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Miracle on 34th Street ()

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After a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
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Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
  • Won 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination.
  • See more »
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Photos and Videos

148 photos | 4 videos

Cast verified as complete

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Doris Walker
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Fred Gailey
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Kris Kringle
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Judge Henry X. Harper
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Susan Walker
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Granville Sawyer
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Charlie Halloran
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Dist. Atty. Thomas Mara
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Julian Shellhammer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Post Office Mail Sorter Next to Lou (uncredited)
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Mr. R.H. Macy (uncredited)
Arline Bletcher ...
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
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Mrs. Shellhammer (uncredited)
Walden Boyle ...
Judge's Clerk (uncredited)
Kevin Burke ...
Child on Santa's Lap (uncredited)
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Secretary (uncredited)
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Department Store Head (uncredited)
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Reporter (uncredited)
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Double for Natalie Wood (uncredited)
Mike Donovan ...
Court Bailiff (uncredited)
Teddy Driver ...
Terry (uncredited)
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Dutch Girl's Adopted Mother (uncredited)
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Doctor Rogers at Bellevue (uncredited)
Curt Furberg ...
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Jack Gargan ...
Chauffeur (uncredited)
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Department Store Window Dresser (uncredited)
Jane Green ...
Mrs. Harper (uncredited)
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Alfred (uncredited)
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George (uncredited)
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Cleo (uncredited)
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Drunken Santa Claus (uncredited)
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Mr. Gimbel (uncredited)
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Patron in Macy's Lunchroom (uncredited)
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Thomas Mara Jr. (uncredited)
Richard Irving ...
Reporter (uncredited)
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Second Bellevue Interne (uncredited)
Fran Lee ...
Customer (uncredited)
King Lockwood ...
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Marlene Lyden ...
Dutch Girl (uncredited)
Robert Lynn ...
Macy Salesman (uncredited)
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Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
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Woman in Santa Line (uncredited)
Ida McGuire ...
Drum Majorette (uncredited)
Joseph McInerney ...
Bailiff (uncredited)
Clyde McLeod ...
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
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Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
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Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Jean O'Donnell ...
Miss Adams (uncredited)
Anne O'Neal ...
Secretary to Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)
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Mail-Bearing Court Officer (uncredited)
Lorin Raker ...
Macy Salesman (uncredited)
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Court Officer Bearing Mail (uncredited)
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Peter's Mother (uncredited)
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Security Guard (uncredited)
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Court Officer Bearing Mail (uncredited)
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Courtroom Reporter (uncredited)
Rube Schaffer ...
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
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Dr. Pierce (uncredited)
Irene Shirley ...
R.H. Macy's Secretary (uncredited)
Patty Smith ...
Alice (uncredited)
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Court Officer Bearing Mail (uncredited)
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Mrs. Mara (uncredited)
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Guard (uncredited)
Anthony Sydes ...
Peter (uncredited)
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Lou (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey ...
Patient (uncredited)
Basil Walker ...
Bellevue Intern (uncredited)

Directed by

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George Seaton

Written by

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George Seaton ... (written for the screen by)
 
Valentine Davies ... (story)

Produced by

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William Perlberg ... producer

Music by

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Cyril J. Mockridge ... (music) (as Cyril Mockridge)

Cinematography by

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Lloyd Ahern Sr. ... director of photography (as Lloyd Ahern)
Charles G. Clarke ... director of photography (as Charles Clarke)

Editing by

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Robert L. Simpson ... film editor (as Robert Simpson)

Editorial Department

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Lyman Hallowell ... apprentice editor (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Richard Day
Richard Irvine

Set Decoration by

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Ernest Lansing ... (set decorations)
Thomas Little ... (set decorations)

Costume Design by

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Kay Nelson ... (costumes designed by)

Makeup Department

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Ben Nye ... makeup artist

Sound Department

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Roger Heman Sr. ... sound (as Roger Heman)
Arthur von Kirbach ... sound (as Arthur L. Kirbach)

Visual Effects by

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Fred Sersen ... special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department

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Charles G. Clarke ... 2nd cameraman

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Charles Le Maire ... wardrobe director
Sam Benson ... wardrobe (uncredited)
Eugene Joseff ... costume jeweller (uncredited)

Location Management

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Charlie Hall ... location manager (uncredited)

Music Department

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Alfred Newman ... musical director
Edward B. Powell ... orchestral arrangements (as Edward Powell)
Maurice De Packh ... orchestrator (uncredited)
Earle Hagen ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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John C. Eagan ... technical advisor (uncredited)
Dirk Van H. Labberton ... technical advisor (uncredited)
May E. Romm ... technical advisor (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

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. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

Plot Keywords
Taglines You've got them mixed up! You're making a mistake. You're making a mistake with the reindeer. Tsk tsk tsk See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Christmas Miracle on 34th Street (United States)
  • The Big Heart (United States)
  • It's Only Human (United States)
  • The Big Heart (United Kingdom)
  • Le Miracle sur la 34ème rue (France)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 96 min
Official Sites
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Language
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Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia In the untranslated dialogue with the Dutch girl, Kris asks her what she wants for Christmas. She says she wants nothing, telling him she got her gift by being adopted by her new mother. See more »
Goofs Kris claims that John Quincy Adams' Vice President was Daniel D. Tompkins. In fact, that was John C. Calhoun, while Tompkins had been Vice President under Adams' predecessor, James Monroe. The confusion arose because Adams was the 6th President whereas Tompkins was the 6th Vice President, some Presidents having had a different Vice President in each term, and one of the latter having served under 2 of the former. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in The Screen Writer (1950). See more »
Soundtracks Jingle Bells See more »
Quotes Mr. Shellhammer: But... but maybe he's only a little crazy like painters or composers or... or some of those men in Washington.
See more »
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