Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
02 May 1947 ● English ● 1 hr 53 mins
Serving as a last-minute replacement, Kris Kringle is offered a job as a Macy's toy-department Santa. Supervisor Doris Walker soon begins having second thoughts about hiring Kris when he begins advising customers to shop elsewhere for toys that they can't find at Macy's. Amazingly, Mr. Macy considers Kris' shopping tips to be an excellent customer-service "gimmick," and insists that the old fellow keep his job. Kris agrees to take a room with lawyer Fred Gailey during the Christmas season. It happens that Fred is sweet on Doris, and Kris hopes he can bring the two together. Kris is also desirous of winning over the divorced Doris' little daughter Natalie Wood, who in her few years on earth has lost a lot of the Christmas spirit. Complications ensue when Macy's nasty in-house psychologist, arranges to have Kris locked up in Bellevue as a lunatic. Fred represents Kris at his sanity hearing, rocking the New York judicial system to its foundations by endeavoring to prove in court that Kris is, indeed, the real Santa Claus!
Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O Hara
Crew: George Seaton (Director), Charles G Clarke (Director of Photography), Lloyd Ahern (Director of Photography), Alfred Newman (Music Director), Cyril J Mockridge (Music Director)
Rating: U (India)
Release Dates: 02 May 1947 (India)
Tagline: Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!
Did you know? According to Natalie Wood's biographer, during filming, the young actress was convinced that Edmund Gwenn was actually Santa Claus (by all accounts, Gwenn was a very good-natured man on the set). It wasn't until Wood saw him out of costume at the wrap party that she realized he wasn't Santa. Read More
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as Kris Kringle
as Doris Walker
as Alfred
as George
as Granville Sawyer
as Judge Henry X Harper
as Mr. RH Macy
as Mr. Gimbel
as Miss Adams
as District Attorney Thomas Mara
as Fred Gailey
as Bailiff
as Child on Santa's Lap
as Mrs. Shellhammer
as Dutch Girl
as Susan Walker
as Julian Shellhammer
as Thomas Mara Jr
as Second Bellevue Interne
as Cleo
as Judge's Clerk
as Charlie Halloran
Direction
Director
Distribution
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Music
Music Director
Sound
Sound Designer
Costume and Wardrobe
Costume Designer
Editorial
Editor
Location
Location Manager
Makeup and Hair
Makeup Artist
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1, 1.37:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!
Goofs:
Revealing Mistakes
One of the letters to Santa Claus delivered by the New York Post Office is postmarked Indianapolis, Ind.
Factual Mistake
While prosecutor Mara is making his final arguments to the Judge, defense attorney Gailey is out in the hall presumably talking to the postmen. Gailey returns to the courtroom just as Mara finishes his statement. No judge would allow final arguments to proceed in the absence of the attorney for the opposing party.
Crew/Equipment Visible
Outside the courtroom, the shadow of a camera can be seen on the pillar as Kris walks down the hall.
Continuity
At the end of the film, Susan refers to Fred Gailey as her Uncle, this is not mentioned at any other point during the film.
Continuity
Alfred's hands on the broom change positions between shots.
Continuity
Several shots of the judge show a lamp on his desk. When the mail is dumped in front of him, the lamp has disappeared.
Continuity
When Kris is finishing up his examination, Dr. Sawyer is portrayed in a combination of three camera angles. As the angles change his hands go from raised above the desk to palms down on the desk to folded on the desk. The hands change positions continually throughout the scene.
Continuity
When Kringle is in Sawyer's office, Sawyer is alternately drumming his fingers on desk and twiddling his eyebrow between shots.
Character Error
During the trial Gailey says that the US Post Office was founded on July 26, 1776. The correct date is July 26, 1775.
Character Error
Kris' license lists one of his reindeer as Donder (Dutch for thunder), yet whenever this name is spoken, the DVD captions (made 50 years after the film) show it as Donner (German translation). Both names are commonly used in popular culture.
Character Error
The judge looks to the audience's right when looking at his advisor, but the advisor is sitting on the audience's left.
Character Error
Kris claims that John Quincy Adams' Vice President was Daniel D. Tompkins. In fact, it was John C. Calhoun, while Daniel D. Tompkins had been Vice President under Adams' predecessor, James Monroe. The confusion arose because Adams was the 6th President whereas Tompkins was the 6th Vice President, some Presidents having had a different Vice President in each term, and one of the latter having served under 2 of the former.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Kris is standing on top of the awning at Macy's after the parade, his voice says "You'll find toys of all kinds at Macy's", but his mouth is moving to totally different words.
One of the letters to Santa Claus delivered by the New York Post Office is postmarked Indianapolis, Ind.
Factual Mistake
While prosecutor Mara is making his final arguments to the Judge, defense attorney Gailey is out in the hall presumably talking to the postmen. Gailey returns to the courtroom just as Mara finishes his statement. No judge would allow final arguments to proceed in the absence of the attorney for the opposing party.
Crew/Equipment Visible
Outside the courtroom, the shadow of a camera can be seen on the pillar as Kris walks down the hall.
Continuity
At the end of the film, Susan refers to Fred Gailey as her Uncle, this is not mentioned at any other point during the film.
Continuity
Alfred's hands on the broom change positions between shots.
Continuity
Several shots of the judge show a lamp on his desk. When the mail is dumped in front of him, the lamp has disappeared.
Continuity
When Kris is finishing up his examination, Dr. Sawyer is portrayed in a combination of three camera angles. As the angles change his hands go from raised above the desk to palms down on the desk to folded on the desk. The hands change positions continually throughout the scene.
Continuity
When Kringle is in Sawyer's office, Sawyer is alternately drumming his fingers on desk and twiddling his eyebrow between shots.
Character Error
During the trial Gailey says that the US Post Office was founded on July 26, 1776. The correct date is July 26, 1775.
Character Error
Kris' license lists one of his reindeer as Donder (Dutch for thunder), yet whenever this name is spoken, the DVD captions (made 50 years after the film) show it as Donner (German translation). Both names are commonly used in popular culture.
Character Error
The judge looks to the audience's right when looking at his advisor, but the advisor is sitting on the audience's left.
Character Error
Kris claims that John Quincy Adams' Vice President was Daniel D. Tompkins. In fact, it was John C. Calhoun, while Daniel D. Tompkins had been Vice President under Adams' predecessor, James Monroe. The confusion arose because Adams was the 6th President whereas Tompkins was the 6th Vice President, some Presidents having had a different Vice President in each term, and one of the latter having served under 2 of the former.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Kris is standing on top of the awning at Macy's after the parade, his voice says "You'll find toys of all kinds at Macy's", but his mouth is moving to totally different words.
Trivia:
According to Natalie Wood's biographer, during filming, the young actress was convinced that Edmund Gwenn was actually Santa Claus (by all accounts, Gwenn was a very good-natured man on the set). It wasn't until Wood saw him out of costume at the wrap party that she realized he wasn't Santa.
This was one of the first films to be colorized.
There is an untranslated dialogue with a Dutch girl where Santa asks the child what she wants for Christmas. She says she wants nothing, telling him that she got her gift by being adopted by her new mother.
The real R.H. (Rowland Hussey) Macy died in 1877, 70 years prior to the time of the film.
This was one of the first films to be colorized.
There is an untranslated dialogue with a Dutch girl where Santa asks the child what she wants for Christmas. She says she wants nothing, telling him that she got her gift by being adopted by her new mother.
The real R.H. (Rowland Hussey) Macy died in 1877, 70 years prior to the time of the film.
