"Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to."

A Very Vintage Christmas post #3

17 days until Christmas

Happiest of holidays to one and all! Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to keep up with us once again, and participate in A Very Vintage Christmas. We hope you are ready to read about another classic Christmas movie, as today is Sunday.

Miracle on 34th Street

1947 film

Starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn

A man by the name of Kris Kringle (Gwenn), a good-natured resident of Brook's Home for Old People in New York City, is shocked when he catches a glimpse of the man who is to portray Santa Claus in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and discovers that the man is drunk. Wishing to file a complaint, Kringle goes directly to the parade's coordinator, Doris Walker (O'Hara). The genial, bearded old gentleman is so passionate in his plea that they find someone else to portray the spirit of Christmas, and it does not escape Doris' attention that he looks the part of Santa Claus, so she hires him on the spot to dress up for the parade.

Later on in the day, once the parade is safely underway and going according to schedule, Doris returns to her apartment. Her young daughter Susan (Wood) is spending the afternoon in their neighbor's apartment watching the parade. When Doris goes to join them, she learns that her neighbor Fred Gailey (Payne) has developed a camaraderie with her daughter in the hopes of meeting Doris, who he knows to be a single mother. His plan works and he finally gets to meet her, and Susan even persuades her mother to invite him to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.

Meanwhile, once the parade has finished for another year, everyone was so impressed with Kris Kringle that he is hired by Macy's Department Store to portray Santa for the rest of the holiday season. During his training by the manager of the toy department, he is instructed to suggest items from the store to holiday shoppers. Kris, however, believes in telling the truth, and tells shoppers who cannot find what they are looking for that they might be able to find it another store for a better price. The manager is furious at first, until one such customer declares that she will do all of her shopping at Macy's because Kris helped her discover the true spirit of generosity that comes with Christmas.

Eventually, Fred Gailey brings Susan to Macy's to visit Santa. Doris meets them in the store and gets upset

with Fred for filling Susan's head with frivolous nonsense. Susan, however, already believes that Kris Kringle is the real Santa Claus, no matter what her mother says. Doris gets fed up and demands that Kris tell her daughter who he really is, but he insists over and over that he truly is Santa Claus. Losing her patience, Doris asks to see his identification card. When he gives it to her, she sees that his name is listed as "Kris Kringle." She becomes unnerved, thinking that perhaps this new employee is mentally unstable. She wants to fire him on the spot so that he will not be able to influence any other children, but a surprise visit from store owner R.H. Macy prevents her from doing so. Later on, Doris and a store manager decide they will have Mr. Kringle evaluated by a director before they decide to dismiss him. Kriss passes his evaluation. Still believing that something is wrong, Doris contacts the doctor at the senior citizen center where Kris lives, only to be assured that nothing is wrong with the old gentleman, and that he might actually benefit from living closer to his place of employment. Fred Gailey hears of this and offers Kris a place in his apartment, not only because he wishes to help, but also because he thinks that Kris has had a good influence on Susan. The first night that Kris is staying at Fred's apartment, Susan comes to see him. She tells him that what she truly wants for Christmas is a real home to live in, like one she has seen in a magazine. Kris tells her that he will do his best to get it for her.

As time passes, a store employee takes steps to get Kris committed to a psychiatric institution. When Kris finds out what is going on, he believes that Doris had something to do with it as well. Feeling brokenhearted, he deliberately fails his competency test. Fred Gailey, who is not only a lawyer, but has also come to know

Kris as a friend, goes to his aid at once. He promises to try and get him out of the institution. Everything builds up to a trial in court to decide whether Kris is mentally sound or not. Knowing it will cost him his job, Fred represents Kris, determined to prove to he public that he is the real Santa Claus. Doris hears of this and tries to talk Fred out of it, but he refuses. She tells him that he is out of his mind to act on some "idealistic binge" over "lovely intangibles," to which Fred replies that hopefully one day Doris will learn that the "intangibles" are some of the only things worth having in life.

With a lot of hard work, and successful sway of public of opinion, Fred gets the case against Kris dismissed. On Christmas Day, Fred, Doris, and Susan are out and see the house that Susan wanted out of the magazine with a For Sale sign in front of it. Susan rushes into the vacant house, and the other two follow. Doris and Fred decide to get married and buy the house. When they turn to the door, Kris Kringle's old cane is propped up against the wall.

Miracle on 34th Street is a classic holiday gem that helps any viewer get in touch with the genuine spirit of good will and generosity which should accompany Christmas.

If you are interested in pricing or purchasing Miracle on 34th Street for yourself or someone else this holiday season, click on the following links:

Turner Classic Movies Gift Shop

Amazon

Barnes and Noble Online

Thank you so much for joining us again today. Please come back this Tuesday, December 10th, for a post on a Christmas tradition.

Until then, we hope you have a very merry, and A Very Vintage Christmas!