Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Review

 

        Another look at a classic this time. Miracle on 34th Street is probably the only holiday film to garner three Academy Awards and being nominated for Best Picture. So far, it’s  the only holiday film to be the first to be nominated with that distinction. Although it’s nearly 80 years old, I feel that it’s progressive and relevant enough about the holiday. 

1. Kris Kringle

        The film takes place between two holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can probably label this film as a cross holiday film if you really think about it. Anyways, we see an old man named Kris see the annual Macy’s Parade. He notices a Santa who is drunk and is offended. So much so that he talks to the event organizer Doris. She thinks he’s good enough to be the replacement. 

        As the film goes on, Doris gives him the job as the Macy’s Santa in their premiere store. Throughout the film, Kris starts to behave as Santa. Meanwhile, Doris is a single mother to Susan who doesn’t believe in anything. Fred, Doris’ friend tries to tell her that Santa is real but she doesn’t believe it. 

        Kris steals the show since he has the personality that is representative as the jolly man. He doesn’t have that creepy vibe most people get when picturing Santa Claus. In this film, he is represented as an honest and understanding person when he talks to the other workers in Macys. 

For instance, he talks to the janitor Alfred. He likes to wear the Santa suit since he likes seeing kids be happy with gifts. Kris encourages him to do that, only because the store psychologist chides Alfred for doing that. 

        Near the end, the film transitions from a drama to a legal one. The fortunate thing is that it isn’t bogged down by procedures. Even the lawyers say that the whole thing is silly since the idea of proving that Kris is Santa is just unreal. The film isn’t about proving anything, but a film that is more so on the idea about believing which I’ll get into. 

        One thing that separates Kris from the other Santa’s in film is that he has a sense of responsibility about what the holiday has become. That great moment is when he gets hired to work at Macys. He is told by the floor manager to push specific toys, which he doesn’t agree to do. When meeting with one of the kid’s parents, he says that a different store has a toy. It goes to show just how helpful and kind Kris is as a Santa.  

2. A Film about Faith

        Don’t worry, this film doesn’t get into the religious angle about faith. But on the idea of just believing about fantasy from a child’s perspective. Since the film shows Doris as a person who is just about the facts. Meaning that any sort of fantasy that turns out to not be real would just confirm to her that it’s all fake. What I like is that we get small glimpses on why she thinks that. It’s personal and the film doesn’t really stop to really get at it. It’s subtle in its approach.

        And that it permeates in her daughter, who is supposed to believe in that stuff. Susan is the sweetest child, but the knock on her is that she doesn’t believe in fairy tales or anything fantasy. So much so that when Fred and her see a float looking like a giant, Susan thinks Fred is full of it. 

        Fred is the representation of the adult who still believes in the fantasy. Albeit not like acting like an immature guy, but who still believes on the idea of Santa since he’s the representation of the holiday. Susan ultimately sees Kris and ultimately learns to be a kid when Kringle teaches her on using her imagination. 

        The film really hammers home this idea since the holiday is tied to it. That faith is about believing in something. When applied to the film, people often can’t grasp just how Kris is a Santa even though they know that the character isn’t real. 

3. Legacy

        As I mentioned earlier, the film did garner three Academy Award wins and was nominated for Best Picture. The success of the film had multiple adaptations later in the 20th century. From a Broadway play to a made for tv film during the 70s. It was remade in the 90s by the same studio. 

        It wasn’t successful and only getting mixed reviews. What I think went wrong was just the whole approach of the film. It tried to be serious and leaned heavily into the faith aspect and involving religion. Which is never implied in the original and that the original never took itself that seriously with the subject matter. Ultimately the film is about a child’s view on fantasy and whether they believe it or not. It’s not a hard thing to grasp if you consider things from their point of view. 

4. Overall

        This film is certainly up there as the best holiday film. Albeit a prestigious one since it won multiple awards. I think it holds up in today’s lens since the holiday has been commercialized. It’s a classic that has to be watched.