"Miracle on 34th Street" is one of the very best Christmas movies ever made. Yet, despite being practically perfect in every way, there have been at least four remakes...three made for TV and one for theaters. To me, this is like trying to remake the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo...why bother when the original is so perfect?!
Apparently, this version of the story was played LIVE and in color. Many TV shows were live in the 50s...and you can tell in this one when Ed Wynn flubs his lines in Dutch. While there is no color copy, a black & white copy was recently discovered. This is one of the wonderful things about the internet...as thousands and thousands of supposedly lost TV shows and movies have been recently discovered because collectors all over the globe have been able to share their finds. In this case, YouTube has a copy you can watch for free.
As for the film, it's good...though it's much shorter since it was made for a one hour time slot. Because of this, it feels sped up and many of the lovely touches from the original film are missing. Still, it's not bad at all...just not as perfect as the 1947 movie.
My feeling is that for the average person, this 1959 version is not necessary to watch. But for the curious and unusual viewer, it's a nice little film.
Apparently, this version of the story was played LIVE and in color. Many TV shows were live in the 50s...and you can tell in this one when Ed Wynn flubs his lines in Dutch. While there is no color copy, a black & white copy was recently discovered. This is one of the wonderful things about the internet...as thousands and thousands of supposedly lost TV shows and movies have been recently discovered because collectors all over the globe have been able to share their finds. In this case, YouTube has a copy you can watch for free.
As for the film, it's good...though it's much shorter since it was made for a one hour time slot. Because of this, it feels sped up and many of the lovely touches from the original film are missing. Still, it's not bad at all...just not as perfect as the 1947 movie.
My feeling is that for the average person, this 1959 version is not necessary to watch. But for the curious and unusual viewer, it's a nice little film.