Miracle on 34th Street
When her Santa Claus (Percy Helton) shows up drunk, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), an organizer at Macy's department store in New York City, asks an elderly gentleman with a long white beard (Edmund G…
Miracle on 34th Street
When her Santa Claus (Percy Helton) shows up drunk, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), an organizer at Macy's department store in New York City, asks an elderly gentleman with a long white beard (Edmund Gwenn) to replace him in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. After making an impression, the elderly man takes a job playing Santa in Mr. Shellhammer's (Philip Tonge) toy department. While at his job, the elderly man sends parents to other department stores, even nearby Gimbel's if Macy's doesn't have the best bargain on particular toys. One of the pleased Macy's customers (Thelma Ritter) and other housewives and mothers that are bringing their children to the store to see 'Santa' compliment the store for "putting Christmas spirit over commercialism." At first uneasy, Mr. R.H. Macy (Harry Antrim) loves the new policy because it improves the store's image and consequently, increases profits. Mr. Gimbel initiates the same policy in his store. Meanwhile, Doris is revealed to be a divorcee who is raising her 7-year-old daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). They are both befriended by their neighbor, a promising young lawyer named Fred Gailey (John Payne). However, he is disturbed by Doris's cynicism and she has taught Susan to believe only in reality and common sense. Susan doesn't believe in any fairy tales, fantasies, or even Santa Claus. Fred takes Susan to meet the new Macy's Santa. Susan is impressed by his real whiskers, his friendliness, high intelligence, and his ability to speak in other languages, most notably to a young Dutch girl whom he talks with and sings Christmas songs in the little girl's language. Afterwords, Doris tells Fred to tell her confused daughter that the man is not really Santa, but he insists that he is Kris Kringle, the name that the old man tells Fred when they first meet. Doris begins to worry that the elderly man, Kris Kringle, is slightly insane. After tracking down where the old man lives, Doris meets with Dr. Pierce (James Seay) who runs the Long Island old-age retirement home where Kris lives and he assures Doris that Kris is harmless. Kris and Susan become pals. He gets her to use her imagination. Hoping Kris will have the same influence on Doris, Fred invites him to share his apartment as his roommate. Kris agrees to move in with Fred temporarily because he considers Doris and Susan a 'test case'. If he can't convince them to believe in him, the Christmas has lost its meaning. Susan confides in Kris that all she wants for Christmas is a house like the one she has a picture of so she and her mother can move out of their apartment in Manhattan for a suburban neighborhood. Susan tells Kris that if he can get it for her on Christmas, she'll believe he is really Santa. At the same time, Kris pushes Fred to court Doris in which they start dating and slowly fall in love. When the neurotic Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall), Macy's conniving and scheming psychologist, depresses Albert (Alvin Greenman), a kindly young Macy's worker by attempting some amateur psychiatry, Kris confronts Mr. Sawyer in his office over him harassing Albert for no reason and when Sawyer gets more confrontational, Kris bops him on the head with his walking cane. This is witnessed by a few employees. Sawyer pretends to be badly hurt and insists and Kris be taken away to Bellevue Hospital to the psycho ward. When Kris is whisked away by the floor manager and taken away to Bellevue, Sawyer lies to him that Doris has agreed to send him to the asylum. Kris becomes so depressed that he intentionally fails his written sanity test and is committed. When Fred visits him there after learning the truth, Kris feels badly, but he cannot get released. Fred defends Kris in a highly publicized trial. Worried about his career, Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) decides not to rule that there is no Santa Claus. Still, Judge Harper goes along with the D.A. Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) that Fred must provide "authoritive" proof that Kris really is Santa. All seems lost. Susan writes Kris a letter, using the courthouse address, saying she is sorry about him going through this ordeal and that she really believes now that he is Santa Claus. Doris adds to the letter that she believes him too. Kris receives the letter and is cheered. A postal worker (Jack Albertson) who delivers the letter, and is aware about the trial, decides that the dead-letter office can get rid of thousands of letters addressed to Santa by sending them to the courthouse and to Kris in open court. These letters delivered by various mailmen in court which Judge Harper agrees that this is the needed proof, from an authoritative agency of the U.S. government, that Kris is Santa Claus, and dismisses the case allowing Kris to walk free. Afterwords, Doris, Susan and Fred congratulate Kris but he tells them that it's Christmas Eve and that he will be busy all night. At a Christmas party the next day at the retirement home on Long Island, Susan doesn't get the present that she wanted. She mouths off to Kris and tells him that she does not believe he is Santa. Doris, who now thinks she likes Fred, tells Susan to have faith even though it goes against common sense. Fred, Doris and the sad Susan, who repeats "I believe, Ibelieve," drive home to Manhattan. During the drive, Susan suddenly jumps out of the car while it's at a stop sign when she sees the house from the picture and runs inside. It's for sale. The confused Fred and Doris agree to buy it for Susan's sake. They will get married for a spring wedding the following year. In the final shot, they both notice Kris's cane by the fireplace.
Miracle on 34th Street
Comedy,Drama,Family
Film Details
When her Santa Claus (Percy Helton) shows up drunk, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), an organizer at Macy's department store in New York City, asks an elderly gentleman with a long white beard (Edmund Gwenn) to replace him in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. After making an impression, the elderly man takes a job playing Santa in Mr. Shellhammer's (Philip Tonge) toy department.
While at his job, the elderly man sends parents to other department stores, even nearby Gimbel's if Macy's doesn't have the best bargain on particular toys. One of the pleased Macy's customers (Thelma Ritter) and other housewives and mothers that are bringing their children to the store to see 'Santa' compliment the store for "putting Christmas spirit over commercialism." At first uneasy, Mr. R.H.
Macy (Harry Antrim) loves the new policy because it improves the store's image and consequently, increases profits. Mr. Gimbel initiates the same policy in his store.
Meanwhile, Doris is revealed to be a divorcee who is raising her 7-year-old daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). They are both befriended by their neighbor, a promising young lawyer named Fred Gailey (John Payne). However, he is disturbed by Doris's cynicism and she has taught Susan to believe only in reality and common sense.
Susan doesn't believe in any fairy tales, fantasies, or even Santa Claus. Fred takes Susan to meet the new Macy's Santa. Susan is impressed by his real whiskers, his friendliness, high intelligence, and his ability to speak in other languages, most notably to a young Dutch girl whom he talks with and sings Christmas songs in the little girl's language.
Afterwords, Doris tells Fred to tell her confused daughter that the man is not really Santa, but he insists that he is Kris Kringle, the name that the old man tells Fred when they first meet. Doris begins to worry that the elderly man, Kris Kringle, is slightly insane. After tracking down where the old man lives, Doris meets with Dr.
Pierce (James Seay) who runs the Long Island old-age retirement home where Kris lives and he assures Doris that Kris is harmless. Kris and Susan become pals. He gets her to use her imagination.
Hoping Kris will have the same influence on Doris, Fred invites him to share his apartment as his roommate. Kris agrees to move in with Fred temporarily because he considers Doris and Susan a 'test case'. If he can't convince them to believe in him, the Christmas has lost its meaning.
Susan confides in Kris that all she wants for Christmas is a house like the one she has a picture of so she and her mother can move out of their apartment in Manhattan for a suburban neighborhood. Susan tells Kris that if he can get it for her on Christmas, she'll believe he is really Santa. At the same time, Kris pushes Fred to court Doris in which they start dating and slowly fall in love.
When the neurotic Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall), Macy's conniving and scheming psychologist, depresses Albert (Alvin Greenman), a kindly young Macy's worker by attempting some amateur psychiatry, Kris confronts Mr. Sawyer in his office over him harassing Albert for no reason and when Sawyer gets more confrontational, Kris bops him on the head with his walking cane.
This is witnessed by a few employees. Sawyer pretends to be badly hurt and insists and Kris be taken away to Bellevue Hospital to the psycho ward. When Kris is whisked away by the floor manager and taken away to Bellevue, Sawyer lies to him that Doris has agreed to send him to the asylum.
Kris becomes so depressed that he intentionally fails his written sanity test and is committed. When Fred visits him there after learning the truth, Kris feels badly, but he cannot get released. Fred defends Kris in a highly publicized trial.
Worried about his career, Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) decides not to rule that there is no Santa Claus. Still, Judge Harper goes along with the D.A.
Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) that Fred must provide "authoritive" proof that Kris really is Santa. All seems lost. Susan writes Kris a letter, using the courthouse address, saying she is sorry about him going through this ordeal and that she really believes now that he is Santa Claus.
Doris adds to the letter that she believes him too. Kris receives the letter and is cheered. A postal worker (Jack Albertson) who delivers the letter, and is aware about the trial, decides that the dead-letter office can get rid of thousands of letters addressed to Santa by sending them to the courthouse and to Kris in open court.
These letters delivered by various mailmen in court which Judge Harper agrees that this is the needed proof, from an authoritative agency of the U.S. government, that Kris is Santa Claus, and dismisses the case allowing Kris to walk free. Afterwords, Doris, Susan and Fred congratulate Kris but he tells them that it's Christmas Eve and that he will be busy all night.
At a Christmas party the next day at the retirement home on Long Island, Susan doesn't get the present that she wanted. She mouths off to Kris and tells him that she does not believe he is Santa. Doris, who now thinks she likes Fred, tells Susan to have faith even though it goes against common sense.
Fred, Doris and the sad Susan, who repeats "I believe, Ibelieve," drive home to Manhattan. During the drive, Susan suddenly jumps out of the car while it's at a stop sign when she sees the house from the picture and runs inside. It's for sale.
The confused Fred and Doris agree to buy it for Susan's sake. They will get married for a spring wedding the following year. In the final shot, they both notice Kris's cane by the fireplace..