In this quintessential seasonal classic, a young girl played by Natalie Wood (Rebel without a Cause, West side Story) has grown up doubting the existence of Santa Claus, as encouraged by her Mother – played by Maureen O’Hara (Rio Grande, The Parent Trap), but with the appearance of Kris Kringle all this changes.
Centring around the department-store Macy’s (renamed Cole’s in the remake, as Macey’s refused to let their brand be used, defending the original film’s quality and deeming a remake unnecessary), the festive comedy questions whether Kringle is in fact, the real St. Nicholas.
Gwenn (Them!, The Trouble With Harry) won an academy award for his performance as Kringle and the whole cast is consistently brilliant in this enduring Christmas classic, a film that now doubles as a joyous evocation of New York in the 1940s.