| Family & Kids |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Director: George Seaton
Theatrical running time: 97 mins.
Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is indignant to find that the person (Percy Helton) assigned
to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he
complains to the event's director, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to
replace him. He does such a fine job that he is hired to be the Santa for Macy's flagship New
York City store on 34th Street at Herald Square.
Ignoring instructions to steer parents to goods that Macy's wants to sell, Kris tells one woman
shopper (Thelma Ritter) to go to another store, Schoenfeld's, for a fire engine for her son
that Macy's doesn't have. She is so impressed, she tells Julian Shellhammer (Philip Tonge),
head of the toy department, that she will become a loyal Macy's customer. Kris later informs
another mother that Macy's archrival, Gimbels, has better skates for her daughter.
Fred Gailey (John Payne), an attorney and neighbor of Doris, is babysitting the young
divorcee's nine-year-old daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) and takes her to see Kris. When
Doris finds out, she lectures Fred about filling Susan's mind with fantasy, as she has been
raising Susan to be a practical young woman. Meanwhile, Susan witnesses Kris talking and
singing with a Dutch World War II orphan girl in her native tongue and begins to wonder if
perhaps Kris is real. (In the 1994 remake, Kris communicates with a deaf girl via sign
language.) When Doris asks Kris to tell Susan the truth, Kris surprises her by insisting that he
really is Santa Claus.
Upset that Kris really believes he is Santa, Doris decides to fire him. However, Kris has
generated so much good publicity and customer goodwill for Macy's that a delighted R. H.
Macy (Harry Antrim) promises Doris and Shellhammer generous bonuses, making it awkward
to discharge the old man. To overcome Doris's misgivings, Shellhammer proposes a
compromise: sending Kris to Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) to get a "psychological
evaluation". Kris easily passes the test, but antagonizes Sawyer by questioning Sawyer's own
psychological health.
The store expands on the marketing concept. Anxious to avoid looking greedy by comparison,
Gimbels implements the same referral policy throughout its entire chain, forcing Macy's and
other stores to respond in kind. Eventually, Kris accomplishes the impossible: Mr. Macy
shakes hands with Mr. Gimbel (Herbert H. Heyes). Kris then decides to donate his resulting
extra bonus money to buy an X-ray machine for the nursing home at which he lives. Macy and
Gimbel generously dicker down the price of the machine to wholesale price.
Doctor Pierce (James Seay), the doctor at Kris's nursing home, assures Doris and
Shellhammer that Kris' apparent delusion is harmless and disagrees with the vindictive
Sawyer, who argues that Kris should be placed in a mental hospital. Meanwhile, Fred offers to
let Kris stay with him so he can be closer to his workplace. Kris makes a deal with Fred - he
will work on Susan's cynicism while Fred does the same with the disillusioned Doris, still bitter
over her failed marriage.
Then Kris learns that Sawyer has convinced a young, impressionable employee, Alfred (Alvin
Greenman), that he is mentally ill simply because he is generous and kind-hearted (Alfred
plays Santa Claus at his neighborhood YMCA). Kris confronts Sawyer and, in a fit of anger,
raps him on the head with his cane. Doris and Shellhammer arrive at that point and only see
the aftermath; Sawyer exaggerates his injury in order to have Kris confined to Bellevue mental
hospital.
Tricked into cooperating and believing Doris to be part of the deception, a discouraged Kris
deliberately fails his mental examination and is recommended for permanent commitment.
However, Fred persuades Kris not to give up. To secure his release, Fred gets a formal
hearing before Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) of the New York Supreme Court.
Warned by Mr. Macy to get the matter dropped, Sawyer pleads with Fred not to seek publicity.
To Sawyer's dismay, Fred thanks him for the idea. As a result, Judge Harper is put in an
awkward spot - even his own grandchildren are against him for "persecuting" Santa Claus.
Fred quits his job at a prestigious New York law firm to defend Kris and has a falling out with
Doris, who has no faith in his abilities and calls his resignation an "idealistic binge" over some
"lovely intangibles." He replies that one day she may discover that those intangibles are the
only worthwhile things in life.
At the hearing, New York County District Attorney Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) gets Kris
to assert that he is in fact Santa Claus and rests his case, believing he has prima facie proven
his point. Fred stuns the court by arguing that Kris is not insane because he actually is Santa
Claus - and he will prove it. Mara requests the judge rule that Santa Claus does not exist.
Judge Harper is warned privately in chambers by his political adviser, Charlie Halloran
(William Frawley), that doing so would be politically disastrous for his upcoming reelection
bid. The judge buys time by deciding to hear evidence before ruling.
Fred calls R.H. Macy as a witness. Mara pointedly asks if he really believes Kris to be Santa
Claus. Realizing that denying Kris could ruin his Christmas sales season, Macy starts to give
an equivocal answer, but when Mara asks him point-blank, Macy remembers the expressions
on the faces of small children upon seeing Kris and firmly states, "I do!" On leaving the stand,
Macy fires Sawyer. Fred then calls Mara's own young son to the stand. Thomas Mara Jr.
testifies that his father had told him that Santa was real and that "My daddy would 'never' tell a
lie! Would you, daddy?" Outmaneuvered, Mara concedes the point.
Mara then demands that Fred prove that Kris is "the one and only" Santa Claus, on the basis
of some competent authority. While Fred searches frantically for a way to prove his case,
Susan, by now a firm believer in Kris, writes him a letter to cheer him up, which Doris also
signs. A mail sorter (Jack Albertson) sees it and realizes that the post office could clear out
the many letters to Santa taking up space in their dead letter office by delivering them to Kris
at the courthouse.
Kris receives Susan's letter and is uplifted by this breakthrough. Just then, Fred learns that
over 50,000 pieces of mail have been delivered to Kris. Seeing an opportunity, Fred first
establishes the authority of the United States Post Office, maneuvers Mara into agreeing for
the record and then presents Judge Harper with three letters addressed only to "Santa Claus"
and notes that they have been delivered to Kris. Fred nonchalantly admits he "has further
exhibits." When Judge Harper demands he "put them here on my desk", the post office
delivers all the bags of letters to Harper's desk. Fred then argues that the United States Post
Office, a branch of the federal government, accepts Kris' claim as the one and only Santa
Claus. This conveniently lets Judge Harper, now struggling to crawl out from behind the bags
of letters, to rule in favor of Kris. Afterwards, Doris invites Kris to dinner, but he reminds her
that "it's Christmas Eve!"
On Christmas morning, Susan is disillusioned because Kris was unable to get her what she
told him she wanted most, a house in the suburbs. As they are about to leave, Kris gives Fred
and Doris a route home, supposedly to avoid traffic. Along the way, Susan is overjoyed to see
the house of her dreams with a For Sale sign in the front yard. (The house exactly matches
the drawing she had shown Kris earlier.) Fred learns that Doris had encouraged Susan to
have faith, and suggests they get married and purchase the house. He then boasts that he
must be a great lawyer, since he managed to do the seemingly impossible. However, when he
notices a cane leaning against the fireplace that looks exactly like the one Kris used, he
remarks uncertainly, "Maybe I didn't do such a wonderful thing after all."
Director: George Seaton
Theatrical running time: 97 mins.
Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is indignant to find that the person (Percy Helton) assigned
to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he
complains to the event's director, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to
replace him. He does such a fine job that he is hired to be the Santa for Macy's flagship New
York City store on 34th Street at Herald Square.
Ignoring instructions to steer parents to goods that Macy's wants to sell, Kris tells one woman
shopper (Thelma Ritter) to go to another store, Schoenfeld's, for a fire engine for her son
that Macy's doesn't have. She is so impressed, she tells Julian Shellhammer (Philip Tonge),
head of the toy department, that she will become a loyal Macy's customer. Kris later informs
another mother that Macy's archrival, Gimbels, has better skates for her daughter.
Fred Gailey (John Payne), an attorney and neighbor of Doris, is babysitting the young
divorcee's nine-year-old daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) and takes her to see Kris. When
Doris finds out, she lectures Fred about filling Susan's mind with fantasy, as she has been
raising Susan to be a practical young woman. Meanwhile, Susan witnesses Kris talking and
singing with a Dutch World War II orphan girl in her native tongue and begins to wonder if
perhaps Kris is real. (In the 1994 remake, Kris communicates with a deaf girl via sign
language.) When Doris asks Kris to tell Susan the truth, Kris surprises her by insisting that he
really is Santa Claus.
Upset that Kris really believes he is Santa, Doris decides to fire him. However, Kris has
generated so much good publicity and customer goodwill for Macy's that a delighted R. H.
Macy (Harry Antrim) promises Doris and Shellhammer generous bonuses, making it awkward
to discharge the old man. To overcome Doris's misgivings, Shellhammer proposes a
compromise: sending Kris to Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) to get a "psychological
evaluation". Kris easily passes the test, but antagonizes Sawyer by questioning Sawyer's own
psychological health.
The store expands on the marketing concept. Anxious to avoid looking greedy by comparison,
Gimbels implements the same referral policy throughout its entire chain, forcing Macy's and
other stores to respond in kind. Eventually, Kris accomplishes the impossible: Mr. Macy
shakes hands with Mr. Gimbel (Herbert H. Heyes). Kris then decides to donate his resulting
extra bonus money to buy an X-ray machine for the nursing home at which he lives. Macy and
Gimbel generously dicker down the price of the machine to wholesale price.
Doctor Pierce (James Seay), the doctor at Kris's nursing home, assures Doris and
Shellhammer that Kris' apparent delusion is harmless and disagrees with the vindictive
Sawyer, who argues that Kris should be placed in a mental hospital. Meanwhile, Fred offers to
let Kris stay with him so he can be closer to his workplace. Kris makes a deal with Fred - he
will work on Susan's cynicism while Fred does the same with the disillusioned Doris, still bitter
over her failed marriage.
Then Kris learns that Sawyer has convinced a young, impressionable employee, Alfred (Alvin
Greenman), that he is mentally ill simply because he is generous and kind-hearted (Alfred
plays Santa Claus at his neighborhood YMCA). Kris confronts Sawyer and, in a fit of anger,
raps him on the head with his cane. Doris and Shellhammer arrive at that point and only see
the aftermath; Sawyer exaggerates his injury in order to have Kris confined to Bellevue mental
hospital.
Tricked into cooperating and believing Doris to be part of the deception, a discouraged Kris
deliberately fails his mental examination and is recommended for permanent commitment.
However, Fred persuades Kris not to give up. To secure his release, Fred gets a formal
hearing before Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) of the New York Supreme Court.
Warned by Mr. Macy to get the matter dropped, Sawyer pleads with Fred not to seek publicity.
To Sawyer's dismay, Fred thanks him for the idea. As a result, Judge Harper is put in an
awkward spot - even his own grandchildren are against him for "persecuting" Santa Claus.
Fred quits his job at a prestigious New York law firm to defend Kris and has a falling out with
Doris, who has no faith in his abilities and calls his resignation an "idealistic binge" over some
"lovely intangibles." He replies that one day she may discover that those intangibles are the
only worthwhile things in life.
At the hearing, New York County District Attorney Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) gets Kris
to assert that he is in fact Santa Claus and rests his case, believing he has prima facie proven
his point. Fred stuns the court by arguing that Kris is not insane because he actually is Santa
Claus - and he will prove it. Mara requests the judge rule that Santa Claus does not exist.
Judge Harper is warned privately in chambers by his political adviser, Charlie Halloran
(William Frawley), that doing so would be politically disastrous for his upcoming reelection
bid. The judge buys time by deciding to hear evidence before ruling.
Fred calls R.H. Macy as a witness. Mara pointedly asks if he really believes Kris to be Santa
Claus. Realizing that denying Kris could ruin his Christmas sales season, Macy starts to give
an equivocal answer, but when Mara asks him point-blank, Macy remembers the expressions
on the faces of small children upon seeing Kris and firmly states, "I do!" On leaving the stand,
Macy fires Sawyer. Fred then calls Mara's own young son to the stand. Thomas Mara Jr.
testifies that his father had told him that Santa was real and that "My daddy would 'never' tell a
lie! Would you, daddy?" Outmaneuvered, Mara concedes the point.
Mara then demands that Fred prove that Kris is "the one and only" Santa Claus, on the basis
of some competent authority. While Fred searches frantically for a way to prove his case,
Susan, by now a firm believer in Kris, writes him a letter to cheer him up, which Doris also
signs. A mail sorter (Jack Albertson) sees it and realizes that the post office could clear out
the many letters to Santa taking up space in their dead letter office by delivering them to Kris
at the courthouse.
Kris receives Susan's letter and is uplifted by this breakthrough. Just then, Fred learns that
over 50,000 pieces of mail have been delivered to Kris. Seeing an opportunity, Fred first
establishes the authority of the United States Post Office, maneuvers Mara into agreeing for
the record and then presents Judge Harper with three letters addressed only to "Santa Claus"
and notes that they have been delivered to Kris. Fred nonchalantly admits he "has further
exhibits." When Judge Harper demands he "put them here on my desk", the post office
delivers all the bags of letters to Harper's desk. Fred then argues that the United States Post
Office, a branch of the federal government, accepts Kris' claim as the one and only Santa
Claus. This conveniently lets Judge Harper, now struggling to crawl out from behind the bags
of letters, to rule in favor of Kris. Afterwards, Doris invites Kris to dinner, but he reminds her
that "it's Christmas Eve!"
On Christmas morning, Susan is disillusioned because Kris was unable to get her what she
told him she wanted most, a house in the suburbs. As they are about to leave, Kris gives Fred
and Doris a route home, supposedly to avoid traffic. Along the way, Susan is overjoyed to see
the house of her dreams with a For Sale sign in the front yard. (The house exactly matches
the drawing she had shown Kris earlier.) Fred learns that Doris had encouraged Susan to
have faith, and suggests they get married and purchase the house. He then boasts that he
must be a great lawyer, since he managed to do the seemingly impossible. However, when he
notices a cane leaning against the fireplace that looks exactly like the one Kris used, he
remarks uncertainly, "Maybe I didn't do such a wonderful thing after all."
| Plot Summary from Wikipedia |
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Director: Frank Capra
Theatrical running time: 130 mins.
This is director Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey
(James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American
small town of Bedford Falls. As the film opens, it's Christmas Eve, 1946, and George, who
has long considered himself a failure, faces financial ruin and arrest and is seriously
contemplating suicide. High above Bedford Falls, two celestial voices discuss Bailey's
dilemma and decide to send down eternally bumbling angel Clarence Oddbody (Henry
Travers), who after 200 years has yet to earn his wings, to help George out. But first,
Clarence is given a crash course on George's life, and the multitude of selfless acts he has
performed: rescuing his younger brother from drowning, losing the hearing in his left ear in
the process; enduring a beating rather than allow a grieving druggist (H.B. Warner) to
deliver poison by mistake to an ailing child; foregoing college and a long-planned trip to
Europe to keep the Bailey Building and Loan from letting its Depression-era customers
down; and, most important, preventing town despot Potter (Lionel Barrymore) from taking
over Bedford Mills and reducing its inhabitants to penury. Along the way, George has
married his childhood sweetheart Mary (Donna Reed), who has stuck by him through thick
and thin. But even the love of Mary and his children are insufficient when George, faced
with an $8000 shortage in his books, becomes a likely candidate for prison thanks to the
vengeful Potter. Bitterly, George declares that he wishes that he had never been born, and
Clarence, hoping to teach George a lesson, shows him how different life would have been
had he in fact never been born. After a nightmarish odyssey through a George Bailey-less
Bedford Falls (now a glorified slum called Potterville), wherein none of his friends or family
recognize him, George is made to realize how many lives he has touched, and helped,
through his existence; and, just as Clarence had planned, George awakens to the fact that,
despite all its deprivations, he has truly had a wonderful life. Capra's first production
through his newly-formed Liberty Films, It's a Wonderful Life lost money in its original run,
when it was percieved as a fairly downbeat view of small-town life. Only after it lapsed into
the public domain in 1973 and became a Christmastime TV perennial did it don the mantle
of a holiday classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide, Review by Blockbuster
Director: Frank Capra
Theatrical running time: 130 mins.
This is director Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey
(James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American
small town of Bedford Falls. As the film opens, it's Christmas Eve, 1946, and George, who
has long considered himself a failure, faces financial ruin and arrest and is seriously
contemplating suicide. High above Bedford Falls, two celestial voices discuss Bailey's
dilemma and decide to send down eternally bumbling angel Clarence Oddbody (Henry
Travers), who after 200 years has yet to earn his wings, to help George out. But first,
Clarence is given a crash course on George's life, and the multitude of selfless acts he has
performed: rescuing his younger brother from drowning, losing the hearing in his left ear in
the process; enduring a beating rather than allow a grieving druggist (H.B. Warner) to
deliver poison by mistake to an ailing child; foregoing college and a long-planned trip to
Europe to keep the Bailey Building and Loan from letting its Depression-era customers
down; and, most important, preventing town despot Potter (Lionel Barrymore) from taking
over Bedford Mills and reducing its inhabitants to penury. Along the way, George has
married his childhood sweetheart Mary (Donna Reed), who has stuck by him through thick
and thin. But even the love of Mary and his children are insufficient when George, faced
with an $8000 shortage in his books, becomes a likely candidate for prison thanks to the
vengeful Potter. Bitterly, George declares that he wishes that he had never been born, and
Clarence, hoping to teach George a lesson, shows him how different life would have been
had he in fact never been born. After a nightmarish odyssey through a George Bailey-less
Bedford Falls (now a glorified slum called Potterville), wherein none of his friends or family
recognize him, George is made to realize how many lives he has touched, and helped,
through his existence; and, just as Clarence had planned, George awakens to the fact that,
despite all its deprivations, he has truly had a wonderful life. Capra's first production
through his newly-formed Liberty Films, It's a Wonderful Life lost money in its original run,
when it was percieved as a fairly downbeat view of small-town life. Only after it lapsed into
the public domain in 1973 and became a Christmastime TV perennial did it don the mantle
of a holiday classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide, Review by Blockbuster
The Homecoming---A Christmas Story (1971)
Director: Fielder Cook
Theatrical running time: 98 mins.
Mary Ann says this is a good one!
This made-for-TV drama, based on the book by Earl Hamner Jr., was the basis
for the popular long-running television series The Waltons. In this opening
installment, the Waltons, led by matriarch Olivia Walton (Patricia Neal), spend
an anxious 1933 Christmas Eve together as they await the arrival of their
father during a snowstorm. Richard Thomas plays John Boy Walton and
Edgar Bergen is Grandpa. The film won the Golden Globe Award for "Best
TV-Movie" that year, and Neal won the "Best Actress" award for her
performance. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide, Blockbuster
Director: Fielder Cook
Theatrical running time: 98 mins.
Mary Ann says this is a good one!
This made-for-TV drama, based on the book by Earl Hamner Jr., was the basis
for the popular long-running television series The Waltons. In this opening
installment, the Waltons, led by matriarch Olivia Walton (Patricia Neal), spend
an anxious 1933 Christmas Eve together as they await the arrival of their
father during a snowstorm. Richard Thomas plays John Boy Walton and
Edgar Bergen is Grandpa. The film won the Golden Globe Award for "Best
TV-Movie" that year, and Neal won the "Best Actress" award for her
performance. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide, Blockbuster
Nine years after the Yuletide slasher flick Black Christmas, Porky's director
Bob Clark once again took on the holiday genre, switching from gasps to
laughs with A Christmas Story. Adapted from a memoir by humorist Jean
Shepherd (who narrates), the film centers on Ralphie Parker (Peter
Billingsley), a young boy living in 1940s Indiana, desperately yearning for a
Red Rider BB gun for Christmas. Despite protests from his mother (Melinda
Dillon) that he'll shoot his eye out, Ralphie persists, unsuccessfully trying to
enlist the assistance of both his teacher and Santa Claus. All the while,
Ralphie finds himself dealing with the constant taunts of a pair of bullies and
trying to not get in the middle of a feud between his mother and father
(Darren McGavin) regarding a sexy lamp. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie
Guide, Blockbuster
Bob Clark once again took on the holiday genre, switching from gasps to
laughs with A Christmas Story. Adapted from a memoir by humorist Jean
Shepherd (who narrates), the film centers on Ralphie Parker (Peter
Billingsley), a young boy living in 1940s Indiana, desperately yearning for a
Red Rider BB gun for Christmas. Despite protests from his mother (Melinda
Dillon) that he'll shoot his eye out, Ralphie persists, unsuccessfully trying to
enlist the assistance of both his teacher and Santa Claus. All the while,
Ralphie finds himself dealing with the constant taunts of a pair of bullies and
trying to not get in the middle of a feud between his mother and father
(Darren McGavin) regarding a sexy lamp. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie
Guide, Blockbuster
A Christmas Story (1983)
Director: Bob Clark
Theatrical running time: 93 mins.
An old favorite of Dewey's
Director: Bob Clark
Theatrical running time: 93 mins.
An old favorite of Dewey's