Maureen O'Hara and John Payne experience the "Miracle on 34th Street"

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) is a comedy-drama directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn. Others in the cast include Natalie Wood, Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, Jerome Cowan, William Frawley, Theresa Harris, Jack Albertson, and in her screen debut, Thelma Ritter.

Doris Walker (O’Hara) is an executive with Macy’s Department Store in New York City. She’s also a divorced single mom raising her daughter Susan (Wood). Due to her disappointment with marriage, she’s raised Susan not to believe in fairy tales and Santa Claus.

When Doris hires a man named Kris Kringle to play Santa Claus in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, things get interesting. Kris doesn’t just play Santa Claus, he believes he is Santa Claus!

Fred Gailey, a lawyer who lives in the same apartment building as Doris and Susan. He befriended Susan in an effort to meet Doris. His plan works and he and Doris begin a relationship. Things get complicated when the two clash on whether or not Susan should be exposed to the “myth” of Santa Claus.

Kris Kringle suspects that Susan doesn’t believe in Santa Claus and he makes it his mission to make her think otherwise.

Wilk Kris be successful? And is there really a Santa Claus and is his name Kris Kringle?

Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood

George Seaton (1911 - 1979) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Seaton started out as an actor and played the Lone Ranger o the radio. He got a job as a contract writer at M-G-M in 1933. His first credited script was for the Marx Brothers' comedy A Day at the Races (1937). Unhappy with only working on comedies, Seaton moved to Columbia in 1940. In the early 1940s, he went to 20^th Century-Fox where he achieved his greatest success as a writer and director. At Fox, he wrote the scripts for That Night in Rio (1941), Moon Over Miami (1941), and The Song of Bernadette (1943). He made his directorial debut with Diamond Horseshoe (1945) starring Betty Grable. He wrote and directed Junior Miss (1945) starring Peggy Ann Garner. Seaton wrote and directed the classic Miracle on 34^th Street. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay. Other films directed by Seaton include Apartment for Peggy (1948), The Country Girl (1954), Teacher’s Pet (1958), The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), 36 Hours (1964), What’s So Bad About Feeling Good (1968), and Airport (1970), the biggest hit of Seaton’s career.

Maureen O’Hara (1920 - 2015) was an Irish-American actress and singer. In her native Ireland, O’Hara trained with the Abbey Theatre at age 14. She screen-tested for the role of Mary Yellan in Jamaica Inn at age 19. Director Hitchcock wasn't impressed with O’Hara’s test but Laughton persuaded him to cast her. After finishing the film, O’Hara moved to Hollywood where she was signed to a contract at RKO. In 1941 she starred in How Green Was My Valley, her first collaboration with director John Ford. She starred alongside Tyrone Power in The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945) with Paul Henreid, and Sinbad the Sailor (1947) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. That same year she starred in the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street with John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, and a young Natalie Wood. Other popular films include The Quiet Man (1952), The Parent Trap (1961), and McLintock! (1963). 

John Payne (1912 – 1989) was an American film actor. He made his film debut in Dodsworth (1936). He had roles are various studios but found stardom at 20^th Century-Fox. At Fox, he had major roles in Tin Pan Ally (1940), Sun Valley Serenade (1941), The Dolly Sisters (1945), The Razor’s Edge (1946), and perhaps his most famous role as Fred Gayley in Miracle on 34^th Street (1947). Payne wasn’t happy with the roles he was being offered at Fox so he broke his contract which had four more years to go. As an independent freelance actor, Payne then specialized in westerns and films noir. During this period, he starred in Kansas City Confidential (1952), 99 River Street (1953), and Santa Fe Passage (1955). From 1957 to 1959, he starred as Vint Bonner in the western TV series, The Restless Gun. Payne’s final role was in an episode of Columbo in 1975.

Edmund Gwenn (1877 – 1959) was an English stage and film actor. He is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34^th Street (1947) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Gwenn made his Hollywood film debut in Sylvia Scarlett (1935) and went on to have a long career in that town. He was a member of what was known as the British Colony—British ex-pats who were working in Hollywood. So of his other films include Pride and Prejudice (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Lassie Come Home (1943), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), Undercurrent (1946), Apartment for Peggy (1948), and Mister 880 (1950). The actor Cecil Kellaway was Gwenn’s cousin.

Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn

Miracle on 34th Street trivia

• The team at Twentieth-Century Fox filmed the actual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1946.
• Edmund Gwenn actually played Santa Claus in that 1946 parade!
• Both Macy's and Gimbel's gave their permission to have their names used in the movie...after they saw the completed film!
• Gwenn gained 30 pounds to play Kris.
• This as Thelma Ritter's film debut; she was soon under contract with Fox and was nominated six times for Best Supporting Actress Oscars. She never won.
• The marketers at Fox didn't promote the film as a Christmas movie and came up with a crazy trailer that doesn't mention Christmas at all. (see trailer below)
• Miracle on 34th Street was released in theaters on June 11, 1947.
• The movie grossed four times its production cost.

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

To join the discussion on December 19, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. The film is an acknowledged holiday classic. Is it one of your favorites?
2. Does this film hold up in the 21st century?
3. What did you think of the relationship between Maureen O'Hara and John Payne? Did they have screen chemistry?
4. This movie put a young Natalie Wood on the map. After this performance, every studio in Hollywood wanted her in one of their movies. What did you think of her performance?
5. If you saw Edmund Gwenn, would you believe he was Santa Claus?
6. Do you have a favorite scene or piece of dialogue?

The original trailer for Miracle on 34th Street, featuring several movie stars on the Fox lot

10 Things You May Not Know About Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter is one of the most beloved character actresses of all time (at least according to me anyway). She appeared in many classic films starting with Miracle on 34th Street. Test your knowledge of this iconic actress by checking out the 10 facts below.

1. Family friend, director George Seaton, cast her in her first movie Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and her last, What’s So Bad About Feeling Good (1968).

2. She was uncredited in her first three movies: Miracle on 34th Street, Call Northside 777 (1948), and A Letter to Three Wives (1949).

3. Ritter was nominated for six Oscars—all for Best Supporting Actress.

4. Her first Oscar nomination was for her role as Birdie in All About Eve (1950).

5. Her name was above the title for the first time in The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951).

6. She played a character based on Molly Brown in Titanic (1953).

Thelma Ritter ruins James Stewart’s appetite in Rear Window.

7. She was not nominated for her role as Stella in Rear Window (1954).

8. Co-hosted the Oscar ceremony with Bob Hope in 1954.

9. She won a Tony Award for Best Actress (Musical) in New Girl in Town (1957) in a tie with costar Gwen Verdon.

10. She died nine days before her 67th birthday in 1969.

Chicago Film Club Field Trip: "Miracle on 34th Street" December 20 at AMC East

Where: AMC East 21, 322 East Illinois, Chicago, IL
When: December 20, 2015
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald


Run Time: 1 hour 50 minutes (approximate)

Special Fathom Feature: Enjoy a specially produced introduction from Turner Classic Movies that will give insight into this celebrated holiday classic.

Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Twentieth Century Fox will be bringing holiday cheer to the big screen with Miracle on 34th Street (1947), back in cinemas nationwide on Sunday, December 20.

Miracle on 34th Street is an irresistible fable that has, for many years, become synonymous with celebrating Christmas. The holiday season is in full swing when a cultured gentleman with twinkling eyes, an ample belly, and a snowy beard (Edmund Gwenn) is hired as Macy’s department store Santa. He claims his name is Kris Kringle, and soon fills everyone with Christmas spirit...except for his boss, Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara), who’s raising her daughter (Natalie Wood) to not believe in Santa. But when Kringle is declared insane, and put on trial, everyone’s faith is put to the test as young and old alike face the age-old question: Do you believe in Santa Claus?

To purchase tickets in advance, click here. Tickets will also be available at the box office on the day of screening.

Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Once a month we screen a classic film and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

I’ll be holding up a Meetup sign by the concessions on the top, theater, level. Let’s try and meet at 1:45 p.m.

Maureen O’Hara (Finally) Gets Her Oscar

Maureen O’Hara, the star of such classic films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, Sentimental Journey, The Miracle on 34th Street, The Quiet Man, and The Parent Trap, received a special honorary Academy Award. Incredibly, O’Hara, 94, was never nominated for a competitive Oscar in a career that spanned 75 years.

From left to right: John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, and O’Hara In Miracle on 34th Street

In her acceptance speech, O’Hara paid tribute to the three men who helped her career: Charles Laughton, John Wayne, and John Ford. Laughton signed O’Hara to her first film contract and costarred with her in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jamaica Inn, and This Land Is Mine. O’Hara costarred with Wayne in five films, including Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, McClintock!, and Big Jake. Ford directed O’Hara in How Green Was My Valley, The Quiet Man, and The Long Gray Line.

If you were to award O’Hara for one of her film performances, what would it be?

Classic Films in Context: “Apartment for Peggy”

Of all the movies made about returning World War II veterans and their struggles, Apartment for Peggy (1948) probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. Directed by George Seaton and released a year after his award winning holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street, Apartment for Peggy holds up remarkably well.

William Holden, Jeanne Crain, and Edmund Gwenn

Jeanne Crain and William Holden play a young married couple trying to cope with the GI housing shortage after the war. The movie begins with Peggy (Crain), who appears to be very pregnant, taking a short rest on a park bench next to retired Professor Henry Barnes (Edmund Gwenn). Peggy takes an immediate liking to the old professor; she calls him “pops” and baffles him with her rapid-fire speech and modern slang. When she finds out that Barnes’s friend, Professor Bell, (Gene Lockhart) might have “suction” with veteran housing on campus, Peggy asks Barnes to please put in a good word for her.

Before you know it, Peggy and Jason are turning Professor Barnes’s attic into a very comfortable and functional living space. Even Professor Barnes is amazed at the transformation. Reluctant at first to this “home invasion,” Professor Barnes learns to enjoy sharing his home with the young couple, although living with Peggy can be challenging at times.

What Peggy and Jason don’t know, is that before they moved in, the professor was planning his own suicide. The university forced him to retire years earlier and Barnes thinks his usefulness has come to an end. His wife is deceased and his only son was killed in the First World War. He concludes that he’s lived a good, satisfying life and feels it’s time to exit on his own terms.

Peggy (Crain, center) and Jason (Holden, right)
serve Professor Barnes tea in his renovated attic.

With all the veterans attending college, learning new things, the wives feel left out in the cold. Some think their husbands are drifting away. Peggy feels that it would be great if there was some way for the wives to get an overview of what their husbands are learning so they can grow together instead of apart. Peggy “volunteers” Professor Barnes for the job of organizing the instruction. At first he is annoyed with Peggy for saying he would take on such a task, after all, he has a suicide to arrange. But after a few classes with the wives, Barnes finds himself enjoying teaching like he never did before. He also discovers that he’s becoming involved in the lives of Peggy and Jason, something he never imagined.

At her baby shower, Peggy feels that something is wrong. She goes to the hospital where she miscarries, leaving Jason and Professor Barnes at a loss for words. Jason and the professor walk home from the hospital in silence, grief and disappointment etched on their faces.

When Jason gets a job in Chicago as a used car salesman, things begin to fall apart for Peggy and Professor Barnes. Peggy’s dreams of having a chemistry-teacher husband evaporate like steam from a teakettle. And what’s worse, Peggy is convinced that Jason really wants to be a professor, but thinks that he should be earning more money to provide for his wife.

Peggy reluctantly announces that she’s moving out to be with Jason in Chicago. Once again, Professor Barnes feels that he has no useful purpose in life. In his despair, he takes an overdose of sleeping pills. When Peggy finds out what he’s done, she forces black coffee down his throat and makes him walk around the house to stay awake. When Jason arrives on the scene and finds out what the professor has done, he gives him a tough-love speech. The speech is effective enough that Professor Barnes decides he really wants to live. In the end, Jason decides that he wants to be a chemistry teacher in spite of it all.

Holden as Jason Taylor

Seaton demonstrates his ability to portray characters that are true to life. The interactions between Crain, Gwenn, and Holden seem natural, not forced. Seaton manages to inspire the audience without being corny or overly sentimental. He also gets wonderful performances from the three stars, but Crain really shines as Peggy. The success of the movie rests on her shoulders. If you don’t care about Peggy, the movie falls apart. New York Times movie critic, Bosley Crowther thought Appartment for Peggy was a better movie than Miracle on 34th Street. Crowther also noted that Crain’s “vivid characterization” as Peggy contributed to the film’s overall success.

Through Seaton’s writing and direction, we see how liberating education, and not just the book kind, can be. The enthusiasm the wives show in Professor Barnes’s philosophy class is inspiring; the joy of learning is obvious and contagious. And what about the joy the instructor expresses? Seaton makes it clear there is wisdom in old age and it should be respected and appreciated, not thrown away or pushed aside.

Apartment for Peggy is a time capsule of what life was like (including the colorful slang of the day) during post-World War II America. It’s funny without being overly cute. It’s sad without being depressing. Seaton manages to capture the entire human experience in a wonderfully entertaining package. It’s a neglected classic that needs to be given its due.


Backstory: Apartment for Peggy was the first movie to actually portray a pregnant woman on screen with a large belly! Prior to this film, women were not pictured on screen in the “family way.”

Apartment for Peggy is available on DVD as part of Twentieth Century Fox’s Cinema Archives releases. The Technicolor Print is adequate, with interior scenes appearing on the dark side and with little contrast. The sound is perfect, but as with all of the on-demand Cinema Archives editions, it has no extras. It’s unfortunate that Fox didn’t think this film was worthy of a restoration with extras, considering the talent involved. It really deserves a better presentation on video.

"Miracle on 34th Street" Kicks off the Holiday Movie Season

Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara

Does Macy's tell Gimbels?
Miracle on 34th Street, starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, and Natalie Wood is a true holiday classic. Released in 1947, the movie boasts some terrific location shots of New York City during the late 1940s, including interior and exteriors of the landmark Macy's department store located near Times Square.

On Location in New York City
Twentieth Century Fox film studios actually filmed the real Macy's Day Parade to lend authenticity to the production. O'Hara and Gwenn are right in the middle of all the action along the parade route which starts at 77th St. and Central Park West to Columbus Circle (59th St.), continues up Broadway to 34th St., turning at Macy's Herald Square, and ending at Seventh Ave. The Macy's Day Parade is a New York tradition that started in 1924.

Prince Charming was a rat!
The story centers around Doris Walker (O'Hara) as a busy Macy's executive and single mother trying to raise her young daughter, Susan (Wood). O'Hara believes in always being truthful with her daughter and considers myths like Santa Claus harmful. She thinks that filling up her daughter's head with a bunch of fairy stories paints an unrealistic portrait of life and leads to disappointment and heartache in adulthood. What Doris doesn't realize is that it's her own bitterness and disappointment that is driving most of her parenting decisions.

John Payne, Wood, and Edmund Gwenn

Enter an eager, young lawyer, Fred Gailey (Payne), who challenges Susan first and then Doris to believe in something bigger than themselves. When Fred finds himself proclaiming a kind, old gentleman (Gwenn) as the one and only Santa Claus in a New York City courtroom, the city and its colorful inhabitants get swept up in the spectacle.

Honored Classic
Winner of three Academy Awards, including one for Best Writing, Screenplay (George Seaton), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies), and Best Supporting Actor (Gwenn), Miracle on 34th Street is a classic for all seasons.

Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies

Meet Me In St. Louis—1944 This musical classic may not be thought of as a Christmas movie, but the story about the trials and tribulations of the Smith family in the year before the 1904 World’s Fair does contain the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” As sung by Judy Garland to a young Margaret O’Brien, it became an instant hit and holiday standard. Great music, beautiful color cinematography, and a wonderful ensemble cast make this the perfect movie to watch on a snowy winter’s evening with family and friends. 

The Bells of St. Mary’s—1945 Can anyone make great sentimental films the way Leo McCarey did? McCarey was a master of emotional manipulation, but in a good way. Plus, when you have Ingrid Bergman as your leading lady (even if she’s playing a nun), you can’t really go wrong, can you? Bing Crosby reprises his Oscar-winning performance as Father O’Malley in this sequel to Going My Way, but it’s Bergman’s Sister Benedict that really is the heart and soul of this Christmas classic, in my opinion. And who do we have here? Henry Travers, the great character actor, playing business tycoon-turned-benefactor, Mr. Bogardus, one year before he would be immortalized as the angel Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life (see below). 

Christmas in Connecticut—1945 A big hit when first released, this holiday classic is sometimes overlooked in the lists of great Christmas movies. Made when Barbara Stanwyck was at her peak, the story is clever and genuinely funny. Stanwyck’s character is a sort of 1940s version of Martha Stewart, except, unlike Martha, she has no domestic skills whatsoever. When compelled by her magazine publisher to entertain a war hero, Stanwyck goes into high gear to present herself as the perfect domestic goddess the reading public and her publisher think she is. Stanwyck, often cast in heavy melodramas was a great comic actress. She looks luminous on screen as the career woman falling for war hero Dennis Morgan. 

It’s a Wonderful Life—1946 What do you say that hasn’t already been said about this classic holiday favorite? Well, for starters, it wasn’t such a big hit when released. Most post-war audiences thought the story line was rather dark. Today, the tale of George Bailey visited by an angel named Clarence, who shows George what life would be like if he hadn’t been born, is almost required viewing during the Christmas season. James Stewart is perfectly cast as George and Donna Reed is every bit his equal as George’s wife, Mary. Reed’s characterization is pitch perfect and she makes us understand why George loves her so. 

Miracle on 34th Street—1947 There have been other versions of this classic, but none come close to matching the warmth and intelligence of the original. It’s amazing to me how well this movie holds up today. Maureen O’Hara is a single working mom trying to balance work while raising her young daughter, Susan, played by Natalie Wood. All the praise went to Edmund Gwen as Kris Kringle, and he’s wonderful (Best Supporting Actor winner), but O’Hara gives a beautifully layered performance as Doris Walker, a conflicted career woman who doesn't want her daughter to believe in fantasies of any kind. John Payne is also excellent as Fred Gailey, as is George Seaton’s crisp and fluid direction. 

The Bishop’s Wife—1947 Released the same year as Miracle on 34th Street, the movie boasts two of the most glamorous movie stars in the history of film: Loretta Young and Cary Grant. And for us regular folk, there’s David Niven as the bishop. Probably the most spiritual of all the Christmas classics, The Bishop’s Wife grows on me with each viewing. Niven is a bishop struggling to raise money to build a cathedral without compromising his faith or his marriage to Young. Grant plays an angel named Dudley sent from heaven to help the bishop during his hour of need. Perhaps a little too earthly an angel for his own good, Grant finds himself falling for Young, who, in simple dress and hairstyles, radiates feminine grace and beauty. A wonderful movie about grace, love, and commitment that continues to speak to audiences today.

The above is hardly an exhaustive list of my favorites, but these are very close to the top. What are your favorite Christmas movies? Do you have a list of holiday favorites that you absolutely have to watch every year? I’d love to hear from you.