Don’t you just hate it when people won’t believe who you are when you tell them? Well, that’s kind of how it is for Kris Kringle in this 1947 Academy Award winning film starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. Many versions of this film have been created but, in my opinion, this one is the best.

Kringle (Gwenn) just happens to show up for New York’s Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Just in time too because Doris Walker (O’Hara) is beside herself at having an intoxicated Santa in the parade. So naturally she sees this Santa-looking type just standing around and asks if he can fill in. And of course he does. The magic ensues from there.

Kris becomes Macy’s department store Santa for the season and in turn tells shoppers where to go to find toys that Macy’s doesn’t have in stock. This novel idea makes one woman tell the head of the toy department, Mr. Shellhammer, that she will now be a loyal Macy’s customer. Kris is a hit.

But when Doris’s neighbor, Fred Gailey (Payne), an attorney, takes her daughter Susan (Wood) to see Santa, Doris has second thoughts about hiring Kris to be Santa. Because she has always told Susan that Santa is not real and Susan has grown up not believing in fairy tales. And after Susan witnesses Kris speak Dutch to a little girl, she is probably feeling confused. After Doris asks Kris to tell Susan that he is not the real Santa Claus and he refuses, Doris considers firing him.

But because of his ongoing popularity and the attention Macy’s is getting because of him, Mr. Macy orders Kris to stay and have a psychological evaluation instead with Granville Sawyer. In which Kris insists he is Santa Claus. Which pisses Sawyer off. And Sawyer dismisses him. Which pisses Kris off and he hits Sawyer in the head with an umbrella, prompting him to be committed to Bellevue Hospital.

Fred rescues him from there and he takes Kris under his wing and has him live with him until they can go to court over this am-I-or-am-I-not-the-real-Santa-Claus bullshit.

While living with Fred, Kris visits Susan often and they play games and have many conversations. One such conversation leads to Susan showing Kris a picture of a dream house that she would like. A real house. Kris seems a bit taken aback but he does tell Susan he’ll see what he can do.

It’s finally Kris Kringle’s day in court. Fred calls Macy of all people to the stand and manages to get him to admit that he believes in Santa. Even the D.A.’s young son takes the stand and points out the real Santa in the courtroom. News of Santa being on trial has rocked New York. Someone at the post office gets the brilliant idea of sending all the dead letters they have addressed to Santa down to the courthouse. Which saves the day for Kris. Because, after all, what is more evidence that there is a real Santa other than tons of letters addressed to him?

In the end Susan in essence does receive her dream house, as she spots the very house from the picture with a “for sale” sign on her way home from the Macy’s Christmas party.

This one is meant to have in your Christmas movie library. It should be watched and enjoyed every year. The Library of Congress and the Academy Film Archive would agree, as it is in the National Film Registry as of 2005 and has been preserved as of 2009.