ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

The Sundance channel aired this classic on December 12th and I DVRed it to watch today (Christmas Eve). They showed the colorized version, and being less than fond of colorized movies I was about to turn the color off and watch it in B&W, but just out of curiosity I wondered if I could boost the color up and turn the usual tepid pastel "colorization" into something more vivid and appealing.

I was pleasantly surprised when I pegged the TV color at 100% and turned the greens into GREENS and the reds into REDS, etc.

This on-line jpeg looks about the same as the colorized version I watched!





IMDB has 78 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text.
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~ Received a 'B' rating (morally objectionable in part) from the highly influential Legion of Decency because Maureen O'Hara played a divorcée.

Note from me: My goodness, how times have changed.

~ The scenes at Macy's were shot on location at the main New York store on 34th Street itself. Shooting was complicated by the fact that the crew's power needs exceeded the store's electricity capacity and required additional power sources arranged in the store's basement.

Note from me: Interesting item. Just why did the film crew need THAT much electricity?

The next two items are related.

~ Despite the fact that the film is set during Christmas, studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May because he argued that more people went to the movies during the summer. So the studio began scrambling to promote it while keeping the fact that it was a Christmas movie a secret.

~ The film's original title was "Christmas Miracle on 34th Street" but because the release date was moved to the summer, the Christmas from the title was dropped. Other working titles included "The Big Heart", "My Heart Tells Me" and "It's Only Human".

Note from me: How does a studio promote a Christmas move without revealing that it's a Christmas movie? Frankly it sounds impossible! I'll bet the trailer is a snooze!

__________ Miracle On 34TH Street 1947 Trailer


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Oh. Ummm . . . Darn it, I was mistaken. Heck, this trailer is charming! It's tender! It's exciting! (And I laughed my ass off at the clever way they did it. )

~ John Payne, who had starred in many films at 20th Century-Fox, had been unhappy about the quality of roles he was being given, and when he read the story, he bought the film rights as a starring vehicle for himself.

Note from me: Smart move, John! I never knew I had John Payne to thank for the movie being made.

~ John Payne hoped to do a sequel to his dying day, and even took matters into his own hands. "John really believed in and loved Miracle on 34th Street (1947)," said Maureen O'Hara, "and always wanted to do a sequel. We talked about it for years, and he eventually even wrote a screenplay sequel. He was going to send it to me, but tragically died before he could get around to it. I never saw it and have often wondered what happened to it."

Note from me: A sequel! Wow! Since John was a key figure in getting the movie made, I tend to give his idea about doing a sequel a bit more credit than if he was just a cast member. But I have no idea what a sequel would be about. Off hand, it sounds like a questionable idea.

~ Edmund Gwenn's beard was not real.

Note from me: Amazing! The scene where Natalie yanks on it had be believing it WAS real.

~ The entire cast enjoyed a special bond, according to Maureen O'Hara, and always got along beautifully throughout the production. "Each evening, when we were not working," recalled O'Hara, "Edmund Gwenn, John and I went for a walk up Fifth Avenue. Natalie had to go to bed, but we didn't.

We stopped and window-shopped at all the stores, which were beautifully decorated for the holidays. Edmund especially loved those nights and acted more like the kid who might be getting the presents instead of the Santa who would be giving them. I got such a big kick out of seeing the expressions of window dressers when they saw Edmund peering in at them--I knew then that he was going to make a big splash as Santa Claus."

Note from me: The idea of window shopping with Santa Claus is wonderful! I not sure why I love the idea, but I do.

~ Edmund Gwenn was offered the role of Kringle after his cousin, Cecil Kellaway, turned it down.

Note from me: We all love Edmund Gwenn as the charming old scientists in Them!, as well as his cousin Cecil Kellaway as the charming old scientist in Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. I'm sure Mr. Kellaway would have done a fine job as Santa, too.

~ When Santa Claus prints he is "as old as my tongue, and a little older than my teeth", he meant as a baby he didn't have teeth.

Note from me: Silly, me — I thought he meant he had false teeth!

~ The house shown at the end of the film is a 1703 square foot single family home built in 1943 at 24 Derby Road, Port Washington, New York. The home looks practically the same as it did in 1947, except that the roof line has been altered by the addition of a window.

Note from me: By gum, not only is the house still there, there's a nice website created by lady who visited the house in December 2013 and posted photos and a comments about her experience called MY DREAM CAME TRUE!

Here's a quote from the site.

As we were taking our photos, a neighbor pulled up. Without asking, he knew we were fans of the movie. "My house is just down the street. It's worth a few dollars more because of this house," he told us.







I wonder if any of the people who've lived there over the years since 1947 have watched this movie and enjoyed the unique fact that the final scene takes place in their own living room!

That has got to be a fantastic experience!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Bud
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

If I owned that house, a cane would live in a corner of the family room.

Bud the reason they needed all that power, was for the lighting. The lights were all carbon arc lights which need a lot of power, but they also put out a lot of light.

Natalie Wood said she showed the movie to her Daughter, and when the movie was over she asked N.W. where she was in the movie. She couldn't convince her Daughter that she was the little girl in the movie.

David.

[Gord Green]

Still to this day it remains a classic of story craft! The tale is told with a lot more heart than would be expected from Hollywood in it's day!

The remake is a bland effort at best.

And yes, I believe in Santa Claus too.
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[scotpens]

[Bud Brewster]

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Good news, guys! There's a "lost" remake that's wonderful!

Today I stumbled onto a Christmas gift that has been hidden from us for 68 years!

This unexpected holiday treat is a production of Miracle on 34th Street. It's a "lost" Christmas episode from the American anthology television series called The 20th Century Fox Hour, broadcast on December 14, 1955!

This production was beautifully filmed in black and white, but the version available on YouTube is so well colorized that it took me a while to realize it wasn't originally in color!

Fans of the 1947 version will be pleased by the way this production adheres closely to the movie classic's telling of the story — an almost scene-for-scene recreation of the original film.

Viewing it is like seeing the original movie version from a parallel universe — except that it's in color and with a distinguished cast of completely different actors! For example, the role which was played by Natalie Wood is portraid by actress Sandy Dresher — the talented child star we've scene in both Them! and The Space Children!

Please watch it this Christmas season and enjoy a classic that's been hidden for almost seven decades!

* Make note that YouTube incorrectly labeled this video — as shown below! Even the thumbnail image shows the 1947 movie poster!

No wonder this Christmas treasure is such a rare find!

Miracle On 34th Street (1947 In Color) Full Christmas Movie


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)