Episode 131 - Miracle on 34th Street
With “Miracle on 34th Street” released in 1947 we join Santa and the holiday festivities beginning with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and concluding on Christmas Eve. The talented Edmund Gwenn is Kris Kringle. Doris Walker played by Maureen O’Hara convinces Mr. Kringle to be Santa in the parade. As Santa he is a huge success and has a positive influence on just about everyone. He then is hired to be Santa Clause at Macy’s flagship store. The story captures the warm and heartfelt behavior of Mr. Kringle. The intriguing mystery is whether Kris is the real Santa Clause. His openness and honesty change the philosophy of Macy’s to focus more on customer satisfaction and less on the bottom line. Remarkably the bottom line also does better. Quite soon Gimbels and others follow suit. Kris also helps Doris Walker’s daughter Susan played by Natalie Wood to discover her imagination. Ms. Walker’s neighbor John Payne as Attorney Fred Galley becomes both Susan’s friend and romantically involved with Doris. However, things don’t go well because the villainous, Porter Hall as Granville Sawyer, does not believe any of Kris’s story. This sets in motion a highly publicized court case to determine if Kris really is Santa Clause. Mr. Galley’s legal work and the U.S. Postal Service mail delivery are important to the outcome of the case. Happy Holidays everyone! Check us out on Patreon at www.patreon.com/classicmoviereviews for even more content and bonus shows.