Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Is there anyone who has not yet seen the original (1947) "Miracle on 34th Street?" Should there be such a person and he or she comes across this 1955 shortened TV remake of the film, it's worth watching -- but, just barely. This probably never plays on TV anymore, and one can understand why. It's no match for the original. One would have to pity the writers who had to reduce the 96-minute original to way under 60 minutes. There was too much in that original to even try to condense it all. Something had to go, and that usually was the filler that tied the parts together. So, this TV adaptation comes across as choppy. Viewers are robbed of too much information to have the story unfold smoothly, as in the original. Still, there is the semblance of the main story here, and the performance of Thomas Mitchell as Kris Kringle helps make it at least palatable. His performance and a rough but still evident main story are the only reasons why this adaptation deserves even five stars. Note though, that this is a different, rougher Kris Kringle character.Unfortunately, for this film, Mitchell's is the only part worth mentioning. There isn't another performer who comes close to the counterpart performance in the 1947 film. And, the subplots of the film – i.e., the romance between Doris Walker (Teresa Wright) and Fred Gaily (Macdonald Carey) and the transformation of Doris are incomplete and hardly believable. They happen too fast, with so much missing in between. I can excuse some significant changes from the original (i.e., the courtroom scene with reindeer), as an effort to spice up the gutted remnant of a great film. Other changes alter the substance of the story (i.e. Doris having the idea for the Post Office to deliver Santa's mail to the courthouse). I had seen this film on TV long ago, and watched it again recently since it was on my DVD of the original movie. Once the original film's copyright expired and it became part of the public domain (early 1970s), all the remakes before and since then were probably doomed to any future viewing. This second-rate scaled back remake fits in that group.

Best known for his feisty role as Pop O'Hara in the epic "Gone With the Wind", Thomas Mitchell was a delightful character actor whose old world spirit made him a fan favorite. To be cast as Kris Kringle, the Macy's Santa who claims to be the real deal, was an inspired idea for T.V. anthology series, and he grabs the role with gusto just as young Sandy Descher does his beard. Equally as lovable but forgotten in this role thanks to the Oscar Winning performance of Edmund Gwenn, Mitchell is even more jolly thanks to his Irish charm and holiday spirit. Descher is perhaps a more natural actress than Natalie Wood who sometimes seemed forced and cloying in her attempts at acting. Teresa Wright lacks the warmth of Maureen O'Hara, even in that character's initial cynicism, you could tell that O'Hara was laying on her emotions while Ms. Wright is far less glamorous and thus seems icier even as the character warms up to Mitchell's charms.Taking over the John Payne part is that Mr. "Sands of the Hour Glass" himself, MacDonald Carey, who would dress up on occasion as "Days of Our Lives'" Tom Horton. His performance is nicely layered as he manages, along with Mitchell, to warm up Descher to the joys of childhood, and breaks through Wright's frozen form as he romances her much to Ms. Descher's delight. Also very funny are Hans Conried as the head of personnel, John Abbott as an ultra-nervous psychiatrist, Ray Collins as the perplexed judge and Don Beddoe as Mr. Macy himself. I am not much of a Santa Claus fan in the year 2015 as the obsession with going crazy to find the perfect gift and the lack of the real meaning of Christmas has been over-shadowed with his presence and not in the old-fashioned manner. However, in growing up, there was a correlation between Santa and the real meaning of Christmas, and here, it is given more than just the slightest hint that Santa believes in more than just gift giving, just as the hints would be made about the very first Christmas by Mickey Rooney's Santa in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". This helped remind me of what joy I used to feel at Christmas and returned my somewhat missing holiday spirit. While this isn't a classic in the sense of the original version (and greatly overshadowed by it), it is certainly remarkable and nicely done in the sense that at this time, the movie had not been made ready for T.V. broadcast. Probably still shown in repeat movie theater runs, it would be held for years in addition to other holiday classics. So even at just 45 minutes, this is perfectly joyous and to see Mr. Macy and Mr. Gimble shaking hands and laughing over the irony of it really does bring out the true meaning of what the real Father Christmas wanted: Peace and joy and good will between men. If big business rivals can shake hands on the holidays, why can't the rest of us?

This television version of the screen classic is less than an hour long with a great cast. Thomas Mitchell does a fine job as Kris Krinle also known as Santa Claus who is hired as the Christmas Santa at Macy's department store in New York City. Teresa Wright is great as the mother and skeptical personnel manager at the store. Her friend, neighbor, and handy attorney is played by Macdonald Carey. The film does seem rushed but fine to me because I actually haven't seen the classic film version or the updated one. This short but sweet hour is quite a treat. While the episode is a part of staged theatrical television programs that was popular at the time.

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.