Miracle on 34th Street

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Seaton directs. Lloyd Ahern Sr. behind the camera. Cyril J. Mockridge scores. Robert L. Simpson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $0.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Made its money back 4.3× over at the box office.
• 379 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 4Directed by George Seaton, shot by Lloyd Ahern Sr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Cyril J. Mockridge. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Robert L. Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Maureen O'Hara and John Payne and Edmund Gwenn carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic!".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0039628 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 21 themes, including "new york city", "court", "judge", "parent child relationship".
• 11Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Lloyd Ahern Sr.

Original score

Cyril J. Mockridge

Editing

Robert L. Simpson

Costume design

Kay Nelson

Makeup / hair

Ben Nye

Runtime

96 min · 1h 36m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$630,000

Box office

$2,700,000

Return

429% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) ↗

Also by

George Seaton

• 
  Anything Can Happen

  1952 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Shocking Miss Pilgrim

  1947 · ★ 8.8
• 
  Apartment for Peggy

  1948 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Little Boy Lost

  1953 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Junior Miss

  1945 · ★ 7.8
• 
  36 Hours

  1964 · ★ 7.1

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Miracle On 34th Street | #TBT Trailer | 20th Century FOX

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Peter McGinn2021-12-26
  ★ 9/10

  This is one of the classic holiday pics I will watch every year if it is available to me (Oh no; he said “holiday” instead of Christmas. Blasphemy!) So I will neither pick it apart nor praise it to the heavens. The story writing is strong and the ensemble cast do a good job. The fact that it has been redone so many times speaks for itself. I won’t even try to compare it to the other versions. Instead, as I read in the Pearls Before Swine comic strip, “The floot-floot did a boom-boom on the jim-jam.” (Another way of saying “It is what it is.”)

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2022-12-03
  ★ 7/10

  I suppose if anyone was ever to play the definitive Santa Claus, then it would have had to be Edmund Gwenn. The glint in his eye, the smile and the avuncular look all lends itself so very well to this tale of the Christmas nay-sayers! Set in the toy department of the legendary Macy's toy store in New York, we meet this character who steps in to help out at the city's famous parade after their existing "Santa" gets a bit too inebriated. An instant success with the crowd, he is hired to run the shop's grotto and soon sales are going through the roof. It turns out that he is none too loyal though, and when news reaches his bosses that he is advising the parents where better deals on their gifts can be obtained, things look a bit precarious - or has he hit on the ultimate PR idea! Success never comes alone and resentful of his success certain people engineer an altercation in which our "Kris Kringle" ends up in court. Insisting before learned judge "Harper" (Gene Lockhart) that he is really from the North Pole, what now ensues is a comical, sprightly-written, court-room drama that requires the prosecutor "Mara" (Jerome Cowan) to prove, conclusively, that - well... It is interesting that the posters gave top billing to Maureen O'Hara and to John Payne as neither character are really necessary as the story builds up into the ultimate test of what we believe - or, what we choose to believe. Gwenn is in his element and this is just one of those films that I think it's impossible not to like - at least once a year.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  20th Century Fox

  US

Key crew

• ProducerWilliam Perlberg
• EditorRobert L. Simpson
• Art DirectionRichard Day
• Art DirectionRichard Irvine
• Set DecorationErnest Lansing
• Set DecorationThomas Little
• Costume DesignKay Nelson
• Makeup ArtistBen Nye
• SoundRoger Heman Sr.
• SoundArthur von Kirbach
• Visual EffectsFred Sersen
• Music DirectorAlfred Newman
• MusicEdward B. Powell
• OrchestratorMaurice De Packh
• Editorial ServicesLyman Hallowell
• Costume DesignCharles LeMaire
• Music ArrangerEdward B. Powell

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• new york city
• court
• judge
• parent child relationship
• holiday
• department store
• santa claus
• thanksgiving
• psychologist
• lawyer
• little girl
• black and white
• single mother
• district attorney
• skepticism
• holiday season
• commercialism
• christmas
• loss of faith
• mother daughter relationship
• imagination

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1947-06-04· New York City, New York
• Theatrical1947-06-11NR· Chicago, Illinois
• Theatrical1947-06-04G

Also known as

International titles

• Het wonder der 34ste straatBE
• To thavma tis 34is odouGR
• It's Only HumanUS
• Christmas Miracle on 34th StreetUS
• Miracolo Nella 34ª StradaIT
• Le miracle sur la 34ème rueFR
• Zázrak na 34 uliciCZ
• 梦幻街奇缘CN
• Milagre na Rua 34BR
• 34-cü Küçədə MöcüzəAZ