Miracle on 34th Street(a.k.a. "The Big Heart" -- UK)
US (1947): Comedy/Drama/Family/Fantasy/Romance
The original 1947 version of this Valentine Davies story follows the misadventures of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) as he gets a job playing Santa Claus at Macy's department store in New York City. Natalie Wood is the little girl who tells him she doesn't believe in Santa, and Maureen O'Hara and John Payne are the couple who help Kris through a trial in which he must prove he's the jolly fellow from the North Pole. A sweet movie and perennial Christmas favorite, this is one of those movies that gets under your skin and must be revisited every so often. (Amazon.com)
Despite the fact that Miracle On 34th Street is a Christmas movie, studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May because, he argued, more people went to the movies during the summer. So the studio began scrambling to promote it while keeping the fact that it was a Christmas movie a secret. The film was remade by Fox in 1994, and there have been three TV versions (1955, 1959 and 1973). It also was made into the stage musical Here's Love by Meredith Willson.
4 nominations, 3 Awards
· Best Supporting Actor 1947: Edmund Gwenn
· Writing (Best Screenplay) 1947: George Seaton
· Writing (Best Original Story) 1947: Valentine Davies
· Best Picture 1947: William Perlberg, producer (20th Century-Fox)