Which “Miracle on 34th Street” Made You Believe Again?
By: Joseph Serwach
Tags: Film, Faith, Culture, Relationships, Psychology

Believing — accepting something as true — is under constant attack.

At least six different versions of “Miracle on 34th Street” (two in film, two made for TV as well as Broadway and radio versions) show how hard it is to believe in love, relationships — or anything bigger than yourself.

When the original film debuted in 1947, Americans agreed on much, including God, family, and country. Now? Not so much. Polls show 90 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, but fewer agree on the meaning behind it.

The original 1947 film, featuring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and young Natalie Wood, tried to blend romance, comedy, tenderness, and a bit of excitement.

The studio originally didn’t stress the Christmas theme (the film was released in June, and Santa was diminished, wearing civilian garb in the above poster).

The original is considered the classic, one of the best films of all time, and more beloved. Dr. Thomas Graves tells us to look at the image of the little girl with Santa, and we can see what all children see: “She wants to believe….but struggles the way we do.”

“But rather than react to her hesitation, he shines even more,’’ Graves said. “If we can imitate this kind of love…Patient, kind, and not self-serving, we will help many people have a very Merry Christmas.’’

The 1994 remake starring Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, and Dylan McDermott, and a young Mara Wilson, is considered “more serious,’’ exploring deeper questions about belief and believing in love, relationships, and faith.

TV Guide called the 1994 remake “curiously depressing,” while Michael Medved, the culture critic, called the same film “the new holiday classic America has been waiting for.”

The impact of divorce and all broken relationships is more obvious:

Dorey Walker (played by Perkins) was married in college to an alcoholic who “took off,” right after their daughter Susan was born, never to be heard from again. The divorced Dorey is filled with “bitter thoughts… dragging” her child with her.

Dorey focuses on knowing “the truth and always being truthful with others and, more importantly, with yourself. Believing in myths and fantasies just makes you unhappy.’’

She teaches her daughter not to believe in anything or anyone, including Santa Claus, but her daughter, Susan, pushes back when she encounters Kris Kringle.

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” ― Philip K. Dick.

Dorey tells young Susan, “Now, I’ve told you the truth, but if I’m wrong, I will be glad to admit it. I’ll tell you what. You ask Mr. Kringle for something that you would never ask me for, and if on Christmas morning, you don’t get it, you will know once and for all the truth about Santa Claus.’’

Non-believers “doomed for a life dominated by doubt’’

Kris Kringle, aka Santa, tells Dorey: “I’m a symbol. I’m a symbol of the human ability to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If you can’t believe, if you can’t accept anything on faith, then you’re doomed for a life dominated by doubt.’’

He then takes the unbelief as a challenge, adding, “I think you’ll make an excellent test case for me, you, and your daughter. If I could make you believe, then there’d be some hope for me. If I can’t… Well, I’m finished.”

Kris Kringle then makes Susan, Dorey's Christmas wishes, and Dorey’s boyfriend Bryan a top priority, going further than his character went in the 1947 version.

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” ― J. M. Barrie, “Peter Pan.”

Dorey’s lack of belief in Santa, aka Father Christmas, extends to all father figures, including potential mates. When her boyfriend Bryan proposes, she rejects him with a cold denunciation of marriage and all relationships.

“Have I ever given you any sign that I wanted to marry you?’’ she declares. “Then, tell me, whatever possessed you to make a presumption?

Like most people in secular America, we tend to believe what we want to believe “and disregard the rest.”

“I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn’t even know that I’m alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck.” — Neil Gaiman, American Gods.

Bryan tells Dorey, “You know, I’ve done everything I could to try to make you happy. I love your daughter like she’s my own. I loved you, getting nothing in return, never asking for anything in return. I put my faith in you.’’

Dorey shoots the wounded man harder in the heart, telling him in disgust, “Well, if that’s true, then you’re a fool.’’

“To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.” ― Mahatma Gandhi.

The Post Office and dollar bill show America believes more

Bryan (called Fred in the original) is the lawyer who makes the legal case for Santa. In the 1947 film, Fred uses the U.S. Post Office, delivering mail to Kris to make the case that the federal government recognizes him as real. In the 1994 version, Bryan hands the judge a dollar bill, circling “In God We Trust.’’

If the federal government sanctions believing in God, a higher power above government, the judge concludes, who was the court to doubt another traditional belief?

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The arc of the entire remake uses the story of Santa aka St. Nicholas, as a metaphor for God, showing the skeptics as negative, angry, and down. At the same time, true believers are shown as more loving, hopeful, and joyful.

Faith, believing in something bigger than yourself, is shown to be the true spirit of Christmas. Believing in love, relationships, and giving to others are the fruits of that belief.

We ultimately see believer Bryan make his most convincing case for love after midnight Mass in a Catholic Church, leading to every dream coming together.

“If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”― Gordon A. Eadie.