I had seen the original 1947 Oscar winning Edmund Gwenn version, and the more recognised 1994 Lord Sir Richard Attenborough version, but I had no idea there was another one, until I saw it broadcast, so I watched to see what I'd think. Basically the actor playing Santa Claus for Macy's Department Store Thanksgiving Day parade is found drunk, so parade director Karen Walker (Jane Alexander) persuades the bearded man who found him, Kris Kringle (The Jungle Book's Sebastian Cabot) to take his place. Kris proves to be a sensation with the public, and is quickly recruited to work in the Macy's store store on 34th Street to play Santa for the holiday period. What gives the store really good business is that they market the fact that Kris is telling customers where to find toys, including at better prices, and he is really enlightening everyone's spirits, including Karen's own daughter Susan (Suzanne Davidson), who is intelligent but cynical to beliefs and fantasy. The store's incompetent psychiatrist Dr. Sawyer (Roddy McDowall), is hired take Kris on a case study, but they only become enemies in the process, he eventually provokes Kris and causes him to react in the a way that will cause him to taken to Bellevue for tests, and he awaits a trial to prove his sanity. Karen's friend and neighbour Bill Schafner (David Hartman), agrees to help Kris, not just to defend him for his freedom and sanity, but unbelievably by proving he is the real, and the one and only Santa Claus! It is going to take a miracle for Kris to win, but thankfully they find something that clearly proves his identity, hundreds of letters addressed to "Santa Claus", all given to Kris at Christmas, they win the case, and in the end, Susan gets the present she always wanted for Christmas, a new house. Also starring Jim Backus as Shellhammer, David Doyle as R.H. Macy, Tom Bosley as Judge Harper and Roland Winters as Mr. Gimbel. Cabot is likable as the man who may in fact be the real Santa, although I was distracted closing my eyes and imagining his voice with Bagheera the panther or the Narrator in Winnie the Pooh, the rest of the cast, apart from perhaps McDowall, aren't really worth mentioning, the story is pretty much the same as the original film, but you can tell it is made for TV, it has a predictable script, and it doesn't have any charm or pizazz, stick with the 1947 and 1994 versions, it is a fairly terrible remake seasonal family film. Adequate!
Review of Miracle on 34th Street
