Cast and Crew:  Jack Albertson, Gene Lockhart, Jeff Corey, Mae Marsh, Thelma Ritter

What It’s About:  When Macy’s Santa shows up drunk for their annual Thanksgiving parade, their special events manager, Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara),  persuades a handy old man (Edmund Gwenn).  The man is hired as the store’s regular Santa, despite the fact that he claims he really is Kris Kringle.  All goes well until Kris is committed by the store’s psychologist (Porter Hall).  Can Fred Gailey (John Payne), Walker’s neighbor who just happens to be a lawyer, successfully defend Kringle in court?

Why Watch it Today?:  While today’s movie often plays on Thanksgiving as an introduction to the holiday season, the film ends on December 25th with Doris’s daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) getting her Christmas wish:  a house.  Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating!

Other Choices:  Christmas in Connecticut, A Christmas Story, Black Christmas, Big Business