My favorite Christmas movie. It has everything thrown in but the kitchen sink - comedy, romance, whimsy, courtroom theatrics, and even a bit of political satire. It was also ahead of its time, in that it made its female lead (Maureen O'Hara) a divorced working mother. Edmund Gwenn won a well-deserved Oscar for playing Kris Kringle, a deparment store Santa who claims to be the genuine article. Great perfs by Miss O'Hara and John Payne as the attorney/love interest. A classic perf here was also given by a pre -I Love Lucy William Frawley, as the political adviser to the judge. Was remade three times - twice for TV (1955 and 1973), and a lame theatrical remake (with Elizabeth Perkins and a pre-The Practice Dylan Mc Dermott) in 1994 was a major flop (although Richard Attenborough as Kris was excellent.) Stick with the original.

One part of the problem might be that Attenborough and Sebastian Cabot (who played Kris in one of the TV-movies) were too well known to melt into the role of Santa.

Another could be that Natalie Wood just owned the role of Susie Walker, an no one else could come close.

But the fact that the plot twist that the postal workers at the dead-letter office provided the key defense evidence to a desparate, defeated defense attorney Fred Gailey (Payne) -- which in my opinion was at the the heart of the "Miracle" -- was written out of all the failed remakes is the most likely reason. The other versions left Gailey too smug, and did not leave the audience whith the sense of wonder that maybe, just maybe, Kris really was "the one and only Santa Claus."

I thought the 1994 remake was awful. Mara Wilson was just WAY too starstruck when pulling on Kris' beard, whereas Natalie Wood was far more sedate and controlled. Robert Prosky's bombasticly religious monologue as the judge explained his reason for declaring Kris to be the one and only Santa Claus annoyed me to no end.

The seldom seen 1955 TV version is not so hot, either. Fox Movie Channel played it a couple of times recently. (It starred Thomas Mitchell, known for playing Uncle Billy in that other Christmas classic, It's A Wonderful Life, as Kris, as well as future soap star Macdonald Carey as Fred.) It substituted the confrontation between Kris and Sawyer, in Sawyer's office, that resulted in Kris beaning Sawyer with his cane, with an inane speech by Sawyer (played in this version by John Abbott of "Trek's" Errand Of Mercy) denouncing the existence of Santa in front of children. This also resulted in Sawyer getting hit on the head with the cane whae Kris overheard. Also, in this version, it was Doris Walker (the actress' name I've forgottten) who alerted the Post Office to deliver the Santa letters. Very contrived. The parade footage here was re-used from the original. One of the problems with this version is that a movie with a 97 minute or so running time was condensed into a 45 minute teleplay, omitting all the little nuances that made the original great. Also, the performances don't compare to the original.
One of the many things that made the 1994 version not work for me was that TPTB used a made-up department store name (Cole's.) I believe the story is thet Federated Department Stores had taken over Macy's by then, and would not allow the use of the name. Maybe they read the script and saw a turkey in the works.
BTW, check out the scene in the original, where the Macy's "Guide for the Convenience of our Customers" is being assembled. Note how many of the other stores are now out of business (Gimbel's and Hearn's to name two.)

When they were first released, neither Miracle on 34th Street nor It's a Wonderful Life was marketed as a Christmas movie. If they had been there would have been too small a window to run them, for the studios to make back their money.

In the case of Life, it is almost understandable: more than half the movie is about the rest of George's life, and the climactic scenes in the second half "just happenned" to fall on Christmas Eve.

But Miracle was from start to finish about the Christmas shopping season, Santa Claus, and the holiday spirit. The climax happenning on Christmas Eve was not "co-incidence," but crucial to the plot. The trailers for Miracle were carefully edited to exclude any of Edmund Gwen's scenes, or any mention of Christmas. The only lobby poster with Gwen had him in silhouette* from the rear. It's a wonder any movie-goers had the least idea what to expect from this movie.

(I'd intended to include a link to a picture of the poster, but all I could find was a copy of the one for the second run (after "the secret" was out, which substituted a picture of Gwen and Wood together for the silhouette of Gwen and re-wrote the blurbs. -- Oh well.)

I love the original--it's a Christmas family film, but it's quite funny too and while it is heartwarming, it's not syrupy.

The main problem I had with the remake was the silly Shoppers Express subplot (although the ending in court is very dumb too).

Ironically enough, Fox released Miracle in May, 1947, just in time for the summer. It did play well through Chistmas of that year, however.

If you have it on your cable or satellite system, Fox Movie Channel is giving us a mixed treat on Christmas Day. They're running the (wonderful) 1947 original, in its original glorious black and white, paired up with the (vastly inferior) 1994 remake, starting at 6 a.m. (ET.)

Were there any nits in the movie? I'm not familiar with any of the versions. Did Santa's beard seem to slip at any time?

Don't forget the 1973 TV remake as well.

Did Santa's beard seem to slip at any time?
No! Edmund Gwenn grew a real beard to play Santa. You can see Mr. Gwenn clean shaven in Them.

AMC has been running this twice nightly of late. First the colorized version, followed by the original (and again, glorious) black and white. The colorized version looks very phony.
When Sawyer is first interviewing Kris, Sawyer's hands shift positions from shot to shot.

I wonder if current technology could make colorized versions of old b&w films that look authentic?

At the end, Susan calls Mr. Gailey: "Uncle Fred".

When did Fred Gailey become Susan's uncle?

Up until this point, Fred was just a man across the hallway.

If he is Susan's uncle, he shouldn't be kissing Susan's mother like he's in love with her.

Actually, I thought that was a clever way of paralleling how she changed from no-nonsense to accepting of fantasy. He wasn't really her uncle, of course, but she went from not believing in Santa or fairy tales to pretending to be a monkey. Lots of children call non-relatives 'uncle' (I did), and she made the transition.

Whether it's a worthy model is another story, but that's the spirit of the film.

It's a shame Natalie Wood did "Latina drag" in West Side Story.

This was noted on the "RIP" page, but I'd like to say it here, too. Maureen O'Hara passed away 10/24/15 at the age of 95.

Miracle on 34th Street will play in theaters for two days this year - December 20 and 23, in an event sponsored by TCM and Fathom Events. More here. (I would go in a second, but no theater near me is hosting this. ) Ironically, Miracle is being telecast this year by AMC/Sundance, and not TCM.

I wonder if current technology could make colorized versions of old b&w films that look authentic?
They must have re-colorized this film for the latest two-disc DVD release, as it doesn't look half bad. That set also has a commentary track from Maureen O'Hara, the original black-and-white version, the 1955 TV version, and the well-done AMC Backstory on the film.