Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
92%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: Won 3 Oscars
8 wins & 1 nomination total
Irrefutable proof that gentle sentimentalism can be the chief ingredient in a wonderful film, Miracle on 34th Street delivers a warm holiday message without resorting to treacle.
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you believe in Santa Claus again, then Miracle on 34th Street is the perfect choice. This classic holiday film is a heartwarming tale that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. The acting is superb, the script is lovely, and the story is perfect for the Christmas season. Sure, it may be pure Hollywood hokum, but who cares? It’s a timeless classic that will never wear out its welcome, no matter how many holiday seasons you spend watching it. So grab some hot cocoa, snuggle up under a blanket, and get ready to be enchanted by this delightful movie.
Production Company(ies)
Kennedy Miller Productions,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
24 Derby Road, Port Washington, Long Island, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1947
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 36m
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Language(s):English, Dutch
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 1947 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 5, 1999
Genre(s)
Holiday
Keyword(s)
Holiday, Christmas, classic, sentimental, gentle, warm, message, court case, authenticity, Macy’s, parade, Santa Claus, mental health, Kris Kringle, intoxication, customers, employees, old man, box office, budget, George Seaton, directed by, William Perlberg, produced by, George Seaton, written by, Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart, Natalie Wood, Porter Hall, reviewed by, Kate Cameron, Michael Wilmington, Noel Murray, Shirley O’Hara, Nell Minow, Tony Sloman, Felix Vasquez Jr., Emanuel Levy, MPAA rating, 20th Century Fox, producer names, critic names, actor names, director names, genre
Worldwide gross: $527
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $8,077
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,145
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 881
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
John Payne – Fred Gailey
Edmund Gwenn – Kris Kringle
Gene Lockhart – Judge Henry X. Harper
Natalie Wood – Susan Walker
Porter Hall – Granville Sawyer
Director(s)
George Seaton
Writer(s)
George Seaton
Producer(s)
William Perlberg
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
8 wins & 1 nomination total
Academy Awards
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (2)
It is light, it is charming, it is delightfully funny and completely captivating. It is all that, and something more.
May 11, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
A Christmas season evergreen.
December 4, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
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.
December 3, 2013 | Rating: A-
Noel Murray
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
Miracle on 34th Street isn’t great art or high comedy, but it is good entertainment.
January 23, 2013
Shirley O’Hara
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Classic holiday movie for the whole family.
December 26, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
So you don’t believe in Santa Claus? If you want to stay a non-believer don’t see Miracle.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
One of the Holy Trinity of Yuletide films — the others being, of course, It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story — this is one of those timeless classics that never wears out its welcome, no matter how many holiday seasons one has spent watching it.
September 22, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
What is interesting about Miracle on 34th Street is how it acknowledges the cynicism of the season.
December 4, 2013
Brian Salisbury
Hollywood.com
The acting is superb all around. The script is lovely, good spirited and perfect viewing for the Christmas season.
December 4, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
Children may prefer the newer, more obvious version, but parents will warm to this utterly beguiling original.
December 3, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Tony Sloman
Radio Times
One of the few perfect and genuinely emotional Christmas movies that will live on forever…
December 17, 2012
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Decades after it was made, this fable, featuring Edmund Gwenn’s Oscar-winning role as Santa Claus, remains one of the most enchanting Christmas movies.
March 13, 2011 | Rating: B+
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com…
Plot
At the Macy’s 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 him to take his place. He proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main store. While he is successful, Doris learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by his 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. And yet, people, especially Susan, begin to notice there is something special about Kris and his determination to advance the true spirit of Christmas among the rampant commercialism around him and succeeding in improbable ways. When a raucous conflict with the store’s cruelly incompetent therapist, Granville Sawyer, erupts, he finds himself held at Bellevue where, in despair, he deliberately fails a mental examination to ensure his commitment. All seems lost until Doris’ friend, Fred Gailey, reassures him of his worth and agrees to represent him in the fight to secure his release. To achieve that, Fred arranges a formal hearing in which he argues that Kris is sane because he is in fact Santa Claus. What ensues is a bizarre hearing in which people’s beliefs are reexamined and put to the test, but even so, it’s going to take a miracle for Kris to win.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Edmund Gwenn won an Oscar for his role as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street.
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