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Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

tomatometer

94

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 34
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 2

Irrefutable proof that gentle sentimentalism can be the chief ingredient in a wonderful film, Miracle on 34th Street delivers a warm holiday message without resorting to treacle.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0

Irrefutable proof that gentle sentimentalism can be the chief ingredient in a wonderful film, Miracle on 34th Street delivers a warm holiday message without resorting to treacle.

audience

82

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 45,957

My Rating

Movie Info

Edmund Gwenn plays Kris Kringle, a bearded old gent who is the living image of Santa Claus. Serving as a last-minute replacement for the drunken Santa who was to have led Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Kringle is offered a job as a Macy's toy-department Santa. Supervisor Maureen O'Hara soon begins having second thoughts about hiring Kris: it's bad enough that he is laboring under the delusion that he's the genuine Saint Nick; but when he begins advising customers to shop elsewhere for toys that

Oct 16, 2001

20th Century Fox

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All Critics (34) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (2) | DVD (7)

Miracle on 34th Street isn't great art or high comedy, but it is good entertainment.

January 23, 2013 Full Review Source: The New Republic
The New Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

So you don't believe in Santa Claus? If you want to stay a non-believer don't see Miracle.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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It's a highly professional piece of Hollywood sentimentalism.

November 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
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[Let us] heartily proclaim that it is the freshest little picture in a long time, and maybe even the best comedy of this year.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of the few perfect and genuinely emotional Christmas movies that will live on forever...

December 17, 2012 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed
Cinema Crazed

Decades after it was made, this fable, featuring Edmund Gwenn's Oscar-winning role as Santa Claus, remains one of the most enchanting Christmas movies.

March 13, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Classic holiday movie for the whole family.

December 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

What makes Miracle a genuine miracle of holiday filmmaking is the pitch-perfect balance of social cynicism and human generosity.

January 10, 2010 Full Review Source: Seanax.com
Seanax.com

I kept wondering: what would Jesus think about this movie, a kiddie pic that indicts America for losing sight of the one person that Christmas was always supposed to be about, and that's Santa.

December 28, 2009 Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | Comments (11)
Nick's Flick Picks

One of the classic Christmas movies that is so happy about being sentimental it's enchanting rather than sickly sweet.

November 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Christmas wouldn't be complete without it.

December 22, 2006 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures
7M Pictures

A touch labored but lovable.

December 4, 2006 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

You want the spirit of Christmas? It's all right here.

November 25, 2006 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com
Filmcritic.com

The only really good [Santa Claus movie] is this gentle, yet modern tale.

November 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

A nine-year-old Natalie Wood puts in a fine performance alongside Edmund Gwenn, who is arguably the best cinematic Santa, ever.

November 15, 2006
Buzzine Magazine

Formulaic, but charming.

August 11, 2005
Juicy Cerebellum

One of a half dozen Christmas movie classics.

January 3, 2005

Miracle on 34th Street is a great family film that will have kids and adults cackling with glee as Kringle does his best to fight the system.

March 16, 2004 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

Audience Reviews for Miracle on 34th Street

It's a Wonderful Life is often regarded as the greatest Christmas film of all time but for me the original Miracle on 34th Street just beats it. Edmund Gwenn is the perfect Santa and the young Natalie Wood was perfectly cast. It's not stupid of schmaltzy either unlike many contemporary Christmas films and even It's a Wonderful Life for that matter. Not just my favourite Christmas film of all time but one of my overall favourites of all time.
December 4, 2012
SirPant

Super Reviewer

Wholeheartedly smart, funny and hopeful, it never ceased to bring smiles for one must agree, even the most grounded sort, the age old truth and wisdom that belies it's wonderfully crafted and surprisingly complex, intriguing and delightful story and dialogue. To captivate the generations of the true of heart, it succeeds in its purity, depth, charms and all that sentimentality that everyone needs.
January 1, 2012
Adriel Denzel Lim

Super Reviewer

    1. Susan Walker: I believe, I believe, I believe.
    – Submitted by Frances H (4 months ago)
    1. Fred Gailey: Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.
    – Submitted by Dann M (17 months ago)
    1. Kris Kringle: Oh, Christmas isn't just a day. It's a frame of mind.
    – Submitted by Dann M (17 months ago)

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Latest News on Miracle on 34th Street

December 19, 2011:
Rating the Movie Santas, from Best to Worst
Moviefone ranks 21 Kringles from cinematic yuletides past.

December 22, 2006:
RT's Top Christmas Classics -- Christmas Countdown, Day Five
Welcome to the last day of RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, where we serve up a different list...

Foreign Titles

  • Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (DE)
  • Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (UK)
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