The holiday classic has one of the most improbable courtroom scenes ever. But then, how would you go about proving that your client is the real Santa Claus? John Payne portrays the eager young attorney whose client, one Kris Kringle (played by Edmund Gwenn), calmly insists he’s St. Nick. Maureen O’Hara is the cynical businesswoman who finally believes.
Her daughter, a young Natalie Wood, eventually does too. Treacle, to be sure, but with a humorous edge that has kept it going for Christmases past, present and future.
Trivia: Won three Oscars and ranked No. 9 among The American Film Institute’s “Most Inspiring Films of All Time.”
