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It’s not until you are well and truly wading through the wealth of special features on the 2-disc special edition DVD of the 1947 Christmas common “The Miracle on 34th Street” that one realizes that the release features not honest two versions of the movie, but three.
For not only does the release feature the fresh dusky & white version shown in theaters and the circa 1980s colorized version of the same feature film, but also hidden away on the second disc is the curiously titled “20th Century Fox Hour of the Stars: The Miracle on 34th Street,” which turns out to be a 46 slight 1950s remake for television that is surprisingly in incredibly qualified quality.
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The inclusion of this feature is indicative of Fox’s loving tribute to this family movie gem that is this 2-disc release. Prior to its release the studio had no understanding how to market what it considered to be an “unimportant program portray” and stuck it in the middle of its summer schedule with a trailer (shown here as a 5-minute promotional short) that did not feature one single clip from the movie and went at lengths to cover it’s Yuletide theme.
The tale is so well known that it hardly bears relating in this review. Suffice to say that it charts the efforts of a man (played in an Academy Award winning performance by British actor Edmund Gwenn) to be legally recognized as Santa Claus, which in fact he is and to persuade a doubting young girl (played by Natalie Wood in a star-turning performance) and a practical realist (played by Maureen O’Hara) that he is indeed Father Christmas. Picked to replace a liquor induced Santa as the Macy’s Parade Santa he is a smashing success and indeed Gwenn’s performance is so improbable that Natalie Wood really did gain that she was acting opposite Santa Claus.
Perhaps the best special feature in this release (in what is a tough choice given its fabulous company) is the feature length audio commentary by Maureen O’Hara. Recorded at her home in Ireland this past August the DVD warns us that this is merely excerpts of that interview with frequent tranquil sections. But I must say that this is happily not entirely true. O’Hara is clearly watching the movie (discussing elements on the shroud as they occur), but also is more talkative than other commentaries that I have listened to that do not have a similar warning.
In the commentary O’Hara recounts being forced to remain in the United States following the outbreak of hostilities in World War II and subsequently enraged when (after being allowed to return to her native Ireland) on being ordered help to the U.S. to create this film. She tells us that other considered titles were “The Substantial Heart” and “It’s Only Human” and how once she read the script she was clear to be fervent in what she saw as a warm and affectionate movie. O’Hara also talks about the parade itself and reveals that it was the steady parade with people in the crowd not being aware that Fox was shooting a movie that day.
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Also included in this release is the 22-minute “AMC Backstory” that takes us unhurried the scenes of the production. Including are on-camera interviews with film historian Rudy Behlmer, actress Maureen O’Hara, actor Robert Hyatt (who played Thomas Mara Jr.), actor Alvin Greenman (who played Alfred), Natalie Wood biographer Suzanne Finstad and Natalie’s sister Lana Wood. The documentary traces the genesis to the movie encourage to a fateful swagger to a Los Angeles department store by screenwriter Valentine Davies. Fighting through holiday shoppers on 1944′s Christmas Eve in an difficulty to pick a gift for his wife, Davies wondered what Santa Claus would originate of the commercialism of Christmas. After working on the screenplay for over a year the project was optioned by Fox, who evidently had no concept what they had.
In what was a vast risk the filmmakers agreed when Macy’s and rival store Gimble Bros. said they would withold permission for their names to be venerable in the film until they had seen the finished film. Thankfully they loved it for if either store had objected Fox would have had to drastically re-cut and re-shoot major portions of the movie.
So it was that at the height of the 1946 shopping season over 100 cast and crew descended on the Macy’s store in Original York City to shoot interiors of the movie and when it wrapped veteran the likes of Rex Harrison and Anne Baxter (who were on the Fox lot shooting other pictures) to rave about the production. Fox need not have panicked though because it was a valuable and commercial success staying in theaters for over six months and taking home three of its nominated four Oscars. In fact its popularity is such that it has not only been remade in the included 1950s TV production, but again in a 1970s TV movie and then in a 1994 gigantic budget production (and clips from all three are featured in the AMC Backstory) .
An archival MovieTone News reel (running 1:42) covers those awards presentations and includes the illustrious quote from a tidy shaven Gwenn when receiving his statue, “Phew. Now I know there is a Santa Claus.”
But that’s not all this bumper release contains. Also included is a 15:30 featurette on the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and in particular its pivotal role in the movie. This current documentary features on-camera interviews with Robert M. Grippo (author of a book on the parade) and John W. Straus who worked on the parade for 22 years and coordinated with the studio that the filming of the parade (with their 14 camera’s positioned along the route) went off without a hitch.
The special features are rounded out with nine posters for the movie.
Audio includes English 5.1 Dolby Surround, English mono, French mono and Spanish mono. There are English and Spanish subtitles.
The movie itself is one of the all time classic family Christmas movies and should not be missed.
I am, however, very disappointed that Amazon has not seen fit to stutter the buyer whether or not this film is restored or remastered. They continue to list these movies with minimal information, even after repeated complaints to their “wait on” center. Approach on Amazon….provide the top-notch information so we can resolve if this really is a “unique” version or simply one that has been “repackaged”………we DESERVE more info if you examine us to exercise our money…..!!!
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