There are numerous websites devoted to lists and discussions of virtually every Christmas-themed movie ever released from the silent era through the present, and at least eleven of them are considered pre-1970 classics according to the site http://movienightsathome.com. The site specializes in ideas for all kinds of themed movie nights at home and also has a comprehensive list of St. Nick stories to settle down on the couch with after stocking up on some popcorn and Raisinets! With so many Christmas movies to choose from though, it seems that certain ones like It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) have become overexposed while other worthy titles get crowded out. This is not to suggest that Wonderful is undeserving of its classic status by any means. It’s definitely one of those memorable stories centering on a suicidal businessman (James Stewart) who is taught by an Angel what gratitude is all about and how the preciousness of life should never be taken for granted.
Miracle On 34th Street contains its own delights, with a kindly older man (Edmund Gwenn) who portrays Santa Claus at Macy’s Department Store in New York as a replacement during the busy holiday shopping season – but soon insists that he really is Santa Claus. The Macy’s event director Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) is initially relieved to have him replace the previous Santa who had turned out to be lush! Where the movie really gets interesting though, is the contest between opposing belief systems. Doris is bringing up her daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) not to believe in fairy tales, fantasies, and myths such as Santa Claus, while their next door neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) who also has romantic designs on mommie – feels bad for the little girl because she’s being denied the chance to be a child – before eventually having to face the ways of the world. Part of the fun of Miracle On 34th Street is that Susan is seven going on forty-two and needs to have a more balanced yet imaginative view of the world without facing too many harsh realities at once.
Another thing making this movie memorable is that Susan is a child of divorce – something quite untypical for a storyline in the 1940s due to the considerable stigma against it. Leading ladies portraying single, working mothers weren’t enthusiastically embraced either back then. The subplots about guilt complexes and mental “maladjustment” are also intriguing for a Christmas themed movie (especially for that era) and does provide some food for thought as to how beneficial (or not) psychotherapy might really be. In the story Gwenn/Santa Claus eventually runs afoul of the store’s personnel director and his ridiculous psych tests to such a degree – that Santa ends up committed to the psych ward! However, Gailey (who just happens to be an attorney) represents Gwenn/Santa in court to prove he isn’t insane just because he believes that he really is Santa Claus. For those who haven’t seen Miracle On 34th Street, I don’t want to spoil any outcomes, but this story is also important thematically when we think about living our lives the way we like and letting others live their own truth when it’s not harmful to others.
While being very entertaining, the story also has several other thematic elements that have much to say about our society. It presents a healthy criticism of the excessive commercialization and contradictory messages about the materialism that dominates our society (especially during holidays). Miracle On 34th Street also gives us food for thought about faith and idealism, even though it also functions as a never-never land of wish fulfillment. On a lighter note, though, I enjoy that the story also serves as a time capsule. Much of the story was filmed on location in New York City of the late 1940s, and gives us a glimpse into an actual behind-the-scenes Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade – as the story line encompasses both holidays. It should also be noted that Miracle On 34th Street was one of the first black & white films to be colorized in 1985, and this process of altering b&w classics has always been controversial. Nonetheless, for anyone wanting to buy Miracle – the choices to buy both versions with dvd extras became available in a special edition in 2006.
