At the day of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, a jolly old man (Edmund Gwenn) notices that the guy playing Santa at the parade is a drunk, and goes to complain to the special events director Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara). Quickly in need of a replacement, she persuades the old man to fill-in as Santa, who becomes such a hit success among audiences and children at the parade that he is then given the job to play Santa again at the Macy's Department Store. Everything goes well for the business thanks to the old man, but Doris finds out that the man actually believes that he's thee Santa Claus. Doris and the head of the toy department Julian Shellhammer (Philip Tonge) decide to let him keep on pretending that he's Santa since he's not hurting anybody and giving them good business, but after the old man gets into a confrontation with the mean and incompetent psychologist Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall) he is sent to a mental institution where he will be committed. A friend of Doris named Fred Gaily (John Payne) helps the down and out man by being his lawyer in a court case to prove that he really is Santa Claus. While all this is going on, the man who claims to be Santa spends his time with Doris' little girl Susan (Natalie Wood) who has no sense of imagination and wonder because her Mother raised her to accept the harsh reality that the world truly is. I'll be completely honest and say that I have never ever watched the film from beginning to end until now. I knew the premise, some of its key scenes (including the climax), and have watched bits and pieces of it on TV, but I never had the time to push myself to see it in its entirety. And after finally watching it in full, I was quite amazed by it.
The thing that I love most about the film is the characters because they don't feel like those corny cliches that we see in many Christmas films nowadays. The way they're written and how they are portrayed is not only charming and likable, but how they talk about the stuff that's troubling them and interact with one another never gives you the impression that they're just doing all this because that's what the script says, their emotions and interactions feel believable since none of it feels forced, rushed, pointless, or out of the blue as everything they do leads to one action after another, where we would also discover something new and interesting about each character. Furthermore I like how the film doesn't just stop for exposition just to spell out these character's past and how they are feeling through a monologue, it's all done through conversations that seem natural and flowing with the film's narrative and pacing. And even before we learn more about them, we find ourselves easily identifying them as we get acquainted with these characters.
Maureen O'Hara as the lead character Doris does a brilliant job of playing this character that has lost all sense of child-like wonder. We're not given too much depth of why she's the way she is, all we know about her is that she's a divorced woman who was left behind by her husband when Susan was born. But as vague as the film gives us this important detail, we have a clear understanding why she's this way through her actions and her subtle expressions. That scene when she disapproves Fred's action of taking Susan to see Santa where she tells him that when little girls believe in fairy tales, they think life is a fantasy where they'll come to realize that Prince Charming won't be what he appears to be, greatly expresses why she's raising her to be mature without behaving like a child because she doesn't want her to be disappointed with the realities of life just like what happened to her. And yes she runs a parade that's full of child-wonderment, and imagination, but for her its simply a job and not a passion, who doesn't even want to watch what she's created since it'll remind her of how she was manipulated by the fantasy aspect of the parade as a child.
Another prime example of a character who we don't know too much about, but understand why he is what he is through his behaviors and little background we're given is the film's antagonist Mr. Sawyer. All throughout the film we despise this guy for making his patients feel more depressed about themselves, flat-out lying to the characters, and above all for trying to put the man who he claims is Santa in the mental institution for the rest of his life, when he's done no wrong to anyone. But as cruel and despicable as he is, there is some sympathy given this character which is only discussed in one scene when he's examining Santa that's easy to overlook since it's played out for comedy, where the emotions connected to this character are done subtly. We discover that he is a man who is so in denial of living a horrible marriage, his poor choices in life, and his nervous habits that he thinks he's perfectly fine and sane, when in reality he's the one who needs concealing more than his patients that go to him for it. It's funny given the delivery of his denial, and how calm and collected Santa's exclaims are, but it's also pretty sad since he never once thinks that he needs help. And as you're watching him all-throughout the film as you sit there hating him and occasionally laughing at him, you somehow feel a bit sorry for how sick he is that is expressed through his actions and nervous behaviors that Porter Hall does so well with delivering.
To be frank about the performances in this movie, I couldn't find a single one that I didn't like or found boring. They're all such wonderful performances portraying such delightful characters that perfectly balance out the film’s drama, comedy, and innocence. The ones who stand-out the most since there are so many is John Payne as Fred who plays out as a nice father figure for Susan, and a powerful lawyer and motivator for Santa that becomes chilling and inspiring for how serious he handles this near impossible case. Alvin Greenman as the young employee Alfred who loves to dress-up as Santa and give presents during the season to bring joy to others, that Santa has a sweet friendship with. Philip Tonge as Julian Shellhammer for his sophisticated and yet humorous performance of his reactions towards Santa and his surprising actions. The cameos from up and coming Academy award nominated actors such as Thelma Ritter as the Macy's customer, and Jack Albertson (who you may know him best for his portrayal of Grandpa Joe in "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory") as the post office employee. And an eight year old Natalie Wood as Susan, who acts like a mature and rational adult, but still shows her childish innocence and wonders, where she shares perfect chemistry with O'Hara, Payne, and Gwenn!
And speaking of Gwenn, his portrayal of Santa is truly what makes this movie such a charming and unforgettable Christmas classic! He may not have the deep voice that we associate with Santa, nor can I remember a time when he actually ho-ho's, but you still believe that this guy is Santa for how sweet, humble, jolly, playful, passionate, and sophisticated he is, who is wise, caring, understanding, and can interact with children perfectly without ever feeling the need to talk down to them or get angry! He's just an all around lovable character and performance that earned Gwenn an Oscar for his authentic portrayal as Santa, and was at times believed that he was actually Santa by his own cast and crew (especially from the child actors). Just like all the characters in the movie, Santa has a great amount of scenes playing on all levels that the film provides, whether its playing on levels of enchantment as he playfully interacts with a little Dutch girl by speaking and singing in her native language, or teaching Susan the power of imagination; or on the levels of comedy like everybody's reaction when he thinks he's nuts as he just calmly tells them that he's Santa with such confidence; or on levels of drama regarding of how he feels about humanity forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
This now leads me into talking a little about a few major themes that the film has going for it; the first one being against commercialism. All throughout the film we see Santa trying to teach humanity about the true meaning of Christmas by loving thy neighbor and good will towards man as he recommends customers other stores to get the items that they need, which in return makes the store seem like they genuinely care about their customers and wanting help their competitors, as their rivals do the same for them that eventually leads them to a truce. Granted, I don't think that method would work in the real world, but just like how some of the things that George Bailey does in "It's a Wonderful Life" doesn't make too much business sense, it's the emotions and inspiring moral that still speaks to modern viewers that make us keep coming back to these film's despite that some of the actions done don't seem too realistic. And what do you expect when both films either star an angel or Santa Claus, obviously liberties are going to be taken into account to connect to the Holiday feel, and make its message stand tall! What's also wonderful about how the film delivers its message is it doesn't feel shoved in your face. When you see Santa upset about Christmas being overtaken by commercialism during a few conversations, it never feels like the actor or the writing is trying to directly preach it to the viewer, it sounds like how the character of Santa would feel and react to it, and that he would do things that are unorthodox for the business since he just wants everybody to be happy and get along.
The last few morals and themes that are constant throughout the film is faith and beliefs. Almost every major character in the film is having their faith and beliefs being challenged. Santa is looking for faith in humanity for them to remember what Christmas really is through his actions, as humanity and our leads are having their beliefs being challenged if he's really Santa Claus or not after all the miracles he's performed for them. By today's standards the challenge of people believing Santa in Christmas movies is a trope that we relate too and seen dozens of times, and while I can't say that this is the first Christmas film to challenge people's beliefs in Santa, it certainly is one of the earlier and popular examples that makes the film quite ahead of its time, where it still comes across as strong. And what's amazing about the film and how it handles the last few morals is despite the result of the court case, when we get to the last scene of the movie, we still find ourselves in wonderment if the man really was Santa or not, just as much as the characters do, which I admire that the film decides to end on an ambiguous note so it can challenge the viewers belief in the character as well, instead of giving us a clear cut answer. I mean after all, despite that the man acts like Santa, and does things that are impossible, we never once see him perform any magic on-screen.
The most appealing aspect that the film has to offer is that it can appeal to both kids and adults. Adults will be sucked into the dramas surrounding the adult characters, the powerful acting, and its attack on commercialism, while kids will be carried away by Gwenn's enchanting portrayal as Santa, the humor, the little girl played by Natalie Wood who has trouble believing in Santa, and the Christmas imagery (especially the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade sequence that is actually real, and that Gwenn really was in the parade as Santa). Even during the courtroom scene as adults get some political jokes, court talk that kids will not understand, and court-room drama, there's still enough stuff in it to keep kids invested. Sure the fact that Santa is on trial along with Gwenn's performance should be enough, but there's still many scenes of humor, wonder, and charm to prevent it from being dull, such as seeing a kid being brought to the stand to identify Santa, and of course the memorable climax that leads to the overall decision!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
There's so much stuff that I could talk about and probably
go in deeper detail, but then I'd be spoiling the film for newcomers! The film
overall is a Christmas classic for many good reasons! It has likable and
intriguing characters, a magical performance from Edmund Gwenn as Santa, it's
beautifully acted, contains morals that don't feel preachy, and enough good comedy
to entertain as well as enough drama to keep you emotionally invested. If you see this film, make sure you see it in glorious Black-&-White because the color that's
been added to the film in recent airing doesn't bring the same level of
atmosphere to fit the emotions properly.
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