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Miracle on 34th Street

 
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Miracle on 34th Street

  • Director: Les Mayfield
  • AMG Rating: starstarstar
  • Genre: Children's/Family
  • Movie Type: Children's Fantasy
  • Themes: Mothers and Daughters, Crisis of Faith
  • Main Cast: Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, Mara Wilson, Robert Prosky
  • Release Year: 1994
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 114 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: PG

Plot

The 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street is transplanted to the 1990s with few changes in this family-oriented remake. The screenplay by the prolific John Hughes sticks close to the original outline, centering on Macy's executive Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) and her young daughter Susan (Mara Wilson), neither of whom much believes in the spirit of Christmas. Dorey is in charge of hiring Macy's Santas, including an old man named Kriss Kringle (Richard Attenborough). He does a remarkably convincing job, and he soon reveals that he actually believes himself to be Santa Claus. The authorities threaten to place the old man in an insane asylum, but a young lawyer comes to his defense. Meanwhile, Dorey and Susan find their own defenses melting and become reacquainted with the power of faith. Hughes and director Les Mayfield add a few modern touches, making Susan slightly more cynical and adding the requisite soulless corporate villains. Viewers familiar with the original may still prefer Edmund Gwenn's original Kris Kringle and consider the remake unnecessary, although the newer version reflects enough of the earlier film's spirit to prove entertaining to modern family audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Cast

J.T. Walsh - Ed Collins; James Remar - Jack Duff; Jane Leeves - Alberta Leonard; Simon Jones - Shellhammer; William Windom - C.F. Cole; Joss Ackland - Victor Landbergh; Mike Bacarella - Santa; Bill Buell - Band Director; Alvin Greenman - The Doorman; Harve Kolzow - Businessman; Michele Marsh - News Anchor; Jack McGee - Tony Falacchi; Joe Pentangelo - Bailiff; Byrne Piven - Dr. Hunter; Peter Siragusa - Cabbie; Greg Noonan - Cmdr. Coulson; Jenny Morrison - Denice; Allison Janney - The Woman; Peter Gerety - Cop

Credit

Steve Arnold - Art Director, Jane Jenkins - Casting, Janet Hirshenson - Casting, Kathy O'Rear - Costume Designer, Randy Suhr - First Assistant Director, Les Mayfield - Director, Raja Gosnell - Editor, William Ryan - Executive Producer, William S. Beasley - Executive Producer, Bruce Broughton - Composer (Music Score), Ben Nye, Jr. - Makeup, Jamie Sue Weiss - Makeup, Doug Kraner - Production Designer, Julio Macat - Cinematographer, John Hughes - Producer, Leslie Rollins - Set Designer, Gregory L. McMurray - Special Effects, Ronald Judkins - Sound/Sound Designer, John Hughes - Screenwriter, George Seaton - Screenwriter, George Seaton - From Screenplay by, Valentine Davies - Short Story Author

Similar Movies

All I Want for Christmas; Prancer; Elf; Blizzard; The Perfect Holiday
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Wikipedia: Miracle on 34th Street (1994 film)
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Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Directed by Les Mayfield
Produced by John Hughes
William Ryan
William S. Beasley
Written by Valentine Davies (story)
George Seaton
John Hughes (screenplay)
Starring Mara Wilson
Richard Attenborough
Elizabeth Perkins
Dylan McDermott
J.T. Walsh
Jane Leeves
Editing by Raja Gosnell
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) November 18, 1994
Running time 114 minutes
Country USA
Language English

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1994 film directed by Les Mayfield. It is the fourth remake of the original 1947 film. The film was released by 20th Century Fox.

Plot

When the Cole's Santa Claus gets drunk before taking part in the Thanksgiving parade, Dorey, Cole's director of special events, fires him and must find a replacement immediately. She spots an old man (Richard Attenborough) berating the drunk Santa, and begs him to take over. He claims his name is Kris Kringle. Kris does so well during the parade that he is immediately hired to be Cole's main Santa for the holiday period. All the children in New York begin to believe that he is the real Santa, with the exception of six-year-old Susan, Dorey's daughter. Dorey's boyfriend, Brian Bedford, does his best to convince Susan to believe. While being babysat one night by Kris, Susan shares with him her Christmas wish, she would like a dad, a house (used every year for the Cole's catalogue photoshoot) and a baby brother. Kris asks her if she got all those things, would she then begin to believe in Santa. Susan agrees that she would.

Kris is credited with bringing in many more sales to Cole's than previous years, until one night, when he is arrested then sectioned for supposedly assaulting a man on the street. Later, the truth emerges, that the man he assaulted was the original drunk Santa, who set up Kris to be arrested, with the help of members of staff from a rival of Cole's.

With the help of Brian, Dorey pushes Kris' case to court, and drums up support from him from the public. It soon becomes clear that to get Kris acquitted and freed, Brian must prove that not only does Santa exist, but that Kris is the real one. It is a seemingly impossible task until Brian comes up with a plan that requires some help from Susan. Together, they leave the judge with no choice but to declare that Santa is real, thus freeing Kris.

Following the court case, Dorey and Brian are manipulated by Kris into realising their true feelings for each other, and are married in a very small ceremony on Christmas day(12:00). On Christmas morning, Susan wakes to the news of the marriage and is elated to see that she has part one of her Christmas wish, a dad. Together, Susan, Dorey and Brian drive out to the catalogue house and upon arrival, find that Kris has arranged for them to purchase the house. Susan, now having got two out of three of her wishes, excitedly runs upstairs in the house to look at her bedroom. Dorey and Brian ask her what part three of her Christmas wish was, and she triumphantly announces that it was a baby brother. Dorey and Brian both look at each other, shocked, before glancing down at Dorey's stomach. The film ends with the belief that Susan has now gained all three of her Christmas wishes.

Cast

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