May 9th, 2018 | Updated on June 30th, 2022
61. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Storyline:
At the Macy’s Department Store Thanksgiving Day parade, the actor playing Santa is discovered to be drunk by a whiskered old man. Doris Walker, the no nonsense special events director, persuades the old man to take his place. The old man proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main Macy’s outlet. While he is successful, Ms. Walker learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by Kringle’s doctor that he is harmless, Doris still has misgivings, especially when she has cynically trained herself, and especially her daughter, Susan, to reject all notions of belief and fantasy.
Movie Review : Yes, Miracle On 34th Street is pure Hollywood hokum… But the film is pretty savvy too, getting a jump on mounting anxieties about the post-war cult of consumerism. Read Full Review…
