Review #303: Miracle on 34th Street.
Cast
Edmund Gwenn (Kris Kringle), Maureen O'Hara (Doris Walker), John Payne (Frederick M. Gailey), Natalie Wood (Susan Walker), Porter Hall (Granville Sawyer), William Frawley (Charlie Halloran), Jerome Cowan (Thomas Mara), Philip Tonge (Julian Shellhammer), Alvin Greenman (Alfred), Gene Lockhart (Henry X. Harper), and Harry Antrim (R. H. Macy) Directed by George Seaton.
Review
Sometimes I review Christmas films, and the films either turn out good (#075 - Scrooge and #079 - A Christmas Carol), or...not so good (#082 - Christmas with the Kranks and #301 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas), but how does this film turn out? I think you know the answer to this by now. Gwenn practically steals the show, being the big driving spirit, giving a sense of magical wonder, essentially the best Santa I've ever seen, a kind and knowing Santa Claus, beard and all. O'Hara and Payne do a great job in their first time being reviewed here, both slightly going through a transformation with their characters and for the better. Natalie Wood does a respectable job (Second time reviewing her, first being #181 - Rebel Without a Cause), doing a better job then some of the child actors reviewed here, and at the small age of 8. The story is very interesting and imaginative, giving a feeling of Christmas (even if this film was released in May) in the right way. It is a tale of belief, and it gives a sense of hope that I haven't seen in a film in a long while. Truly this is a Christmas classic that has been watched for 65 years, and it will still be watched time and time again.
Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment