Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this film before, but here it goes.
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, a tradition, but the coordinator, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) has a huge problem, her Santa Claus is drunk. Fortunately, she is in luck, the actual Santa Claus, Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) himself has arrived to save the day.
He is much loved and almost immediately becomes some sort of local celebrity, and is even hired to be Macy's mall Santa and as he has the child's happiness to be the most important thing, he gladly tells the parents exactly where to find the correct toy, even if it is at another store. At first, this policy isn't much liked but soon, with all the high-praise Macy's receives, they embrace it.
But Kris Kringle's plight is also a personal one, as Doris has been jaded by her divorce when daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) was only a baby so she doesn't believe in fairy tales, make-believe or Santa Claus and he wants to convince her that she's wrong.
He and lawyer neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) have the same method, get to the mother through the child and Kris Kringle starts to make Susan believe as he can speak Dutch and is wonderful with the children. He has only one enemy, Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall), the psychiatrist Macy's has with issues of his own. He is what nowadays we would call a quack and even back then is just odd, believing that no good deed is done selflessly or out of kindness. Kris gets into a large argument with Mr. Sawyer and lands himself in the mental hospital which leads to a trial to prove that he is indeed Santa Claus.
With Mr. Gailey representing him, the case quickly goes to trial and things get awkward, with one side determined to prove him wrong and the other determined to prove that Santa Claus is real. Finally, the US Post Office delivers all of the letters it receives for Santa and the judge is forced to admit that Santa is real. Doris and Susan believe and celebrate Christmas for a change with Fred and Kris and just when Susan starts to doubt his existence, he finds her wish, something that she didn't even tell her mother. He finds her perfect little house with a swing in the backyard. Everything is right in the world.
Now, the film is simple but the performances are great and yes, you do have to suspend disbelief for this film to work for you. Do that anyway. This film is a treasure to be watched over and over again, despite the plot holes. How did the romance really develop between Doris and Fred? And at the beginning, the plot moves quickly with a lot of stuff happening on the day after Thanksgiving and having the last part of the trial on Christmas Eve? A little far fetched, but that all being said, this film is great, with all the little details portrayed correctly. Gwenn won a much deserved Oscar for this role and Wood is a treasure who died far too young. Grade: B+