What Everyone Gets Wrong About Miracle on 34th Street
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ม.ค. 2025
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In the words of Terry Pratchett" just because you can explain it doesn't mean it's still not a miracle
Yup.
I'm amazed at your airy dismissal of the concept of divorce in the 40's; the stigma was real, and may women struggle to raise children on their own.
The idea that a failed relationship can turn a woman, or man, off taking another chance on someone else is not just “a 1940’s thing.”-it’s a real possibility as old as the hills and still happens today.
This movie actually got labeled as "morally objectionable" by the League of Decency for depicting a divorced person. You always need to view things in the time they were created.
@@Retnoob There were a lot of heady topics in this movie for its time. Not only having a divorced woman raising a daughter on her own, but that the father is completely out of the picture. The idea of telling her daughter the "absolute truth" about everything and not wanting her to believe in fairytales of any kind is much more common today than it was in the 40s. It is a very progressive movie for that era.
@@user-xe5cz3dw8m Yes, you're absolutely right. For instance,, the little Dutch girl Kris meets while performing Santa is likely a war orphan, her parents doubtlessly killed in World War II, which is why she's so sad: she's lost in a new world, her entire family gone, while being raised by parents who do not speak her language. Heavy stuff that would be apparent to the viewing public of 1947, not quite two full years after the end of the war (the movie debuted in June of 1947, and the two-year anniversary of the end of the war wouldn't roll around until September 2nd, three months later).
@@Retnoob Nothing was more morally objectionable than the League of Decency.
For me it’s the Dutch girl scene that convinces me he’s Santa. Dutch speakers were highly unusual in New York in the 40s. Whether he’s Santa or just a harmless nutcase who speaks Dutch, that scene gets me every time. When I think of the hell that poor girl saw in WWII-ravaged Europe, for her to get that moment of joy with her Sinter Klaas is a pearl beyond price. And yes, I’m tearing up just typing about it.
actually, Dutch was spoken in rural areas of New York and New Jersey up untill the 60s quite a bitt. The whole area used to be New Holland
@@zjanggurup yes, it was Martin Van Buren's first language.
But she KNEW it was him.
@@studogable Van Buren 8th president of the United States
As its a Dutch name the 'van' should remain uncapitalised assuming you're using Dutch grammar rules
It probably means he served with Dutch volunteers in the great war.
The scene with the Dutch girl always moves me - being a World War 2 refugee(or displaced person) in a land not her own, she's already lost so very much. Seeing Kris, being understood, and understanding him means so very, very much.
It's a lovely moment that stands out among so many in this wonderful film.
I've always done my best to sing their song every year. Finally this year I found a site where the song is discussed. Yay!
I agree, that's the most toughing scene of the film! I read that the 'little Dutch girl' was actually an American that learned to speak Dutch by rote just for that scene. She did a fine job, I loved that toothless smile.
Of course he is Santa Claus 🧑🎄 it was no coincidence that ALL THAT HAD TO HAPPEN, HAPPENED. And remember, when you don't believe in Santa, you get underwear and socks for Christmas😅😉 Wishing all a 2022 that brings reasons to smile. ☮
My favorite part.
This movie came out when I was about the same age as Natalie Wood was. Many of us had dads who were still trying to recover from what they had seen and done in the war, and the loss of innocence was a real thing. At the time I swallowed the belief that there was a real Santa who cared about us kids. I think that's the key. We all would like to believe in human kindness and joy and the rest, but the Cold War, racism, all the rest, suggested otherwise. Yet for a couple of coins we could sit in a theater and cheer for the right to believe in a good and decent world. Today Television showings bring us the same message: "Yes, despite the big wars and the political insanity out there, let's believe in the values that make us humans." Of course, it's ambiguous, because all of life is.
How beautifully expressed.
When I watched this movie yesterday (though I've seen it many times), I realized what a perfect movie it is. The beautiful black-and-white photography, the taut dialogue, the wonderful story arc, and the judicious use of music (not overselling). It's really a movie for adults as well as children.
I always thought "the miracle" was the little girls change of heart, & her family coming together. *That's* the miracle!!!
I agree. One problem with using words like “miracle” is that people don’t have the same definition of what it means. For some it is a magical event that breaks the known laws of physics and nature. For others, it is something that is just really, really improbable. For me, miracles are moments or series of events that lead people to alter the course of their lives and strive for something better (kinder, gentler, more fulfilling, etc.) than what they had before.
Yes the miracle is a change of heart.
and in this day and age even more so
For me the the MIRACLE was the CHANGE of attitude of Susan's Mother and her willingness to release her tight grasp of CONTROL on all THINGS to LETTING SOMEONE ELSE have some influence in the HAPPENINGS and Happiness in her LIFE
Yesss
As a real bearded Santa I strongly agree. This is my favorite Christmas movie. In the last month, I have had two different people tell me that I am the most authentic Santa they have ever seen. I tell them that is because I am Santa. I then do my best to live up to the image of Santa as portrayed in this film. I know I am not Santa, but for a moment I can help an adult or child suspend disbelief for just a little while and share in the magic and 'The Miracle" of Christmas. While I only wear the red suit from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the white hair and long white beard are year long accessories. I have even chosen my cane to match the one in the film. They are my year long reminders to hold Christmas in my heart all 12 months (as we all should, but so rarely do).
Well, if the Post Office declares you to be the ONE and ONLY Santa Claus...then, this viewer will not dispute it! Merry Christmas, Kris.
I am a fellow bearded Santa, and I have to agree. The beard really does maketh the man.
Thank you for having the values you have. I am an older, white bearded man who gets stared at by children at this time of year. I ask their parents for permission to talk with them and if given the green light will talk of the spirit of the season of consideration and giving thanks to others. It is all good clean fun for ua all!
To @johnstruble...I Was So Moved By Your Words About The Cane You Carry, and Being a Reminder of What Christmas 🎄 Is For Those Next 12 Months.
Reminds Me of The Words in a Letter
Gary Coopers Character Reads in the Film
'Meet John Doe' Directed by Frank Capra.
Sorry but you are indeed Santa Claus.
I have to respectfully but strongly disagree with the premise that the movie makes it unambiguously clear that Kris is not actually Santa Claus. It never conclusively declares that he IS Santa; however, not only does it never rule out the possibility, it seems- to me at least- to hint (more than hint, all-but imply, especially with the very ending) that he just may really be who he says he is.
Ditto!
I couldn’t agree more 🤗
I agree! Is 'Kris' the "one and only" Santa Clause? By the end of the film the answer to that question is up to each individual audience member. That's part of the beauty of this timeless Christmas Classic. I watched this film when I was a kid and concluded that 'Kris' was Santa. No offense to Steve Shives, but he isn't changing my mind. After all, it's just a movie.
I fully agree with you!!
@@jasona9 I've always seen the "evidence" that he isn't Santa as the cynicism of "adults"; that need to make rational sense of every little detail in their world, and the loss of childlike faith. Steve even points out that that is kinda the point.
Even from a young age, I never thought Kris was necessarily Santa. I thought that one of the finer points of the film was the mystery of whether he was or wasn't, but also the bright realization that it doesn't matter. He is what Santa Claus should be: a joy to children, and an example of hope and selflessness and optimism to adults.
Weirdly, I also, when I was a kid, thought that he was definitively not supposed to be Santa-though only because I misinterpreted one of his own lines of dialogue. For some reason, on my first viewing, I took his line before the parade about not being "in the habit of substituting for spurious Santa Clauses" to mean that he had NO experience acting like or pretending to be Santa Claus, and that he didn't want to be thought of as Santa in any way . . . i.e., that even HE was admitting that he wasn't Santa Claus (right away at the beginning)! That made for a confusing initial viewing of the movie, when he suddenly "changed his mind" a few scenes later and started doubling down on being Santa Claus after all . . .
Anyway-an interesting misunderstanding to have in mind during your first viewing! (And it never would have entered my head to doubt his Santa Claus-ness, if I hadn't interpreted the movie as telling me so; I was a very gullible and ready-to-believe kid, who would have hopped right on board otherwise. Kind of a strange accident, which came back around to introducing the same kind of skepticism the movie probably assumed viewers would have all along.)
@@conkey2000 I disagree. Kris claimed to be Santa from the very start of the movie. He tells the guy working in the store window where "my" reindeer should be.
As a kid I didn’t care, the little (non) “miracles” that happened, all coincidental, all made me believe. Doubt yes, but there he sat! A wonderful old Santa guy.
You just ruined the movie for me.why is their always people who in this harsh world where we need a little fantasy,who feel the need to analyze every thing
Beautifully said. I also knew Kris wasn’t really Santa, even as a little girl.
Funny how the stars align -- I just watched this with my 11 year old son for the first time tonight. By the end of the movie he was totally convinced that Kris was in fact Santa Claus, as I had been when I was his age. By the end of the movie, I was totally convinced the magic of the movie still works, even 70 years later. Merry Christmas everyone. 😁
Really?! I'm delighted to hear it.😉
I think the real miracle is that a department store events director could afford an apartment on Central Park West overlooking the parade route.
The "Miracle" is the Power of Unconditional Love. Love changes hearts, minds and lives. 💜
The cane at the end, along with the Dutch girl scene, convinces me that Kris IS meant to be Santa Claus, or at least that it is meant to be an open question. Yes, I know there were still Dutch speakers in the area in 1947, but that's a hell of a coincidence.
If y'all can't tell reindeer apart, that's no reflection on Kris Kringle.
The cane in the house at the end, along with Fred's statement that "maybe I didn't do such a great thing after all," indicates that he IS Santa Claus. Not sure how you could've missed that.
That scene always brings a tear to my eye.
Thank you.
Agree - so simple!
Thank you! I don’t see how anyone could interpret that scene differently.
Along with the comments of his doctor at the Christmas party, it is heavily implied Kris is Santa.
I always interpreted the miracle to be that there wasn't an actual miracle needed. That one man's kindness spread through those around him and sort of butterfly effected out to touch and change so many people's lives. The part where Suzie was able to pretend to be a monkey was always my favorite part.
I think the miracle is that in a cynical world that had gone through two world wars and a killer pandemic, one eccentric person can help people find a little whimsy in the world. This movie like The Sun editorial 'Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus." Makes it more about the joy of being a better person and having a sense of wonder. And I still love that in the end, Fred becomes the one who is skeptical about what he's done. Long Live Kris Kringle.
You made it make perfect sense.
Like Sherlock Holmes pointing out every "obvious" clue.
And they're all there -- each and every one -- right where you pointed.
I know you don't need me to tell you that.
I thought it might be worth saying it anyway.
On this Steve, we both 1000000% agree, this is easily my favorite Christmas movie of all time.
And like Death in Hogfather who states that (to paraphrase) you can take the universe, grind it down to powder and sieve it through the finest sieve, but you won't find one piece of justice, or one molecule of mercy, so we have to make both or else this world isn't a world worth living in.
A favorite of mine, too, but I could not disagree more on your interpretation of the film.
Do check on math there is nothing PAST 100%..period, and since the miracle is ones belief in good tiding of man, and its shown most surely, OPEN your eyes and see the forest, do not try to count only the trees! In the P P & M wedding song,...do you believe in something that you've never seen before...? well there's love... there is love. Quickly define love. take as many volumes as you need.
@@guysabol8743 Are you familiar with hyperbole?
Growing up my mom made us watch this movie every year. More because we’re Irish and she loved Maureen O’Hara. It’s a great feel good movie. The cast is stellar. Natalie wood, John Payne, William frawley. Even the bit players all excellent actors. Thelma Ritter, jack Albertson. Just well played by all these fine people.
From a family with an Irish background, my mom loved Maureen O'Hara too. So am sure you've seen the awesome movie The Quiet Man with her and John Wayne. One of my all-time favorites.
Steve, Kris IS Santa. How can you say he's not? The ending makes it perfectly clear. The cane in the corner makes it obvious that the house DID come from him, even despite the For Sale sign. Just look how aghast Maureen and John are in the end.
Why would he leave his cane there?
Yeah, I agree. I find this chaps take on it to be a tad weird.
Does it, though? No one stopped Susi, Maureen, and John from walking into that house. The door was open. There was nothing to stop Kris from paying the place a visit and leaving a calling card.
He's just burning with the zeal to preach to the world that possesses every prophet or crazy person who thinks he or she is a prophet. He doesn't see the arrogance in his belief that EVERYONE gets these things wrong... except him!
The whole video I was wondering how he was going to explain the cane. It’s telling that he chooses not to.
I definitely liked the ambiguity of Kris Kringle: he *_might_* be Santa Claus, but there's no definite need for him *_to_* be Santa Claus.
He very much reminds me of the way I finally came clean to my kids when they asked me for a straight answer about Santa: I said, "When you give someone a gift, or when you are just kind to someone in any small thing, you *_are_* Santa. And more, remember what I read to you about what Jesus said: when you do anything for another person, you are doing it for Jesus."*
*Matthew 25:40.
I love what you told your children. It's perfect
There actually is a miracle in the movie. Susan mailed a letter to Kris in the late afternoon / evening and it was delivered to him at the courthouse the next morning. Now that's a miracle.
Actually, that was the way the United States Postal Service functioned in that time. Over the last 5 decades, it has been neglected, starved of resources and maligned, the target of deliberate destruction, like so many other government agencies, by the right.
It is one of the tragedies of life that ever since the odious Ronald Reagan convinced a huge number of Americans that government was the problem instead of the instrument of the people against the powerful, whole generations have grown up without the knowledge of what an efficient and effective government agency is capable of.
@@donmac7780 IN THE 1980S IF IT WERE IN THE "CITY"POSTAL ZONE IF YOU MAILED IT BEFORE 5P IT WAS DELIVERED THE NEXT DAY
@@chuckschafer942 Which is one of the reasons why, if you take your out-going mail to the post office, there are separate boxes for local and non-local mail.
@@chuckschafer942 I'm guessing this is for New York. Ours went to Madison to be postmarked and then came back to our town to be delivered.
I LOVE your view on the true miracle! Now you'll be lucky if a $$$ priority package makes it to it's destination in a week and a half (if ever)
Funny. Aligning a string of implausible events is a particular way is pretty much what I've always thought a miracle is.
To quote Futurama, "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all"
Yes, his argument ticking off the events seemed more in favor of a miracle than against it.
@@richardryley3660 There's very similar expressions in various "mystical" religious/philosophical traditions*, such as Taoism, Zen, and Sufism .
*) maybe even Jedi?
Well damn. For all these years, I thought he was really Santa. I loved the film, already, but your explanation has made me love it even more. You made me look at this classic in a new way and find even more magic in it.
I recall back in the early 1970s I was still in high school and work at the gas station after school. At the gas station we could fill up propane tanks and weed killer for farmers. One day I was filling up a large propane tank for a man, it was a few days before Christmas. I told him I love Christmas then it leaves for another year, he replied back to me saying it is Christmas every day to me helping people , kindness in my heart giving people a word of hope and encouragement. As a teenager then I never thought that, I still remember that to this day at the age of 68
Macy's Herald Square (where some of the film was actually shot) still capitalizes on Kris's philosophy. It displays a giant illuminated "Believe" sign over 34th Street. The high point for me is Natalie in the back of the sedan passively and glumly repeating "I believe," whereupon she sees the house. Her realization and transformation, her demand to stop the car, running up the hill to her promised house while the music swells - that's a sort of universal childhood dream. The cane, I thought, was almost placed there as an underscore or period to the statement, just in case there was any question.
In the remake of miracle on 34th St. in the 1990s… The word believe on people’s buttons, and so forth becomes a major statement… We believe!
What I really love about this movie is that whichever way you look at Kris, the heartwarming sentiments are still firmly in place. It's an amazing film, with an excellent screenplay.
Yes, beautiful screenplay. And so clever: the Court never rules in favor of Kris -it simply declines to dispute him. Perfectly plausible.
You're absolutely right. And also (now that I'm thinking of it) the same conclusion could be made of the *first* modern Christmas fable: "A Christmas Carol (in prose)" by Charles Dickens. I mean, there's talk of ghosts all the way through, but there's nothing actually in the story that contradicts the idea that everything Scrooge undergoes that night is actually the result of "a bit of underdone potato." It might, in fact, all be his nightmare. What matters is what Scrooge *does* with his new insight, when he wakes up the next morning, and how he starts caring about other people.
"You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are."
I don't know if the book differs from the movie versions I've seen, but in almost all versions there are details revealed to him by the Ghost of Christmas Present about the upcoming day that Scrooge could not have known otherwise. Tiny Tim's condition being the most prominent (being an uncaring person, he had never really inquired about Cratchet's family before).
True, but Dickens was into spiritualism, like many others in that period, so it could also just be read as is.
For me, his redemption at the end is one of the best endings in movie history.
Outstanding. Thank you so much!
Heart rendering review of this traditional movie. I'm recommending a Hallmark Special "The Christmas Train" as clever enough to stand out among the Hallmark collection.
I’ve watched this movie my entire life also. Natalie Wood! Woot woot! The first time I watched this film I didn’t think Kris was really Santa until the very end when the cane was left. That single second of film is what makes the movie so great. All of these very logical things that lead to a very logical legal conclusion. Even though there is probably a very logical explanation for the cane being left, the film built such a since of wonder that you go “He was Santa after all!”
Natalie Wood's facial expressions throughout this movie are priceless.
I totally agree, the cane was left to identify that Kris is really the one and only Santa Claus.
I would 'have loved for Doris and Bill after seeing the cane, to hear Santa Flying overhead
That is my interpretation as well!
Even Fred's line "Maybe I'm not the greatest lawyer in the world after all" speaks to that realization that Kris really is Santa. :)
Two things:
1 - William Frawley's turn as the Judge's political boss has to be the top of his game. Maybe past his time as Bub or Fred.
Frawley: You go out there and tell everyone there's no Santa, and the only one who'll vote for you will be that District Attorney.
Judge: (Shakes his head) The District Attorney's a Republican.
2 - Have to dispute your premise, just a tiny bit. After Fred brags that he took a broken down old man and legally transformed him into the one true Santa, he sees what could be Kris's cane in the corner of their new home, and while Susan logically explains it, he says "Maybe... and maybe I didn't do such a good thing after all." At least the ambiguity creeps in at that last second - which puts it acres above the 1994 remake, which was so blatant, why have faith when the film is certain?
The judge is played by a great character, too. Gene Lockhart played Steve Douglas opposite Raymond Masses in “Abwe Lincoln in Illinois”. Even the guy playing the clerk fooling with the reindeer does his job well.
It was this movie, then Fred Mertz, then My three sons, along with a lot of other TV and film work mixed in. Very prolific actor. I always loved him.
The 1994 film isn't quite on-par with the original, but it's also a truly warm, lovely, and genuinely sincere retelling of the story. It may imply a whisper more "magic", but it follows the same road and evokes the same spirit, and I don't think the gentle fantasy elements take any of that away.
That's right; and don't forget the AF of L and the Salvation Army, brother.
Gene Lockhart would know about Christmas. In an earlier life he was Bob Cratchet.
The reindeer in the window of the store that Chris attempt to correct, are most certainly not all the same. They have different poses and physical details, number of points on the antlers for instance. At the end of the movie, Fred doubts his thinking that Chris isn't Santa Claus.
I don't think he means to suggest they're literally identical as much as they are virtually indistinguishable, and certainly not identifiable as specific individual reindeer such as "Blitzen" or "Cupid". There don't appear to be labels on them, so unless the maker of the figures had first-hand knowledge of the "real" reindeers' appearances there's no way they could be recognizable except in Kris's fantasy.
👏👏👏👏👏♥️
@@TalesFromTheHauntedLibrary They're indistinguishable to us but not to Santa Claus.
Thank you!
I don't know about your interpretation here, because while he certainly wasn't an active Santa Claus, living at the North Pole, delivering toys to the whole world... he seems to be just a bit too effective at getting things done not to be magical. Knowing Dutch may not be miraculous, but knowing every human language would be, and we never once see him fail at anything.
I love this take. Especially the final points. “Strive to be the kind of person worth believing in.” I’m going to strive a little harder to do that every time I watch this movie now.
People nowadays don’t want to believe in anyone other than themselves: belief in someone else means that you aren’t good enough the way you already are, and strangers will invariably misunderstand you and lead you wrong.
I think this attitude stops so many people from being better than they could be.
Your very well-stated thesis on the ultimate, humanistic messages of the film, and the film's committed realism, can all still be true while acknowledging that Miracle on 34th Street does in fact leave the question of Kris' true identity open. This is the thing about many miracles (or "miracles") in life: there's always an alternate, rationalistic explanation (in some religious traditions these are called "hidden miracles"). Even in religious texts, God rarely does open, obvious miracles, undeniable to all concerned. The movie is brilliant because besides the beautiful ethical ideas, it also conveys a message about faith, namely, that it's always possible to turn away from faith and toward a hard-nosed "realism." Not believing is always an option. That's what makes faith genuinely faith, and not a logical, unavoidable conclusion from "the data."
Good point. Also, I don't think you can trace back to any one person - or any one creative meeting? - among the staff of the movie who had what Steve sees as "the movie's" point of view. The actor's themselves may have had different takes on it. The screenwriter might have been playfully throwing in evidence for each side. But Steve's use of the little reindeer in the store window all being alike, as proof that Kris Kringle is not really Santa Claus, is pretty weak. The whole thing comes down to these cheesy little toys? Maybe Kris Kringle sees things with his third eye!
@@haskellbob It's a bit frustrating that you would, in a comment elsewhere, accuse Steve of being arrogant, but then come here with this absurd "Maybe Kris Kringle sees things with his third eye!" remark. Perhaps you don't know what the word "arrogant" even means, so I'll help you out: "having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities." It's frustrating how you say "cheesy little toys" is "pretty weak," but your counter is that _maybe_ there's a third eye. 🙄 Some self-awareness would do you good.
You also confuse "proof" with "evidence," but that's unfortunately common in our society, though understandable as the words are similar since "proof" involves evidence. (Perhaps a way to look at this is proof requires evidence but evidence is not necessarily proof?) That said, your misuse of the term may come from your misunderstanding of the video. Clearly, the "cheesy little toys" were not the only argument Steve made. So, no "the whole thing" did *_not_* come down to them. If you seriously believe that it was _just_ the toy reindeers that were Steve's "proof," well, then you have an exaggerated sense of your own abilities and hopefully you understand what that means.
@@TheMidwestAtheist I would never say "third eye", but I do think that Kris symbolizes the intangibles, the denied, neglected, driven-out-from-among-us, spiritual nature, quality and reality of life, though in the form of the world's most popular fairytale figure (= irony!) It shifts back and forth on whether Kris could be Santa Claus, which we know he couldn't really be, but...just like Fred Galey's final line, it keeps us guessing, although we know that Santa Claus does not exist. But as Fred said, it isn't just Kris who is on trial, but the things he stands for. The reality and importance of those is what the movie keeps shifting back and forth about.
@@haskellbob I agree that Kris might see something in the reindeer that we don't.
My daughter, now an adult, has adopted the philosophy of this kind, crazy, old man. She sums it up with the simple phrase “Just don’t be a dick.”
Ahh, a disciple of Wil Wheaton.
Also known as "Wheaton's Law"... which feels especially appropriate for this channel.
... like Sawyer.
I'm off to Kinkoes: you're suggestion has inspired my outgoing Christmas cards.
Steve - Other than Kris himself, and at the very end Suzie, no character in the movie seems to sincerely believe that Kris is Santa Claus
Kris - Hallo, Ik ben blij dat je kon komen (hello, I'm happy you could come!)
Dutch girl - Oh! U bent sinterklaas! (Oh You ARE Santa Claus!) she even uses the most polite version of you becasue when you meet a saint, especially the most loved saint (as sinterklaas is often called in NL) you use polite language!
Just saying Its not just Kris & Suzie
I always wondered after living in the Netherlands in the early 80s why this little girl would see him as Sinterklaas and not de Kerstman. There was a definite difference from Sinterklaas coming on the 6th of December and the Kerstman bringing presents to children during Christmas time. In my town Christmas was a religious day versus 6 December which was candy and hay for his horse in your wooden shoes...or coal.
@@macworks9389 Kerstman in a much newer invention, in the 70's I have no recollection of seeing him - and I really looked for a Santa type person! I'm guessing that in post war Rotterdam the only way she perhaps could have seen Kerstman was if some allied service men got involved (this also ignores the very American accent of the meisje!)
Dank U Vell
This scene is easily the most moving part of the film for those of us aware of what the Dutch suffered during WWII. The sincerity of the child is the real charm. Would love to know what happened to her in real life. She was old enough to have seen the real horrors in her homeland, and her expressions are priceless. I’m willing to bet on her being a real refugee, and the film moments actual reactions vs acting. I wonder how her life turned out?
What's so brilliant about this film is that they could've easily added a shot at the end like Santa flying away in the sky and waving to prove he was really Santa but they didn't. They left it with just the cane. Fantastic movie.
The "flying scene" would have been super expensive.....
Kris left the cane just for them - so they'd know!!
Was not expecting to get emotional from this video, but that ending statement got me. Beautiful analysis, Steve! Thanks!
When I worked at the Macy's Herald Square store in the 1980s I was amazed that the locker room, lockers and the cafeteria looked exactly the same as they were shown in the movie. They never updated nor renovated those spaces for the employees in all those years. I want to think it was for nostalgia sakes.
No Santa made the case that it would lead to long-term profit for the company.
I'll argue that all the events lining up for Kris and helping him win his case IS a miracle. A miracle is not always a magical event. Sometimes it's just the right place at the right time, the small stuff culminating in something magnificent.
Dang, you got here two years before me AND you said it better. At any rate, I wholeheartedly agree and Merry Christmas to you and may miracles abound.
The part that really resonates with me is a business putting the good of customers ahead of profit, all while reaping good business from it. I always think how so many of our problems could be resolved with some selflessness - and still benefiting as selfishly desired. Yet, so much of what I see today - from proposed efforts to fight climate change to the combating the pandemic - makes me feel it's a fantasy to think a business, or so many others, would do such a thing despite it being a simple and logical solution to so many problems.
It’s part of the charm of this movie that people don’t start doing good things because meeting Kris Kringle or a cute kid suddenly fills them with the Christmas spirit. They start doing the right things for selfish, cynical reasons, then discover that’s a better way to live. So, fake it ’till you make it?
When I worked at Borders (RIP) that was our policy. At one store I worked, we had a Barnes and Noble across the street and would call them regularly to find and reserve items for our customers. As my boss (a former criminal defense attorney, as cynical a guy as you're ever likely to meet) explained it, "In a month, they won't remember where the book came from. They'll remember how helpful we were and come back for more of that." And he was right, I saw it dozens of times.
"You know, years ago, my mother used to say to me, she'd say 'In this world, Elwood, you must be - she always called me Elwood - In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."
My other all- time favorite film!
What a lovely documentary, well written and pleasantly narrated. Way to go, Steve.
I hear what you're saying, but I'm not convinced that there's zero room for the possibility that he's actually Santa. Other people not actually believing he's Santa (e.g., the judge, the doctor at the old folks home, etc.) isn't particularly relevant, since adults in the movie would likely have those same beliefs either way. What you said about the identical reindeer may actually have been the most compelling bit, although even then, it could be reading more than was intended into the props used for a brief scene. In the other direction, while it's obviously far from definitive, his impressive knowledge of toy availability at various stores, and his seemingly fluent knowledge of the only foreign language he came across (and a fairly uncommon one, at that), count towards "not just a kooky old man".
Your reading is probably right, and I think you did a good job laying out your case, but I feel like it's still possible to read the movie as *daring* you to hold out a little slice of hope that he's the real deal.
Actually, the point of the scene with the reindeer is that although we and the shopkeeper see the reindeer as being identical, Kris sees differences between them. He sees something we don't see.
You can look at it both ways, BUT the cane left in the house at the end makes me think he was Santa Clause.
This movie shows just how good Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood were as actors. Both understood the subtilties of the characters and their transformation throughout the film and brought them to life.
Thanks! Great Stuff.
Very nice. I've actually never watched the movie, but it sounds worth it.
This as well as It's a Wonderful Life are absolute classics, and well worth watching no matter how old they are.
It’s really delightful and this version is the best one. That little girl is played by Nathalie Wood! Oh right, Nathalie Wood was a very big actress in the 60s 70s and early 80s before her tragic accidental death. Also she was in the original West Side Story.
I had to get out of my bed to type this, but this one of my favorite videos you've ever made. I've loved this movie since I was a kid. I used to watch it with my cousin and Aunt. Thanks for the cheer!
What I genuinely appreciated about this movie was seeing Maureen O'Hara playing a strong independent single mother with a respectable if not high profile job for the time period.
Fantastic review and well thought out. I thought this showed up on my TH-cam thingy simply because I had looked up the cast on my not-so-smartphone yesterday and didn't realise it was one of your videos until well into it when I recognised your voice.
Do I agree with your conclusions about it? Don't know but am certainly enjoying the thought exercise.
I am actually encouraged by the fact that so many people get it "wrong". It reminds me that despite the intent of the writers to leave the question ambiguous, and that you are correct when you say the movie offers no proofs, that there are many many people who have not lost the magic and the innocence of childhood regardless of their age. This was never a movie about whether Santa Claus is real. It presents to us sordid and materialistic aspects of life and then crushes them (IN A COURT OF LAW NO LESS) by what Abraham Lincoln might have meant when he referred to "the better angels of our nature."
Well, they wouldn't offer proofs if they wanted it to remain ambiguous.
What is most impressive about “Miracle on 34th Street” is that the studio managed to get the real Santa to play himself in a movie.
I always fell on the side of his actually being Santa Claus, since a common trope in movies like this is the "this nice old guy isn't *really* Santa--or *is* he?" plot. (With a heavy "wink wink nudge nudge"). We're led to believe the former until something unexplainable happens, leaving the main characters to scratch their heads and say, "I wonder..." while looking skyward. But you make a compelling argument for the opposite view.
I don't buy his opinion that the film was completely unambiguous as to whether or not Kris was Santa Claus. I think there's just enough reasonable doubt in the movie that you can decide for yourself. When I was younger I had no doubt that Kris was Santa. Now that I'm a bit older and more cynical, I'm leaning more towards Kris being a crazy old coot. But either way, there's no harm in Kris believing he's Santa. If he walks like Santa, talks like Santa, there's a good possibility he might be Santa. ;)
Agree! His “theory” is just his opinion.
Thank you for this video, and for your spot-on analysis. It was everything I needed to see/hear/know tonight (Dec. 2024).
While this was a fine video, overall, and I agree with almost everything you said, I think you're letting your own world view and values color your perspective a bit too strongly and blind you to the fact that there is actually some room for interpretation. Things like the cane in the house at the end hint at a Kris being Santa, but you could just as easily argue that's a red herring, intended to make it appear like there could be some last-minute Twilight Zone-style twist, when the truth is still perfectly mundane. At the same time, however, you could argue the same thing about things like Kris's address. If Santa was spending a lot of time in NY, he'd need a place to stay! Why not someplace where he'd fit right in? You could say the same thing with reindeer miniatures. The shopkeeper clearly thinks he's insane, sure, and the reindeer all look identical to us... but you'd see the scene play out the exact same way if he were Santa and the set was modeled on his actual team of reindeer. We'd never be able to tell them apart, but he certainly could!
That's not to suggest your interpretation is wrong. No, it's absolutely valid for all the reasons you outlined! That's one of the things that makes it such a great movie: that it _does_ work on that level! It's one of the few Christmas movies that doesn't _require_ buying into the existence of a magical elf or a divine god baby to work ... or that there's just something magical about the month of December that makes everyone better. But, just because it absolutely works on that level (and I'm actually inclined to agree with your interpretation), I think suggesting it's the _intended_ reading and anyone who came away thinking otherwise is "wrong" is a bit reductive.
Gerry Wilson learned recently about a 1973 version that featured Sebastian Cabot as Santa Claus and featured one of my favorite actors James Gregory as the da it is available on Amazon prime while the others are available on youtube
Why the title? Macy's is located at 151 West 34th Street. Gimbel's, btw, inhabited the block between 32nd and 33rd Streets. Macy's fronts on Broadway where it joins 6th Avenue at Herald Square and Gimbel's was a block further south on 6th Avenue. The title places the "miracle" firmly at Macy's.
The one point that I noticed was near the end of the movie. After the court house win, Kris was asked to come to celebrate (This is Christmas eve). Kris politely declines. Because it's CHRISTMAS EVE! When Santa delivers gifts. But he is seen the next day (Christmas) inspecting the x-ray machine. I think the movie implies that Kris is Santa Claus but uses different methods to give the right gifts to the right people. The movie doesn't mention how Kris gets around on his own. Hence the fantasy story.
Kris may or may not be The Actual Santa Claus, but it's undeniable that a miracle certainly does occur in the movie.
Loved that! Excellently argued and all your points well taken. Thanks!
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Santa talking to the adopted Dutch girl was my favorite part!
I enjoyed your video very much. You’re right in that there was no central ‘ miracle on 34 th street. ‘ But the film was full of little and not so little miracles. Probably the most important being the mother and daughter being saved from their own cynicism because of someone else’s compassion and kindness. Merry Christmas to All ! 🎄🎅🎄
As hard as you try to explain away the miracle, the more your explanation tells what the miracle is.
It’s factually incorrect to state that the reindeer in the window display are identical. The reindeer have different numbers of points on their antlers, different snout widths, their ears are in different positions. The tails are different lengths, their legs are placed in different positions. Even the eyes are different on each reindeer. There’s a pretty good shot at 3:03. 3:14-3:15 and right after also show good views of the reindeer. Each reindeer shows individual characteristics, and as such, cannot be used as an argument to suggest that Kringle is delusional; though they could be used to prove that he has excellent powers of observation.
Not me sitting here crying during your much abridged summary of this movie... What can I say? Kindness and love ALWAYS get me.
Man, I'd hate to be your son or daughter. You sort of remind me of the D.A. - "I think he's nice, too, but I'm sworn to keep him off the streets because he's a menace." I believe the end of the movie is purposefully ambiguous, not purposely, to allow everyone to work at making their own decision. You actually touched on what happened when you talked about things lining up perfectly. Yes, they did. It was Kris at the right place at the right time to become the Macy's Santa, work with Susie and Doris, meet Fred, try to reason with Mr. Sawyer, bring Macy and Gimbel together, defend Alfred, bonk Sawyer on the noggin, purposely fail the tests so Fred could defend him, go before a perfect judge up for reelection who had a cynical yet savvy campaign manager, spark the germ of an idea in the postal worker, have the post office actually deliver the letters to Santa, and lead Fred and Doris to the house that Susie asked for. It's the Dutch girl scene that seals it. The mother could have simply told the girl that she would interpret for her, but the girl KNEW it was the real Santa - and it was.
Have to admit I was a little confused watching this. I never thought there was any debate that Kris was NOT Santa Claus. That's the entire point (and beauty) of the movie for me, that everything is based in reality. It's always been my favorite Christmas movie as well. As I think about it more, I think the movie is more empowering without a "real" Santa Claus. It means that we can create our own magic to make the lives of other people better.
However, if people want to view it through the lens that Kris really is Santa - by all means enjoy it that way!
THIS is the point of the movie! The Cane at the end is meant to invoke doubt where certainty already exists. The viewer understands that there has been no actual miracle, that they were given directions to follow and along that route the little girl spots the house in the ad she gave Kris, she knows that he is the one that gave them the directions they are following so part of her is already primed to look for the house, while still sulking because she's feeling let down. But when she spots the house, she understands it's not HER house! It doesn't have a bow on it and the sign in front says for sale - not for Suzie! The couple too understands that she doesn't believe it is her house and only that she wants it. They decide to buy the house in order to not disappoint her. No miracle. The Point is to show that miracles in the modern world aren't very magical but that they still occur. They fell in love, won a big profile case and are able to buy the house because of Santa but not in the magical way that One thinks of when they think of Santa!
I love this movie as well and very much like your interpretation .
I have always loved the ambiguity that leaves us with the question of "Is he, or isn't he?" The cane in the last scene is possibly my favorite. No, he isn't a wish granting machine, but I have always seen him as a character that knows how to bring out the best in others, including Alfred. In the end, it is suggested that only his cane remains, or is it his cane? Who knows?
You have a valid argument but I respectfully disagree. Here's why: There has never been a tale that so much as mentions that Santa Claus buys a house for those who desire. That is consistent with the movie.
Kris didn't buy it: he simply directed them to drive by the house that was for sale.
We can agree this is a timeless, EXCELLENT Christmas film. Where we disagree is how you interpret the ending. It's just a movie, and there isn't an absolute conclusion. Is 'Kris' the real Santa Clause or just a lovable senior citizen? It's up to each individual audience member to draw their own conclusion. That's part of the beauty of the film. I saw the film when I was a kid and thought 'Kris' was the real "one-and-only" Santa. You didn't? That's your opinion and you're entitled to it.
Thank you for a fresh look at my favorite Christmas movie. I never considered whether or not Kris was actually Santa, just vaguely assumed he was. Him *not* being Santa makes a lot more sense, and makes the movie even more wonderful. As you pointed out, we don't need magic after all - we just need kindness.
You can do this kind of analysis to every single movie ever made. However, this is a good example of older movies. They don’t make your mind up for you. They let you decide, based on the events you see on film, whether he might or might not be Santa Claus. The cane in the fireplace at the end, is just meant to let you draw your own conclusions.
Watching this video as promised from my last comment on the newer one. You did a great job explaining your point of view! very entertaining video, Steve!
The pure joy he brought to the little Dutch girl…..he was Santa.
BAH! HUMBUG! 6:43 'Kris is declared by a New York state court to be Santa Claus.' No. The court makes no such declaration. Judge Harper finds that the US Post Office -- an agency of the federal government -- recognizes Kris to be the one and only Santa Claus and 'this court will not dispute it.'
I think this interpretation is the reasoned scenario baked into the script by its writers. For those of us that prefer to dwell in a world of magic realism, Kris is frankly Santa. Merry Christmas!
The letters arriving at the courthouse during the trial is what miracles look like. You've never experienced a "miracle of perfect timing"?
THANK YOU for not using film clips from the damn "colorized" version of the movie. It could have been filmed in color, but was not, on purpose.
It didn't occur to me until adulthood how surprisingly contemporary, and even risky, parts of the story are. Particularly how Maureen O'Hara's character is a divorcee with a child, and not only that, but a successful businesswoman. Very rare in Hollywood films those days.
Happy holidays to you and yours. Thanks for another thoughtful video.
Absolutely brilliant analysis! I agree 100%. The "miracle" is how Kris changes people's hearts. Not that he is Santa Klaus.
That is Santa Claus!
For me, the miracle is how this incident makes those "lovely intangibles" overcome the cynicism that Kris, Fred, and Alfred all decry, not only when it comes to Christmas, but as we see throughout the film, in R.H. Macy liking the "strategy" because it'll bring even more money into the store, and in William Frawley's character as he advises the judge. The cynicism is everywhere, but Kris's attitude toward Christmas and everyone he meets overcomes it in the end.
Watched these movies (both versions) for the first time this year. I really liked them for having a grounded approach to miracle. This could happen, but the fact that it does is the miracle.
As I remember, the house was a already known to Doris. It's being used to shoot Christmas adds for the paper. But might be mixing it up with the 1994 version.
Definitely not in the 1947 movie
Edd Gwinn is so good in this film. The scene with the dutch girl and when hes talking to the little girl about playing with the other kids are such good scenes.
Like most everyone else at a certain age I was told there was no Santa Claus. But for me there was a bit of a contradiction. My father was born on Dec. 25th and he was christened Noel. Now I am French Canadian and in French Santa Claus is known as Pere Noel (french for Father Christmas). So for me there always was a real Pere Noel. My father did not “Ho, ho, ho,” but he did have a loud laugh, a generous spirit and when he was older a build that would have made a good Santa. And he loved Christmas. Ironically I am the one who actually plays Santa with a custom made suit and I have a very good and natural sounding “Ho, ho, ho.”
Oh, and I love the original Miracle On 34th Street. It has long been one of my favourite Christmas movies.
I have to disagree with the idea that the movie is unambiguous on the nature of Kris, the movie seems entirely uninterested in answering that question definitively one way or the other, Kris makes his arguments for why he is Santa, and plenty of other people make arguments for why he isn't and can't be Santa, because that is what those characters believe. But the movie never shows us anything that could definitively prove one side or the other. Why should we take character's rationalizations for a fantastical story as the movie trying to tell us what's really going on? When does the movie ever show us that they are more reliable narrators than the people telling us fantastical stories? I have no problem with your interpretation, but it's just that, one way to interpret the film, one the movie is unconcerned with proving or disproving
Love is the actual miracle of Christmas. 🙂
At 65 years old I appreciate all the information you provided. Thank you.
Being kind, being generous and helping people - What a great message! Let's hope the new president, House and Senate understand this message too.
You gotta be kidding me, now that would be a true miracle !
You explained everything away EXCEPT the cane at the house. Not only did you not explain it, you didn't even mention it!! That scene was the MOST IMPORTANT scene in the movie !!
And yet, in the end, we still have the question. Maybe just maybe, this gentle old man really is Santa Claus, and maybe, just maybe, he read all those letters, and all those children got their wishes that year.
The problem here isn't that Kris Kringle is not Santa Claus - the problem is that YOU have a false perception of WHO and WHAT Santa Claus is supposed to be. Kris is very much the REAL Santa Claus. That he doesn't exactly fit our "idea" of Santa is OUR problem.
If you are unable to see the MIRACLE of this movie, it's because you are too cynical to "get" what the real miracle IS.
I’m in the camp that Kris IS Santa!! I remember a line in a movie once that said something to the affect that someone was doubting something and the kid says to them that, “I’ve never seen a million dollars but I know it exists”………something like that…!!! Ironically, the movie was “Santa Clause, The Movie” with Tim Allen. I’ve never seen Santa……..But I know he exists!! To each our own!!!
I Believe, and I don't Care how many people Deny it.
Hugs!
Great analysis! It actually increases my admiration for the wonderful, classic film.
Great review, this is film classic well-deserved of it's status as an all-time great.
My favorite holiday films are BBC's "Hogfather" and Gremlins, odd pick I know, but those are films that really capture the Christmas spirit for me.
I do want to say though that Bruce Timm's "Justice League" animated series has a Christmas episode which is also something special.
For the record, the state courthouse is on Center Street.