Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

As a huge fan of the 1994 remake, it was time for me to revisit the original 1947 film, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, this first-class production features a stellar cast and enough holiday cheer for ten films.

Edmund Gwenn won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Kris Kringle, who steps in to be Macy's Santa Claus when he finds their parade Santa more than a bit tipsy on Thanksgiving morning. Gwenn gained 30 pounds for the role and looks the part!

After Kringle nails the gig (for obvious reasons!), Macy's Doris Walker (the radiant Maureen O'Hara) hires him to be their Department Store Santa for the season.

The film is loaded with now classic moments 75 years after it first hit theaters.

Doris's skeptic daughter Susan is famously played by a very young Natalie Wood and she slays it. Her doubting side glances at Kringle as he pours on the holiday charm are priceless.

I loved when Kris starts recommending other stores for gifts that the children in his lap are asking about. A lesser script would have found a far less charming way to handle that, the twists and turns provide a lot of fun. It's a twist that echoed in "Elf" many years later.

John Payne plays the Walker's neighbor, a Manhattan lawyer who's taken a shine to Susan and visa versa. They have an easy charm together and their group matchmaking makes the film a lot of fun.

Gene Lockhart (Carousel) is perfectly cast as Judge Harper, who oversees a courtroom trial to see if Kris Kringle is of sound mind.

The screenplay by George Seaton (Airport) who also directed, is a seamless, well oiled machine of holiday cheer, big laughs, romance and suspense.

William Frawley (Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy") is also great as Harper's campaign manager who's more concerned about his client going against Santa Claus than any actual merits of the trial.

The heart of the film is Gwenn's performance as Santa Claus. He's perfect in the role, and was the ideal model for Richard Attenborough's performance in the remake. Gwenn IS Santa Claus! Maureen O'Hara famously said, "by the time we were halfway through the shoot, we all believed Edmund really was Santa Claus. I've never seen an actor more naturally suited for a role."

When Gwenn accepted accepted his Best Supporting Actor Oscar, he said, "Now I know there's a Santa Claus."

In 2006, the film was ranked number 9 on American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.

It's a holiday classic that gets an A, but to be honest (and if we've learned anything from "Love Actually", its that you're ALWAYS honest on Christmas) I like the 1994 remake just a bit better. Dylan McDermott has an edge over Payne and Bruce Boughton's score is one of his best.

You can't go wrong unwrapping either one for Christmas!