Next to It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street might just be the second-best black-and-white Christmas film of all time: a funny and original story that captures the spirit of the season. In New York City during the holiday season, a Macy’s employee named Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) manages to find the store’s best Santa actor ever. Little does she know, she might have found the real Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn)
While jolly and charming, Doris feels genuinely unnerved that Kringle believes he is Santa Claus. And not only that, Kringle has convinced Doris’ young daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood), too. However, Kringle’s insistence lands him in a courtroom over accusations against his sanity. With a stint in a sanitarium on the line, a lawyer is tasked with proving that Santa Claus is real.