Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Directed by George Seaton. With Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart. When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing.

Directed by Les Mayfield. With Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh. A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.

Miracle on 34th Street (initially released as The Big Heart in the United Kingdom)[2][3][4] is a 1947 American Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies.

When a nice old man, employed as a department store Santa Claus, is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court tha...

Amazon.com: Miracle on 34th Street: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart, Natalie Wood, Porter Hall, William Frawley, Jerome Cowan, Philip Tonge, Jack Albertson, Harry Antrim, Lela Bliss, Charles G. Clarke, Lloyd Ahern Sr., George Seaton, Robert L. Simpson, William Perlberg, Valentine Davies: Movies & TV

The 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street is transplanted to the 1990s with few changes in this family-oriented remake. The screenplay by the prolific John Hughes sticks close to the original outline, centering on Macy's executive Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) and her young daughter Susan (Mara Wilson), neither of whom much believes in the spirit of Christmas. Dorey is in charge of hiring Macy's Santas, including an old man named Kriss Kringle (Richard Attenborough). He does a remarkably convincing job, and he soon reveals that he actually believes himself to be Santa Claus. The authorities threaten to place the old man in an insane asylum, but a young lawyer comes to his defense. Meanwhile, Dorey and Susan find their own defenses melting and become reacquainted with the power of faith. Hughes and director Les Mayfield add a few modern touches, making Susan slightly more cynical and adding the requisite soulless corporate villains. Viewers familiar with the original may still prefer Edmund Gwenn's original Kris Kringle and consider the remake unnecessary, although the newer version reflects enough of the earlier film's spirit to prove entertaining to modern family audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Overview of Miracle on 34th Street, 1947, directed by George Seaton, with Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, at Turner Classic Movies