The Miracle on 34th Street

To begin with this movie is only 50 minutes long about half as long as the original 1947 version. It moves at a swift clip and feels rushed. I would guess that this made for TV movie was an hour long program with 10 minutes of commercials and 50 minutes of show.

Much of the script is word for word taken from the '47' version. I swear that the scene in which the balloon or a baseball player seen through a window is taken directly from the '47' version. This is not unexpected as this movies production costs were no doubt limited compared to the '47' version.

What I disliked the most was the character interaction. There were good actors/actresses in the film. Teresa Wright, the mother, and Thomas Mitchell, as Santa, have won Oscar's. Ray Collins, the judge, is well known and respected as Lt. Tragg from the PERRY MASON show. Hans Conreid was a recognized supporting actor and an animated voice actor back in his day. Despite these qualifications the actors just don't mingle well. The worst is Thomas Mitchell as Santa. He seems less jolly and more angry. The one story line that leaves the original film is when Santa hits the story psychiatrist with his cane. In the "47" film it is done in private and is more of a smack to the head. In this film Santa clubs the man in from of an audience full of kids and parents. It is almost vicious! I felt no sympathy for this cranky Santa.

However, if you are a fan of the story adding this film to your collection is not a bad idea. It is nice to compare all the different productions of this film. You can obtain it from various auction sites.

It's definitely not the best version which, in my opinion, is the one with Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood. That being said, it's not awful. If I had never seen the first one, I might have enjoyed this more. I keep wanting to compare it to the original but that's not fair. For a 45 minute version, give it a go. Try to appreciate it for its own efforts.

I haven't seen this in quite some time, but when my wife spotted the DVD in the $1.50 bin at a party store (and then 50% off because it was after Christmas) it seemed like a no-brawnier. The title, "Meet Mr Kringle" was used, but the photo is from the theatrical 1947 Miracle on 34th Street. That is more than a little misleading, but I wanted to know if this was the TV version I had seen so many years ago and it was worth 75 cents to find out. If you're interested in owning a little part of early remake history troll the $1 bins at your local Wal-Mart or Target or check the DVD's at the Dollar stores.

Enjoy.

Frankly, I had never even heard of this condensed TV version (the first of four remakes!) of the original 1947 Oscar-winning classic when I chanced upon it at my local DVD rental shop.

While understandably not up to the standards of the earlier film, a capable director leads a rather remarkable cast: Thomas Mitchell, Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Hans Conried, Dick Foran, Ray Collins, Don Beddoe and Whit Bissell. The child actress playing the little girl seemed awfully familiar to me even though her name – Sandy Descher – didn't ring any bells; it eventually transpired that she had been the girl dumb-struck by the giant ants' attack at the beginning of the sci-fi classic THEM! (1954) – which, ironically, starred the original Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn)!

Although I quite liked this made-for-TV version overall, I think the brief 45-minute running time ultimately worked against it – as the narrative seemed awfully rushed in spots! Besides, the cast – while commendably entering into the spirit of the thing – seemed somewhat less sympathetic than the performers of the previous version (Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, etc.) had been.

I liked this very entertaining TV version of Miracle On 34th St. Although the film had to be cut to a shorter running time, all the key scenes are there. Thomas Mitchell, Teresa Wright, Hans Conried to name a few were some of the fine actors of the time. Thomas Mitchell, one of my favorite actors appeared in such great films as Gone With The Wind and It's A Wonderful Life. I didn't care for one scene in this film.The clubbing scene with the cane didn't work for me.It was a little too much over the top for Santa Claus. The scene in the courtroom with the letters was actually a little better than the 1947 version, I thought. A nice adaptation and a decent version to add to anyone's collection of holiday films.