About
The Miracle on 34th Street” (1955) is a condensed, 45-minute television adaptation of the beloved 1947 George Seaton Christmas classic, produced as part of the anthology series The 20th Century-Fox Hour. Directed by Robert Stevenson and broadcast on December 14, 1955, the story stays true to Valentine Davies’s original screenplay: a kindly old man named Kris Kringle (played by Thomas Mitchell) is hired as Macy’s Santa Claus and incites both wonder and controversy when he insists he truly is Saint Nick. Macy’s employee Doris Walker (Teresa Wright) and her skeptical daughter Susan (Sandy Descher) are drawn into the enchantment, while attorney Fred Gailey (Macdonald Carey) defends Kringle in a courtroom battle to prove his sanity. Though appreciably trimmed—omitting elements like the drunken Santa and satirical commentary on consumerism—the adaptation captures the warmth of the original tale and features a thoughtfully chosen cast that honors the spirit of the classic, despite its brisk pacing and more modest production values.
