SANTA AND THE MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

According to Natalie Wood's biographer, during the shoot for "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947), she was convinced that Edmund Gwenn was actually Santa Claus (by all accounts, he was a very good natured man on the set). It wasn't until she saw him out of costume at the wrap party that she realized he wasn't Santa.

The cast and crew were unanimous in their opinion of Gwenn: they loved him. Alvin Greenman who played Alfred called him "a dear, dear man," and Robert Hyatt, who played Tommy Mara, Jr., said in a 2001 interview, "He was a really nice guy, always happy, always smiling. He had this little twinkle in his eye." Added Maureen O'Hara, "By the time we were halfway through the shoot, we all believed Edmund really was Santa Claus. I've never seen an actor more naturally suited for a role."

Unbeknownst to most parade watchers, Gwenn played Santa Claus in the actual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held on November 28, 1946. He fulfilled the duties of most parade Santas, including addressing the crowd from Macy's marquee after it was over. He was introduced to the crowd by Philip Tonge, who played Mr. Shellhammer, and later unveiled the mechanical Christmas display windows to the accompaniment of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite." This gesture symbolized the opening of the Christmas season there.

Both Macy's and Gimbel's were approached by the producers for permission to have them depicted in the film. Both wanted to see the finished film first before they gave approval. If either had refused, the film would have had to been extensively edited and re-shot to eliminate the references. Fortunately at the test viewing, both were pleased with the film and gave their permission.

When Gwenn accepted his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role, he said, "Now I know there's a Santa Claus."

HOLLYWOOD BEAUTY: NATALIE WOOD

 Natalie Wood died way too young and way too tragically. Her beauty never faltered in all her years in Holywood. Here are a few examples of that beauty...

WHAT CHRISTOPHER WALKEN KNOWS

When news broke recently that Robert Wagner is officially a “person of interest” in the 1981 death of Natalie Wood, actor Christopher Walken — one of the last people to see Wood alive — didn’t make a statement. But don’t expect him to say much on the topic — ever.

Walken was one of the three people on Wood and Wagner’s boat, the Splendour, when she was found dead, floating in the water off California’s Catalina Island, on Nov. 29, 1981. The third person was Dennis Davern, the boat’s captain. While Wagner wrote about the tragedy in his 2009 memoir, Pieces of My Heart: A Life, and Davern has given interviews to the likes of Today and TMZ, Walken has rarely commented.

He gave a curt quote to People magazine about Wood’s death in 1986: “I don’t know what happened,” Walken said. “She slipped and fell in the water. I was in bed then. It was a terrible thing. Look, we’re in a conversation I won’t have. It’s a f***ing bore.” The magazine noted that Walken “snapped” his response and that his eyes were “icy.”

However, Walken opened up more in a 1997 interview with Playboy, theorizing how Wood ended up in the water.

“Anybody there saw the logistics — of the boat, the night, where we were, that it was raining — and would know exactly what happened,” Walken told the magazine (and recently referenced in the Hollywood Reporter). “You hear about things happening to people — they slip in the bathtub, fall down the stairs, step off the curb in London because they think that the cars come the other way — and they die. You feel you want to die making an effort at something; you don’t want to die in some unnecessary way.”

Walken had accompanied Wood, his co-star in the 1983 thriller Brainstorm, and her famous husband on their Thanksgiving weekend trip.

“What happened that night only she knows, because she was alone,” Walken said. “She had gone to bed before us, and her room was at the back. A dinghy was bouncing against the side of the boat, and I think she went out to move it. There was a ski ramp that was partially in the water. It was slippery — I had walked on it myself. She had told me she couldn’t swim; in fact, they had to cut a swimming scene from [Brainstorm]. She was probably half asleep, and she was wearing a coat.”

Walken suspected that Wood also might have hit her head before falling into the water....

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ROBERT WAGNER: PERSON OF INTEREST

Nearly 40 years after Natalie Wood died under mysterious circumstances, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators say her widower Robert Wagner is a person of interest in the case.

“As we’ve investigated the case over the last six years, I think he’s more of a person of interest now,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant John Corina said in an upcoming interview with CBS’ 48 Hours. “I mean, we know now that he was the last person to be with Natalie before she disappeared.”

Wagner’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The Hollywood starlet was married to Wagner from 1972 until her death.

Wood died on Nov. 29, 1981, off of Catalina Island in California. The incident happened while the 43-year-old actress was sailing with her husband on their yacht, Splendour. Christopher Walken, Wood’s then-costar in the movie Brainstorm, and the boat’s captain, Dennis Davern, were also on board.

Robert Wagner called "person of interest" in mysterious Natalie Wood death.

Investigators tell "48 Hours" they have a person of interest in the mysterious death of actress Natalie Wood. In November 1981, the "Rebel Without a Cause" actress drowned after disappearing from her family's yacht. Wood's death was originally ruled an accident, but in 2011, the Los Angeles County sheriff's department re-opened the investigation. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty joins "CBS This Morning" to preview her report, which airs Saturday, Feb. 3, at 10/9c on CBS.

At the time, her death was classified as an accidental drowning, but the case was reopened in 2011.

Wagner has refused to speak with investigators since they began to look into the circumstances surrounding Wood’s death again.

“I haven’t seen him tell the details that match all the other witnesses in this case,” Corina said of Wagner. “I think he’s constantly changed his story a little bit. And his version of events just don’t add up.”

Detectives who spoke with 48 Hours noted that there were numerous bruises on Wood’s body that appeared to be new, according to her autopsy report.

“She looked like a victim of an assault,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Ralph Hernandez.

When asked if Wood’s death was a murder rather than a tragic accident, Corina said, “I think it’s suspicious enough to make us think that something happened.”

In Wagner’s 2008 memoir, Pieces of My Heart, he wrote that after a night of drinking, he got into an argument with Walken over Wood’s career.

At one point, the now 87-year-old actor wrote, “I picked up a wine bottle, slammed it on the table and broke it into pieces.”

As for what caused her to fall off the boat, Wagner wrote it was “all conjecture. Nobody knows. There are only two possibilities: either she was trying to get away from the argument, or she was trying to tie the dinghy. But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened.”

In 2016, Wagner spoke to PEOPLE about his family’s heartbreak and his close bond with his stepdaughter and Wood’s daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner.

“We were all so shattered by the loss, and we were hanging on to each other,” Wagner said. “My bond with Natasha is very, very intense. We’ve hung onto each other through the years and she means the world to me.”

The 48 Hours report includes the latest information from interviews with the detectives and Wood’s sister Lana, as well as archival interviews with Wagner, Davern and others. The show’s efforts to get comment from Wagner and Walken were unsuccessful.

Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water will air Saturday, Feb. 3, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS...

HAUNTED HOLLYWOOD: NATALIE WOOD

The owner of the yacht on which Natalie Wood was last seen claims the boat is haunted by the former actress.

Ron Nelson told Radar Online that the spirit of the Hollywood star is haunting him and he is so spooked he is selling the "Splendour."

He claims he has had several unexplained accidents on the boat and once felt a strange presence beside him.

"I've been hurt twice in the boat mysteriously. Weird falls. It's just like my feet came out from under me and I fell," he said.

On a trip to Hawaii, he became even more spooked.

"Something sat down on the bed and then left," he said.

Nelson even had the boat blessed by two Hawaiian priests — or kahunas — to cleanse the vessel.

But there may be another reason for selling up. The "Splendour" was damaged in a recent hurricane.

Wood was on the boat in November 1981 while on a weekend trip to Santa Catalina Island, Calif., with her husband Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken.

Her body was discovered a mile away from the boat and her death was initially as an accident by drowning and hypothermia.

The “Rebel Without a Cause” and “West Side Story” star was just 43 at the time of her death.

The cause of death was subsequently changed to "drowning and other undetermined factors" two years ago, following claims by the boat's captain Denis Davern that he had lied during the investigation and that Wood and Wagner had fought in the evening prior to Wood's death...

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PHOTOS OF THE DAY: SMOKIN' CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

The world knows now that smoking cigarettes is not the healthiest thing you can do for your body. However, back in the days of classic Hollywood, almost everyone smoked. Yes, it is a nasty habit, but classic Hollywood made it look good. Just look at some of these pics of the stars lighting up...

JANE GREER (1924-2001)

BURT LANCASTER (1913-1994)

JUDY GARLAND (1922-1969) and FRANK SINATRA (1915-1998)

PAUL NEWMAN (1925-2008)

BETTE DAVIS (1908-1989)

NATALIE WOOD (1938-1981)

BORN ON THIS DAY: NATALIE WOOD

When I first started getting into classic movies, I never thought much about Natalie Wood. However, as I have watched more of her movies, I thought she was a great child star, and a beautiful actress when she got older. It is sad that Natalie Wood left us so quickly and tragically, but it is great to celebrate her work. Natalie Wood would have been 76 years old today. She was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko in San Francisco on July 20, 1938, to Russian immigrant parents Nikolai Stepanovich Zakharenko and Maria Stepanovna (née Zudilova; 1912–1996). As an adult, she stated, "I'm very Russian, you know." She spoke both English and Russian with an American accent. Her father was born in Vladivostok and he, his mother, and two brothers, immigrated to Montreal, Quebec, and later to San Francisco. There, he worked as a day laborer and carpenter.

Biographer Warren Harris writes that under the family's "needy circumstances", her mother may have transferred those ambitions to her middle daughter, Natalie. Her mother would take Natalie to the movies as often as she could: "Natalie's only professional training was watching Hollywood child stars from her mother's lap," notes Harris.

Shortly after Wood's birth in San Francisco, her family moved to nearby Sonoma County, and lived in Santa Rosa, California, where Wood was noticed during a film shoot in downtown Santa Rosa. Her mother soon moved the family to Los Angeles and pursued a career for her daughter. Wood's younger sister, Svetlana Zacharenko — now known as Lana Wood — also became an actress and later a Bond girl. She and Lana have an older half sister, Olga Viriapaeff. Though Natalie had been born "Natalia Zacharenko", her father later changed the family name to "Gurdin" and Natalie was often known as "Natasha", the diminutive of Natalia. The studio executives at RKO Radio Pictures, David Lewis and William Goetz, later changed her name to "Natalie Wood".

Wood made her film début a few weeks before turning five during a fifteen-second scene in the 1943 film Happy Land. Despite the brief part, she attracted the notice of the director, Irving Pichel, who remained in contact with Wood's family for two years when another role came up. The director telephoned Wood's mother and asked her to bring her daughter to Los Angeles for a screen test. Wood's mother became so excited at the possibilities, she overreacted and "packed the whole family off to Los Angeles to live," writes Harris. Wood's father opposed the idea, but his wife's "overpowering ambition to make Natalie a star" took priority. According to Wood's sister, Lana Wood, Pichel "discovered her and wanted to adopt her."

Wood, then seven years old, got the part and played a German orphan opposite Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert in Tomorrow Is Forever (1946). Welles later said that Wood was a born professional, "so good, she was terrifying." After Wood acted in another film directed by Pichel, her mother signed her up with 20th Century Fox studio for her first major role, the 1947 Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street; the film made her one of the top child stars in Hollywood. Within a few months after the film's release, Wood was so popular that Macy's invited her to appear in the store's annual Thanksgiving Day parade. The rest is Hollywood history. Wood became the leading teenage star in the 1950s, and then a great leading lady of the 1960s and 1970s. A tragic death in 1981 silenced Wood’s talent, but the films will keep her talent and beauty alive forever…

NATALIE WOOD'S CAR FOR SALE

A stunning Mercedes originally owned by tragic Hollywood beauty Natalie Wood is expected to sell for £1 million at auction.

Wood was just 19 when she bought the brand-new Mercedes 300 SL Roadster in January 1958. Her 300 SL Roadster was one of the most sought after and exclusive cars of the day thanks to its looks and stunning performance.

And the young starlet made it one of the most unmistakable motors in Hollywood after she had it repainted PINK.

The Roadster, which is a convertible version of the iconic 300 SL ‘Gullwing’, is powered by a 3-litre engine developing 220bhp.This gives the Mercedes a top speed of more than 150mph – making it one of the fastest cars of its day.

Wood’s car, which has a red interior, also had the benefit of having the desirable Rudge wheels, with just 25 fitted by the factory. The car was later resprayed back to its original silver blue and has undergone an award-winning restoration.

It is going to be sold by its current owner at RM Auctions’ Amelia Island sale in Florida on March 8. Experts at RM expect the car to sell for around £1 million ($1.75m) when it crosses the auction block.

Gord Duff, car specialist at RM Auctions, said: “The 300 SL market is hungry for high-quality restorations with desirable factory options.

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ROBERT WAGNER REFUSES TO CO-OPERATE

In the latest news from this decades old Natalie Wood drowning saga, it seems that her husband actor Robert Wagner is refusing to be interviewed by police as part of them reopening the Wood drowning.

Wagner was interviewed by authorities soon after Wood's drowning in 1981, but the actor is the only person who was on the yacht the night Wood died who has not spoken to detectives as part of the latest inquiry, despite repeated requests and attempts, sheriff's Lt. John Corina said.

Blair Berk, an attorney for Wagner and his family, said the actor had cooperated with authorities since his wife died.

Detectives began re-investigating the case in November 2011. Since then investigators have interviewed more than 100 people, but Wagner has refused and Corina said the actor's representatives have not given any reason for his silence.

The detective's remarks provided new insight into the case that has remained one of Hollywood's enduring mysteries. Earlier this week, coroner's officials released an updated autopsy report that had been under a security hold. It detailed why Wood's death had been reclassified from an accidental drowning to a drowning caused by "undetermined factors."

"Mr. Wagner has fully cooperated over the last 30 years in the investigation of the accidental drowning of his wife in 1981," Berk said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Wagner has been interviewed on multiple occasions by the Los Angeles sheriff's department and answered every single question asked of him by detectives during those interviews."
After 30 years, Berk said, neither Wagner nor his daughters have any new information to add. She said the latest investigation was prompted by people seeking to exploit and sensationalize the 30th anniversary of the death.

The renewed inquiry came after the yacht's captain Dennis Davern told "48 Hours" and the "Today" show that he heard Wagner and Wood arguing the night of her disappearance and believed Wagner was to blame for her death.

Authorities have not identified any suspects in the case. Robert Wagner is not currently a suspect.

Wood, 43, was on a yacht with Wagner, Christopher Walken and the boat captain on Thanksgiving weekend of 1981 before she somehow ended up in the water.

Corina said Walken gave a prepared statement and spoke to detectives for an hour.

Detectives have also interviewed other actors who knew both Wagner and Wood to learn more about their relationship.

Corina said detectives have tried at least 10 times to interview Wagner but have been refused. He said some of the refusals have come from the actor's attorney, and that detectives at one point traveled to Colorado to try to speak with Wagner but were unsuccessful.

Corina said the latest inquiry had turned up new evidence.

"Most of the people we've talked to were never talked to 30 years ago," he said. "We've got a lot of new information."

Asked if the information might lead to criminal charges, Corina said that would be up to prosecutors if they are presented a case.

"All we can do is collect the facts," he said. "We're still trying to collect all the facts."

Corina said new people have emerged with information each time the case is in the news. Detectives would like to interview other people who haven't agreed to talk, he said.

Coroner's officials released an update autopsy report on Monday that detailed the reasons Wood's death certificate was changed last year from a drowning death to "drowning and other undetermined factors."

The updated report states the change was made in part because investigators couldn't rule out that some of the bruises and marks on Wood's body happened before she went into the water.

"Since there are unanswered questions and limited additional evidence available for evaluation, it is opined by this medical examiner that the manner of death should be left as undetermined," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran wrote in the report completed in June.

Officials also considered that Wood wasn't wearing a life jacket, had no history of suicide attempts and didn't leave a note as reasons to amend the death certificate.

Wood was famous for roles in films such as "West Side Story" and "Rebel Without a Cause" and was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Conflicting versions of what happened on the yacht have contributed to the mystery of her death. Wood, Wagner and Walken had all been drinking heavily in the hours before the actress disappeared.

Wagner wrote in a 2008 memoir that he and Walken argued that night. He wrote that Walken went to bed and he stayed up for a while, but when he went to bed, he noticed that his wife and a dinghy that had been attached to the yacht were missing.

"Nobody knows," he wrote. "There are only two possibilities; either she was trying to get away from the argument, or she was trying to tie the dinghy. But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened"...

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MORE SUSPICION IN NATALIE WOOD DROWNING

A new coroner's report casts doubt on the actress's accidental death ruling, citing scratches and bruises that likely occurred before she fell into the ocean and drowned.

Actress Natalie Wood suffered fresh scratches and bruises before she landed in the Pacific Ocean and drowned, according to a new review of the 1981 coroner's report that casts further doubt on the original accidental death ruling.

A new supplemental report released Monday reveals new details about the revisions to Natalie Wood's coroner's report, offering further explanation into why her official cause of death was changed from "accidental" to "undetermined" in July.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reopened the case in 2011 that originally determined Wood had died of accidental drowning after falling overboard the boat belonging to her husband, Robert Wagner, near Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California on Nov. 29, 1981.

The new report, released Monday, said the coroner's new review of the autopsy could not verify that the pre-mortem scratches and bruises were caused by a fall off a dinghy or an attempt to climb back into the boat, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"The location of the bruises, the multiplicity of the bruises, lack of head trauma, or facial bruising support bruising having occurred prior to the entry into the water," said Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, in a supplemental report filed June 15, 2012.

"Since there are many unanswered questions and limited additional evidence available for evaluation, it is opined by this Medical Examiner that the manner of death should be left as undetermined."

The report found there were conflicting statements about the moments before and after Wood went missing, whether she argued with Wagner and what time she disappeared. An examination of her stomach contents suggested she died around midnight, but she wasn't reported missing until after 1:30 a.m.

Since the dingy could not be reexamined for scratches, the coroner said he could not determine whether she attempted to climb back in.

Christopher Walken and the boat's captain were also on board when Wood disappeared. Wagner and Walken got into a heated argument over Wood's career; it remains unclear if Wood herself was involved in the argument.

Wood went to the master's cabin alone while the two men were still fighting, and Wagner says she had disappeared by the time he went to bed.

The theory--at least the one that doesn't accuse Wager of murdering his wife--is that the dinghy came loose and Wood fell overboard while trying to refasten it...

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NATALIE WOOD DROWNING CASE REOPENED

Natalie Wood's Drowning Case Reopened by L.A. Homicide Division
by Associated Press

Thirty years after her drowning off the coast of California was ruled an accident, a homicide investigation has been opened in the death of actress Natalie Wood.

Los Angeles County sheriffs will speak to reporters Friday about the decision to take another look at Wood's nighttime demise on Nov. 29, 1981.

Wood drowned after spending several hours drinking on Catalina Island and a yacht with husband Robert Wagner, fellow actor Christopher Walken and the ship's captain.

The circumstances of Wood's drowning death nearly 30 years ago remain one of Hollywood's enduring mysteries and continue to create renewed intrigue, with homicide detectives unexpectedly reopening a case that had long been classified as a tragic accident.

Natalie Wood's sister, Lana, also told TMZ that she believes Wagner withheld information from authorities after the drowning. This seems to contradict earlier statements from Lana Wood that Wagner had nothing to do with her sister's death.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Thursday the renewed inquiry was prompted by unspecified new information about Wood's case. The Los Angeles Times quoted Sheriff Lee Baca as saying recent comments by the captain, Dennis Davern, who was interviewed for a book project and whose comments from a 2000 article by Vanity Fair are being featured on a new print edition and a "48 Hours Mystery" episode that focus on Hollywood scandals.

In the book -- "Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour" -- authors Marti Rulli and Splendour Captain Dennis Davern say before Natalie disappeared from the boat, she was drinking and taking Quaaludes with Wagner and Walken.

In Vanity Fair, Davern is quoted as saying that Wood and Wagner fought in their cabin before the actress went missing. Coroner's officials ruled her death an accidental drowning, perhaps caused by her slipping off the boat while trying to tie down a dinghy.

But Wood's sister Lana told TMZ the actress was deathly afraid of water.

Coroner's officials said that Wood was "possibly attempting to board the dinghy and had fallen into the water, striking her face."

Investigators have returned to Catalina, as well as New Jersey to interview Rulli, TMZ reports. They've also gone to Augustine, Florida to interview the Captain, and they're going to Hawaii to look at the Splendour, according to TMZ.

It is not the first time Davern has contradicted statements he and others made to investigators after Woods' death, and the magazine notes that he has told his story through tabloids and has been shopping for a book deal for years. Attempts to reach Davern were unsuccessful Thursday night.

Sheriff's officials are also hoping for tips from the public that may shed new light on how Wood, who was afraid of being in the water, ended up drowning.

"Although no one in the Wagner family has heard from the LA County Sheriff's department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death," Wagner spokesman Alan Nierob wrote in a statement.

Wood, a three-time Oscar nominee famous for roles in "West Side Story," `'Rebel Without a Cause" and other Hollywood hits, was 43 when she died. She and Wagner, star of the TV series "Hart to Hart," were twice married, first in 1957 before divorcing six years later. They remarried in 1972.

Lana Wood wrote in a biography on her sister, "What happened is that Natalie drank too much that night." It is unclear why she is now telling TMZ that Wagner has withheld information.

Wagner wrote in a 2008 autobiography that he blamed himself for his wife's death.

He recounted the night of Wood's disappearance, during which the couple and Walken drank at a restaurant and on the boat. Wood went to the master cabin during an argument between her husband and Walken. The last time Wagner saw his wife, she was fixing her hair in a bathroom mirror and she shut the door.

Wagner wrote that despite various theories about what led Wood to the water, which she feared, it was impossible to know what exactly happened.

"Nobody knows," he wrote. "There are only two possibilities; either she was trying to get away from the argument, or she was trying to tie the dinghy. But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened."

Later in the book, Wagner wrote, "Did I blame myself? If I had been there, I could have done something. But I wasn't there. I didn't see her."

He wrote that he has never returned to Catalina Island.

Phone and email messages to Walken's publicist from the Associated Press were not returned Thursday. Walken and Wood were co-stars in "Brainstorm," which was the actress' final big screen role.

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UPDATE 1/15/13: NEW INFO HAS COME OUT - PLEASE READ HERE!!!!

MOVIE SHOWCASE: MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

I remember seeing the original MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET as a child, and I really believed that Edmund Gwenn was Santa Claus. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET is a 1947Christmas film written by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. It is the story of what takes place in New York City following Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as people are left wondering whether or not a department store Santa might be the real thing. Because of its Christmas theme, the film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Gentleman's Agreement.

Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is indignant to find that the person (Percy Helton) assigned to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he complains to event director Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to take his place. He does such a fine job that he is hired to be the Santa for Macy's flagship New York City store on 34th Street.

Ignoring instructions to steer parents to goods that Macy's wants to sell, Kris tells one shopper (Thelma Ritter) to go to another store for a fire engine for her son that Macy's doesn't have. She is so impressed, she tells Julian Shellhammer (Philip Tonge), head of the toy department, that she will become a loyal customer. Kris later informs another mother that archrival Gimbels has better skates for her daughter.

Fred Gailey (John Payne), an attorney and neighbor of Doris, is babysitting the young divorcee's six-year-old daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) and takes her to see Kris, who makes an impression on the young girl. When Doris finds out,she asks Kris to tell Susan that he really isn't Santa Claus, but Kris surprises her by insisting that he is.

Fearing that he may be insane, Doris decides to fire him out of a concern that he might harm someone. However, Kris has generated so much good publicity and customer goodwill for Macy's that a delighted R. H. Macy (Harry Antrim) promises Doris and Shellhammer generous bonuses. To overcome Doris's misgivings, Shellhammer proposes getting Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) to give Kris a "psychological evaluation". Kris easily passes the test, but antagonizes Sawyer by questioning Sawyer's own psychological health.

The store expands on the marketing concept. Anxious to avoid looking greedy by comparison, Gimbels implements the same referral policy throughout its entire chain, forcing Macy's and other stores to respond in kind. Eventually, Kris accomplishes the impossible: Mr. Macy shakes hands with Mr. Gimbel (Herbert H. Heyes).

Pierce (James Seay), the doctor at Kris's nursing home, assures Doris and Shellhammer that Kris's delusion is harmless. Meanwhile, Fred offers to let Kris stay with him so he can be closer to work. Kris makes a deal with Fred – he will work on Susan's cynicism while Fred does the same with the disillusioned Doris, still bitter over her failed marriage.

Then Kris learns that Sawyer has convinced a young, impressionable employee, Alfred (Alvin Greenman), that he is mentally ill simply because he is generous and kind-hearted (Alfred plays Santa Claus at his neighborhood YMCA). Kris confronts Sawyer and, in a fit of anger, raps him on the head with his cane. Doris and Shellhammer only see the aftermath; Sawyer exaggerates his injury in order to have Kris confined to Bellevue Mental Hospital.

Tricked into cooperating and believing Doris to be part of the deception, a discouraged Kris deliberately fails his mental examination and is recommended for permanent commitment. However, Fred persuades Kris not to give up. To secure his release, Fred gets a formal hearing before Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) of the New York Supreme Court. Ordered by Mr. Macy to get the matter dropped, Sawyer pleads with Fred not to seek publicity. To Sawyer's dismay, Fred thanks him for the idea. As a result, Judge Harper is put in an awkward spot – even his own grandchildren are against him for "persecuting" Santa Claus.

Fred quits his job at a prestigious law firm to defend Kris and has a falling out with Doris, who calls his resignation an "idealistic binge" over some "lovely intangibles." He replies that one day she might discover that they are the only worthwhile things in life.

At the hearing, District Attorney Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) gets Kris to assert that he is in fact Santa Claus and rests his case, believing he has prima facie proven his point. Fred stuns the court by arguing that Kris is not insane because he actually is Santa Claus – and he will prove it. Mara requests the judge rule that Santa Claus does not exist. Harper is warned privately in chambers by his political adviser, Charlie Halloran (William Frawley), that doing so would be disastrous for his upcoming reelection bid. The judge buys time by deciding to hear evidence before ruling.

Fred calls R.H. Macy as a witness. Mara pointedly asks if he really believes Kris to be Santa Claus. Macy starts to equivocate, but when Mara asks him point-blank, Macy remembers the expressions on the faces of small children upon seeing Kris and firmly states, "I do!" On leaving the stand, Macy fires Sawyer. Fred then calls Mara's own young son to the stand. Thomas Mara Jr. testifies that his father had told him that Santa was real and that "My daddy would never tell a lie!" Outmaneuvered, Mara concedes the point.

Mara then demands that Fred prove that Kris is "the one and only" Santa Claus on the basis of some competent authority. While Fred searches frantically, Susan, by now a firm believer in Kris, writes him a letter to cheer him up, which Doris also signs. A mail sorter (Jack Albertson) sees that it is addressed to the courthouse and realizes that the post office could clear out the many letters to Santa taking up space in its dead letter office by delivering them to Kris.

Kris is uplifted by Susan's letter. Just then, Fred learns that over 50,000 pieces of mail have been delivered to Kris. He presents Judge Harper with three letters addressed only to "Santa Claus", which the U.S. Post Office (which was then a Cabinet-level department of the federal government) has just delivered to Kris. When Harper demands that Fred produce "further exhibits", the judge is soon hidden behind many bags of letters. Harper rules in favor of Kris. Afterwards, Doris invites Kris to dinner, but he reminds her that "It's Christmas Eve!"

On Christmas morning, Susan is disillusioned because Kris was unable to get her what she told him she wanted most. As they are about to leave, Kris gives Fred and Doris a route home that will supposedly avoid traffic. Along the way, Susan is overjoyed to see the house of her dreams (exactly matching the drawing she had given Kris earlier) with a For Sale sign in the front yard. Fred learns that Doris had encouraged Susan to have faith, and suggests they get married and purchase the house. He then boasts that he must be a great lawyer, since he managed to do the seemingly impossible. However, when he notices a cane leaning against the fireplace that looks just like the one Kris used, he wonders "Maybe I didn't do such a wonderful thing after all."