Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
A Novel by the Writer of the Classic Holiday Movie
Dec 24, 2008
Valentine Davies was an American screenwriter, producer and director who developed the idea for the Miracle on 34th Street story in the 1940s when he was serving in the Coast Guard. The story became a movie script first, which was produced by 20th Century-Fox in 1947. Although originally planned for a holiday opening, the movie was pushed to a May 1947 opening. According to the historical note in the novel, Davies pushed to have the book ready by the earlier opening date. It was originally published in 1947. The novel was re-published with a recreation of the original cover and typesetting in 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. (ISBN: 0-15-216377-8).
Who is Santa?
Miracle on 34th Street introduces readers to Kris Kringle, an older gentleman who has been living in a retirement apartment in New York City, called Maplewood, for several years. Unfortunately, residents are only allowed to live in Maplewood as long as they are physically and mentally sound. Despite the Maplewood psychiatrist’s arguments, Kris is asked to leave due to his belief that he is the real Santa Clause is seen as evidence he is no longer mentally sound.
As Kris walks through New York trying to decide how to handle his living situation, he encounters the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Kris takes over the Santa Claus role for the parade after he (and Doris Walker, the woman in charge of the parade) determines that the original Santa is too drunk. Doris persuades Kris to become the official Macy’s Santa (i.e. to greet children in the flagship department store location throughout the holidays).
Kris sees the job as a way to find out if people have lost the Christmas spirit. He also begins to view Doris and her daughter, Susan, as his friends. Doris is guarded and cynical after a divorce from Susan’s father and refuses to allow Susan to have anything to do with fairytales or make believe. Kris takes on a Christmas challenge to persuade both Doris and Susan to believe in Santa. He gets help from Doris and Susan’s neighbor and friend, Fred Gayley.
The villain of the story, other than a general lack of Christmas spirit, is Albert Sawyer, Macy’s expert on vocational guidance and psychology. Albert worries about Kris’s belief that he is Santa. Even more importantly, he becomes threatened when Kris doesn’t take his evaluation seriously. Despite the positive impact Kris is having on Macy's and the New York residents who meet him, Albert’s interference leads to Kris being sent to Bellevue mental hospital and a competency hearing that will determine his future.
Cultural Impact
As a movie, Miracle on 34th Street received 3 Oscars, including best original story, and Davies’ story has been reproduced in a variety of TV and movie versions since the 1940s, including a 1955 TV version also known as Meet Mr. Kringle, TV versions in 1959 and 1973, and a remake of the movie in 1994. The 1947 film has been ranked #9 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, according to the Internet Movie Database.
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