View source for Miracle on 34th Street (NBC Friday Night Special Presentation)

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox television episode
| image = Miracle_on_34th_Street_(NBC_Friday_Night_Special_Presentation).jpg
| caption =
| series = NBC Friday Night Special Presentation
| season = 1
| episode = 9
| length = 60 minutes
| production =
| airdate = {{Start date|1959|11|27}}
| writer = Teleplay<br>by Harry Muheim<br>Based on the screenplay<br>by [[George Seaton]]<br>From the story<br>by [[Valentine Davies]]
| director = William Corrigan
| music = Robert Ascher (credited as “Binny”)
| guests =
*[[Ed Wynn]]
*[[Peter Lind Hayes]]
*[[Mary Healy (entertainer)|Mary Healy]]
*[[Orson Bean]]
| prev = All-[[Gershwin]] Program
| next = [[Art Carney]] Show
}}
"'''Miracle on 34th Street'''" is the Christmas episode, broadcast on November 27, 1959, of the American color [[Anthology series|anthology television series]] ''NBC Friday Night Special Presentation'', which showcased drama, comedy and musical entertainment and occasional news special reports, while alternating once a month with ''[[The Bell Telephone Hour]]'' musical series, also in color, in the 8:30–9:30 pm time slot from September 11, 1959, until June 17, 1960.<ref>[http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/08/07/88806164.html?pageNumber=47 Adams, Val. "SANTA CLAUS ROLE GOES TO ED WYNN Comic Gets Part in 'Miracle on 34th St.' on N.B.C.-TV — Sammy Glick Role Cast'" (''The New York Times'', August 7, 1959, page 47)]</ref>
==Plot==
The story takes place between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day in New York City, and focuses on the impact of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa.
==Cast==
*[[Ed Wynn]] as Kris Kringle
*[[Peter Lind Hayes]] as Fred Gaily
*[[Mary Healy (entertainer)|Mary Healy]] as Doris Walker
*[[Orson Bean]] as Dr. William Sawyer
*[[Loring Smith]] as Mr. Shellhammer
*[[Hiram Sherman]] as R. H. Macy
*[[Susan Gordon]] as Susan Walker
*Lawrence Weber as Mr. Mara
*John Gibson as Judge Harper
*Joey Walsh as Al, post office employee
*[[Arnie Freeman]] as Lou, post office employee
*William Post, Jr. as Mr. Gimbel
*Shirley Eggleston as Peter's mother
*Frank Daly as the bailiff
*William Griffis as first Santa Claus
==Production==
===Casting===
The episode stars [[Ed Wynn]], a recent [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]] nominee for 1956's ''[[The Great Man]]'' and soon-to-be [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] nominee for that year's production of ''[[The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film)|The Diary of Anne Frank]]''.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19591214&id=igowAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9QAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7043,1389347&hl=en Morse, Jim. "Ed Wynn's Recipe for Youth: He's a Firm Believer in Santa" (''Toledo Blade'', December 11, 1959, page 17)]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19591215&id=iwowAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9QAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7157,1721427&hl=en Morse, Jim. "Ed Wynn's Recipe for Youth: 'I'm Not an Elder Anything,' Says Clown - Turned Serious" (''Toledo Blade'', December 15, 1959, page 27)]</ref> Co-starring with Wynn were married actors [[Peter Lind Hayes]] and [[Mary Healy (entertainer)|Mary Healy]].
Also in the cast, playing the befuddled psychiatrist, was [[Orson Bean]], a regular, at the time, on the quiz show ''[[Keep Talking (TV series)|Keep Talking]]'', and child actress [[Susan Gordon]] who, earlier that year, had worked on episodes of two other live TV series, ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' and ''[[Goodyear Theatre]]'', as well as in two theatrical films, ''[[The Man in the Net]]'' and ''[[The Five Pennies]]''.<ref>[http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/11/22/89302990.html Photo caption: "'Miracle on 34th Street'—A bearded Ed Wynn beckons Susan Gordon. Mary Healy and Peter Lind Hayes play the parents on the N. B. C. show, Friday at 8:30 P. M." (''The New York Times'', November 22, 1959)]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OSuXAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Ed+Wynn%22+%22Kris+Kringle%22&pg=PA292 Crump, William D. ''The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3d ed.'' (McFarland, 2001)]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vfie60kGGuAC&dq=%22Ed+Wynn%22+%22Kris+Kringle%22&pg=PA145 Hischak, Thomas S. ''American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and Their Adaptations'' (McFarland, 2012)]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BUvTYfLP624C&dq=%22Ed+Wynn%22+%22Kris+Kringle%22&pg=PA256 Terrace, Vincent. ''Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed.'' (McFarland, 2013)]</ref><ref>[http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/11/28/80563583.html?pageNumber=43 R. F. S. "TV Review Ed Wynn, as Santa, Starts Yule Season" (''The New York Times'', November 28, 1959, page 43)]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19591128&id=tYotAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IZ0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5572,5533148&hl=en Dube, Bernard. "DIAL TURNS Kris Kringle Comedy Features Ed Wynn" (''The Gazette'' {Montreal}, November 28, 1959, page 27)]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.paleycenter.org/story-of-the-christmas-special |title=Monush, Barry. "Holiday Cheer The Story of the Christmas Special" "The 'Miracle' Years" (''The Paley Center for Media'') |access-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525000345/http://www.paleycenter.org/story-of-the-christmas-special |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Broadcast===
Presented the Friday after Thankgiving, the live broadcast was directed by William Corrigan.
==Recording==
The broadcast was long believed to have no surviving copies, but a kinescope was discovered at the [[Library of Congress]] where it was shown in December 2005. Susan Gordon who played Mary Healy's daughter and was ten at the time of the broadcast, attended the screening.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307164/trivia Details regarding the Library of Congress screening of ''Miracle on 34th Street'']</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0307164|Miracle on 34th Street}}
{{Miracle on 34th Street}}
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[[Category:1959 films]]
[[Category:1959 American television episodes]]
[[Category:1959 drama films]]
[[Category:1950s fantasy films]]
[[Category:American children's fantasy films]]
[[Category:American children's films]]
[[Category:American Christmas films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:Remakes of American films]]
[[Category:Films set in department stores]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Miracle on 34th Street]]
[[Category:Santa Claus in film]]
[[Category:Santa Claus in television]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy films]]