Old Saint Nick probably isn’t on your mind in the middle of summer, but that didn’t matter for audiences in 1947 who enjoyed the classic Miracle on 34th Street for the first time. Released in May of that year, it exceeded expectations to become one of the most beloved traditional holiday movies. Even after the successful remake, the original stands its own ground.
Starring a young Natalie Woods, the film’s unusual release date is only one of the surprising things we uncovered about the film that helped us all believe in a little Christmas magic.
1. 20th Century Fox studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck was originally against producing the film because he felt it was too corny to succeed.
share
2. They filmed at the actual Macy’s in New York City on 34th Street and would often exceed the store’s electrical capacity, disrupting business.
share
3. Edmund Gwenn really filled in as Santa for the 1946 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, including addressing the crowd following the parade.
share
4. The movie was filmed during a bitterly cold New York City winter and several cameras froze during production.
share
5. The little Dutch girl is actually speaking Dutch in this scene, telling Santa that she doesn’t want any gifts this year because she already got the best gift from her new mother adopting her.
share
6. The film received a ‘B’ rating from the Legion of Decency due to Maureen O’Hara portraying a divorcée.
share
7. Natalie Woods spent the entire production believing Edmund Gwenn was actually Santa. She finally realized he wasn’t the real deal when he came to the wrap party without a beard.
share
8. Maureen O’Hara was essentially forced into joining production, having gone back to Ireland just before filming began. Any bitterness disappeared when she read the script, however.
share
9. Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted on premiering the film in May, so the studio was forced to figure out a way to promote it without mentioning its Christmas theme at all.
share
10. There are 21 bags of mail carried into the court room scene.
share
11. According to Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood column in 1947, employees of the New York City Macy’s where filming took place were given a half-day off for its premiere at the Roxy.
share
12. Despite the studio’s wariness in producing the film, it went on to gross over four times its production cost.
share
And, of course, Edmund Gwenn sported his own authentic, tug-proof beard throughout production. Natalie Woods might have stopped believing, but I’m still not convinced he isn’t really Santa.
