmas movie that doesn’t rely on tired gimmicks, hammy
overacting (I’m looking at you, James Stewart), or forced sentiment to tell its
story, and that’s precisely why this is the greatest holiday movie ever
made. Edmund Gwenn is perfect as Kris
Kringle, while the writing is also top-notch.
This is my pick for all-time Christmas classic, far destroying the
overhyped and overly sentimental cornball crapfest It’s a Wonderful Life.
RATING: 9.5/10
LONG-WINDED, BUT UNIQUE TRAILER
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