Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Second viewing; the first one was on December 26, 1993.

Minutes before a Thanksgiving parade, a man offers to replace a drunken Santa and is such a success that Macy's decides to hire him for the entire Christmas season. His supervisor becomes a little worried when she realizes that the old man really believes he is Santa Claus, but then it is too late to fire him because he has operated a small revolution in the store.

This film has a promising premise which gets somewhat sidetracked by some misguided notions. Not all is lost, though. The bit about the company psychiatrist is full of insight about real psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, even if there is an ostensive cop-out by implying that the only problem is that he practiced without a license (but we know better...). Another bit of satire that is spot-on is the one about the judge that must do all he can to get reelected (and does!). As for the rest of the movie, apart from the occasional witty one-liner or situation, the best I can say is that it is not dull. I totally hated this movie when I first saw it, basically because I found it dishonest. I still do, mostly, but I must concede, as I have just done, that it has a few good points.

Rating: 34 (up from 0)