Miracle on 34th Street
Over the last few years I haven’t felt much like watching Christmas movies. I couldn’t say why, I just haven’t been in the mood for some reason. This is unusual as until I hit somewhere around age 30, I loved watching the Christmas movies that I grew up with and those that I picked up along the way: It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, While You Were Sleeping, Love Actually, and Miracle on 34th Street. I would watch them every year without fail; these movies were part of making it feel like Christmas.
This year, for whatever reason, I am in the mood to watch my old favorites again. Who knows? Maybe my pharmacist spiked my meds with Christmas cheer or something; whatever the reason, I’m back on the Christmas movie wagon. Given that I haven’t seen these movies in several years, I thought I would use the month of December to reflect on a few of them and share my honest reviews. This week I bring you Miracle on 34th Street.
The version of this movie that I like the best is the 1947 version with Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle (not to be confused with Fred Gwynne who played Herman Munster, which, believe it or not, my brain confuses sometimes). This version reigns supreme in my mind, but to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other version all the way through and that’s because I’m stuck in my ways and stubborn and I like this one, so there. If you like another version better, go with God and enjoy it, friend.
I think it goes without saying that this post will contain spoilers for Miracle on 34th Street, but I will say it anyway: spoiler alert.
Does this 1947 movie hold up in the modern world? No, not really. First and foremost there is only one person of color in the whole movie and she is a servant. Definitely not even a little bit okay. The psychological tests administered to Kris are a complete sham and not at all how doctors today determine if you are sane. And a second grader would never be allowed to spend time alone with an adult male in his apartment without a parent present no matter how good his view of the parade may be. I trust Mr. Gailey implicitly, but I’m sorry, that’s a giant red flag.
While there are many things about this movie that do not translate to the modern world and are in fact problematic, I still love this movie. I love how sassy Susan is in pretty much every scene. It is a stunning performance from an 8 year old Natalie Wood, she really is excellent. Maureen O’Hara (Doris, Susan’s mother) is delightful, John Payne (Mr. Fred Gailey, neighbor, lawyer, love interest) I had a huge crush on as a child, obviously, and Edmund Gwenn (Kris Kringle) really does look like Santa Claus. He is perfect in every scene.
One of the little details that I love about this movie is when you see Kris Kringle’s employment card. His next of kin lists the eight reindeer with the correct name for the often misspelled Donder. Under age it says, “as old as my tongue and a little bit older than my teeth.” First of all, perfect answer. This should be the standard answer given when one is asked one’s age. I love it, yet this answer has never applied to me as I was in fact born with two teeth. (Although I guess I am older that all of my adult teeth as I wasn’t born with them in my mouth, so arguably it still works.) Finally, Kris Kringle’s home address is listed in Great Neck and the idea that Santa Claus lives on Long Island just gives me great joy.
The biggest question begged by a viewing of this movie is: what exactly is the titular miracle?
The simplest answer is the miracle is that Mr. Gailey proves in a court of law that Kris Kringle really is Santa Claus, thereby keeping Kris from being committed to a mental hospital and saving Christmas. That seems miraculous enough to be the answer. There are, however, many other things that happen in this movie that could also be considered miraculous.
Consider Susan. At the start of the story she doesn’t believe in anything except for logic and reason; this is how she was raised. Little by little her closed mind opens up and she begins to see and believe that Kris really is Santa Claus. Now consider Doris. This woman taught Susan everything she knows about not having faith and by the end of the movie she tells Susan, “faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.” I know that’s not the greatest of theological statements, but both of these characters have an incredible transformation and start believing where there was no faith before.
One of the major plot points of the movie is that Kris inspires Mr. Macy and Mr. Gimbel, two of the biggest retail competitors, to work together…or at least to play by the same rules and direct their customers to each other’s stores instead of selling the customer a product they don’t want. That’s pretty damn miraculous and, now that I think of it, is another thing that doesn’t translate into the modern world. But that’s okay, I’m willing to suspend my disbelief and accept that these two business giants could actually somewhat get along.
And perhaps the biggest miracle of all is the love story. Doris Walker and Fred Gailey are neighbors who meet officially on Thanksgiving Day. Over the course of the next five weeks they have multiple disagreements, yet somehow still have a regular table at Luigi’s. By Christmas morning, when they come upon the house that Susan asked Kris for, they see it is for sale, choose to buy it so as not to let down Susie, and then make out in the living room. So in a matter of five weeks they’ve gone from neighbors to buying a house together? And they’re evidently in love? That is some efficiency like I’ve never seen before and definitely does not occur regularly in the 21st century.
Of course, there is always the possibility that the miracle escaped the boundaries of the film and actually took place in 1981 when Natalie Wood suffered an “accident” and died in the Pacific Ocean while Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken remained safely on the yacht they’d all been on, yet to this day Wagner and Walken walk free. I’m not accusing them of murder but I’m just saying…pretty damn miraculous.
Although they are both white men and famous so, actually, never mind. That’s not a miracle, that’s just life.
I highly recommend Miracle on 34th Street. It gives you the Christmas feels, is a nice bridge movie between the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, and reminds you to have faith and not get sucked into commercialism. Give it a watch and decide for yourself what the real miracle may be.
