STORYLINE: At the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the actor playing Santa Claus 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 play 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 six-year-old 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’ neighbor, 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. (IMDb)

    In some form or another, many folks have yearly traditions, around the holidays. I have Christmas movies I watch on a yearly bases.  The Polar Express (2004), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), and the original Miracle on 34th St, from 1947.

    With the holiday classic Miracle on 34th St, the tradition is a bit more than an annual viewing.  I put together an annual holiday party. I gather family and friends for a potluck dinner.  Once dinner is over I show the feature film.  I have been doing this for years. The pandemic paused this event, but in the winter of 2024 I picked up where I left off. 

   This past weekend I hosted my annual gala.  I provided the entrees (as the host of any potluck should), as my guests filled in around the edges.  We socialized as we feasted. As my guests settled down with their dessert I introduced the feature presentation, with a few fun facts, I had researched. This component is new, in the post Covid reboot, and I enjoy standing in the front of the room, rattling off half a dozen facts I like on the film.

    I absolutely adore this movie, and everything about it.  From start to finish, it’s full of charm.  Every time I watch it, the feel good ending puts a smile on my face.  I can’t think of another films that does that.  

    The holiday classic is not just mindless entertainment though.  It makes, shuttle points, about consumerism.  I 

 enjoy when films sit at the crossroads of entertaining and point making. 

   Maureen O’ Hara, whose credits include favorites of mine such as The Parent Trap (1961) and The Quiet Man (1952), is the lead in Miracle on 34th St.  She is one of my favorite actresses of yesteryear. 

    In conclusion, for those wonderingm I made ribs, and my signature dish of pulled chicken bbq for the potluck. 

    Until next time I will see you at the movies!

Miracle on 34th St (1947) continues my Retro Rewind series of holiday blogs. 

Previous entries: THE POLAR EXPRESS (2004),THE ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES (1993), THE HOLIDAY (2006), CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945), HOME ALONE (1990), and ELF (2003)