knightni

It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms... and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me... 7. Elf (13 of 21 lists - 106 points - highest ranking #1 Cowch) Elf is a 2003 Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and released in the United States on November 7, 2003. It stars Will Ferrell as the film's central character "Buddy", and Ed Asner as Santa Claus. As an infant in a New York City orphanage, Buddy had crawled into Santa Claus's bag on Christmas Eve, and Santa unwittingly brought him back to the North Pole. Not knowing to whom the child belonged, the elves decided that he would be raised by them and that it would never be disclosed to him that he was really a human. However, when Buddy overhears the other elves talking about the fact that he is human, he goes to his adoptive father Papa Elf, for advice. Papa Elf acknowledges that Buddy is, indeed, a human, and tells him the entire story of how he came to be raised by elves. Most important, he tells Buddy about his human father, Walter Hobbs, who lives in New York City. Buddy soon decides to head off on a quest to find his father which leads to all kinds of trouble. Plot Elf begins with narration by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart), explaining the only three jobs available to an elf: making shoes for a cobbler; baking cookies inside of trees; and working in Santa's workshop. He also explains Buddy's presence at the North Pole — as an infant in an orphanage, he crawled into Santa Claus's sack of toys one Christmas Eve and was accidentally taken to the North Pole. Santa (Edward Asner) decides to allow the child, called "Buddy" after a label on his diaper, to be raised by Papa Elf, who has no children of his own. As Buddy (Will Ferrell) grows, his height and poor toymaking skills raise awkward questions that his adoptive father continually waves away. Papa Elf also shows Buddy the jet engine he created in the 1960s to assist Santa's sleigh, which had run on the power of the Christmas spirit, until people began to doubt Santa's existence. After a string of accidents in which Buddy's non-elfness becomes obvious, Papa Elf finally breaks the news that he was adopted: his birth parents fell in love with each other when they were high school students in the 1970s, and nine months later, Buddy was born, in 1973. His late mother, Susan Wells, placed him for adoption at the orphanage. Buddy's now 46-year-old father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), was never aware of Buddy's existence, and has since become a children's book publishing executive with offices in the Empire State Building; Walter is presently married to Emily (Mary Steenburgen), and has a 10-year-old son, Michael (Daniel Tay). However Santa informs Buddy that Hobbs is unfortunately on the Naughty List for being a heartless grouch, but has confidence that Buddy can be able to change his Scrooge-like father into a kind and caring human being. Buddy is overwhelmed by the news, and with information from Papa Elf and encouragement from a snowman (Leon Redbone), he sets off to New York to find his biological father. Upon arriving, he is puzzled with the culture of the city, but eventually finds his way to Walter's office, only to be thrown out as Walter has no idea who Buddy is and is otherwise pressured with getting a new book published before the end of the year. Buddy finds a department store called Gimbels and comes across their Christmas display "The North Pole", and is subsequently mistaken as an employee by the department manager (Faizon Love). Buddy also meets fellow employee Jovie (Zooey Deschanel) and befriends her. When the manager says that Santa Claus is coming, Buddy assumes that the real Santa is coming and becomes very excited. After Gimbels closes for the night, Buddy secretly stays to decorate "The North Pole" for Santa's arrival. When the employees return, they are amazed at Buddy's work, and the manager fears someone is plotting to steal his job. When the store Santa arrives, Buddy spots him as a fake and gets into a fight around "The North Pole", destroying much of the decoration. He is fired and then arrested. Walter retrieves Buddy from jail, after getting a card from him that includes a picture of Walter and Susan, and learns through a paternity test that Buddy is indeed Walter's son. Walter allows Buddy to move into his apartment, hoping to get him to adjust to a normal life so that he can then move out on his own. Buddy quickly becomes friends with Michael, and Michael suggests that Buddy should go on a date with Jovie. Buddy takes the suggestion, and he and Jovie see several sites around New York City, and share a kiss while ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Buddy excitedly tries to tell Walter of his date, but barges in on a Christmas Eve meeting between Walter and a famous children's author and a little person, Miles Finch (Peter Dinklage) as a last attempt to get a book before Christmas; Buddy mistakes Miles as a fellow elf, and causes Miles to walk out on Walter. Walter tells Buddy to get out of his life forever, causing Buddy to run away. Michael returns home to finds Buddy's final message, and runs to tell his dad what happened. Walter realizes what he has done, and promptly leaves in the middle of an important meeting with his boss to go find Buddy, resulting in his being fired from the publishing company. Buddy, wandering through Central Park, comes across Santa's grounded sleigh. Santa explains that the engine broke off somewhere over the Park, and that without Christmas spirit, the sleigh will not fly. Walter and Michael, searching the park for Buddy, happen upon the engine, and they are shortly reunited with Buddy. Buddy works on repairing the sleigh's engine, while Walter and Michael, along with help from Jovie, attempt to distract the park rangers who have come to capture Santa Claus, as well as encourage everyone around to believe in the Christmas spirit. Santa and Buddy manage to take off just before the rangers arrive, but while the engine still fails, the others' efforts, including Walter's new belief in Christmas, have given the sleigh enough Christmas spirit to continue on its way and saving Christmas. After Christmas, Walter starts a new publishing company, with their first book, "Elf" written by Buddy Hobbs, becoming an award winning children's novel. Buddy and Jovie get married and have a daughter named Susie (which is seen, stitched on her hat). Selected cast and crew * Will Ferrell - Buddy Hobbs * Edward Asner - Santa Claus * Bob Newhart - Papa Elf * James Caan - Walter Hobbs * Mary Steenburgen - Emily Hobbs * Zooey Deschanel - Jovie * Daniel Tay - Michael Hobbs * Faizon Love - Krumpet (Gimbel's Manager) * Peter Dinklage - Miles Finch * Amy Sedaris - Deb * Michael Lerner - Fulton * Andy Richter - Morris * Kyle Gass - Eugene * Artie Lange - Gimbels Santa * Chris Turner - Buddy's stunt double * Kobe Bryant - Makes a short cameo appearance during the spirit of Christmas scene Directed by Jon Favreau; written by David Berenbaum; distributed by New Line Cinema.

I'm 35. I had them in my closet for about 15-25 years and got them out a few years ago. They're a fun read.

"Kyle Orton staring the receiver down."

And... we get only 3...

Ah, I have ones from the 70s-80s-90s.

Dumbass defense/special teams.

New or older...both?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 04:53 PM) There are typically a couple WR pairs each season that are good choices to start each week. Think of Holt/Bruce, Wayne/Harrison, Moss/Welker, etc in years past. Unfortunately for me I was not stacked at WR this season so I was forced to go with Marshall/Royal. Figured they got me that far so why not? Brandon Lloyd and Rashied Davis

QUOTE (Kid Gleason @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 08:29 PM) I'm spending my money on comics. Isn't that what everybody spends their money on??? Oh yeah? Like what?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 08:18 PM) My wife thinks I look like Jerry Owens for some reason. Is it your ugly swing?

In the "business" we call that a "fivehead." One step above a "forehead."

QUOTE (whtsoxfan @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 05:52 PM) No more worse than some of the dribble I've read Was there basketball involved?

Alright. I broke down and registered with facebook.

What's a "snow day"?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 03:22 PM) This is the major league equivilant to the "When I was your age" speech from your grandpa. I keep waiting for someone to tell Nolan Ryan that it isn't the 70's anymore. "Get off my lawn!"

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 10:10 AM) and then burned Then hacked into tiny little pieces and buried alive.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 01:08 PM) ttnaooff? what? http://www.hhgregg.com/ They just moved here to Indiana and are quickly moving west.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Dec 22, 2008 -> 11:00 AM) Im wondering who is going to rise up to challenge Best Buy in the next year or so. Fry's? Radioshack? Nobody? hhgregg

My oh my. Must be tough to have a birthday so close to Christmas. Have good ones, guys!

Of course, sir! A fine night for spirits - of one form or another, sir! 8. A Christmas Carol (1938) (10 of 21 lists - 86 points - highest ranking #2 scenario) A Christmas Carol is a 1938 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's novelette. Production Made by MGM, and originally intended to star Lionel Barrymore, who played the role of Scrooge annually on radio, but was forced to drop out of the film because of his arthritis, the movie starred Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene and Kathleen Lockhart as the Cratchits. Terry Kilburn, better known for his portrayal of Colley in Goodbye, Mr. Chips, costarred as Tiny Tim and a young June Lockhart appeared as one of the Cratchit daughters. Leo G. Carroll played Marley's Ghost. The characters of Fred (Scrooge's nephew), and Elizabeth, his fianceé (his wife in the novelette), were greatly expanded in order to work in a romantic angle to the story that Dickens did not intend. The couple was played by Barry MacKay and Lynne Carver. Ann Rutherford, better known as Polly Benedict in the Andy Hardy films and as Carreen O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, was a young and attractive Ghost of Christmas Past, rather than the somewhat unusual creation that Dickens described. The music for the film was composed by Franz Waxman, in contrast to most MGM films of the period, whose scores were composed by Herbert Stothart. Some of the grimmer aspects of the story went completely unmentioned or unseen, in order to make this a "family film" in the style of other MGM literary adaptations. Although Marley's Ghost did appear, the phantoms wailing outside Scrooge's window were not shown. Scrooge's fiancee, who eventually leaves him because of his miserly ways, was completely dropped from the film, as were the two starving children "Want" and "Ignorance", who hid within the folds of the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe. Also gone were the thieves who ransack Scrooge's belongings after he "dies" in the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come segment. One of very many adaptations of the work, this version was frequently revived in theatres by MGM, was shown on local television stations throughout the 1960's, and was once a staple of Chicago's WGN television station. For years it remained the most famous film version of the story, and the most lavish, though it clocked in at only 69 minutes. But its popularity was eclipsed by the 1951 film, after the 1951 version began its television career in 1970. There are also those who have found Reginald Owen's portrayal of Scrooge to be rather lacking, especially in comparison to later ones.

Now look what you've done! My bugs! My bugs! My bugs! 9. The Nightmare Before Christmas (7 of 21 lists - 65 points - highest ranking #1 SmashROT) The Nightmare Before Christmas (also known as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas) is a 1993 stop motion fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town". Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters. The remaining principal voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, and Glen Shadix. The genesis of The Nightmare Before Christmas started with a poem by Burton as a Disney animator in the early-1980s. With the success of Vincent in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short subject or 30-minute television special. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project, and in 1990, Burton and Disney made a development deal. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco. Walt Disney Pictures decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because they thought Nightmare would be "too dark and scary for kids".[2] The Nightmare Before Christmas has been viewed with critical and financial success. Disney has reissued the film under their Disney Digital 3-D format in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Plot "Halloween Town" is a dream world filled with citizens such as deformed monsters, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, vampires, werewolves, and witches. Alphard Skellington ("The Pumpkin King") leads them in a frightful celebration every Halloween, but he has grown tired of the same routine year after year. Wandering in the forest outside the town center, he accidentally opens a portal to "Christmas Town". Impressed by the feeling and style of Christmas, Jack presents his findings and his (somewhat limited) understanding of the holiday to the Halloween Town residents. They fail to grasp his meaning and compare everything he says to their idea of Halloween. He reluctantly decides to play along and announces that they will take over Christmas. Jack's obsession with Christmas leads him to usurp the role of Santa Claus. Every resident is assigned a task, while Sally, a rag doll woman who is created by the town's mad scientist, begins to feel a romantic attraction towards Jack. However, she alone fears that his plans will become disastrous. Jack assigns Lock, Shock, and Barrel, a trio of mischievous children, to abduct Santa and bring him back to Halloween Town. Against Jack's wishes and largely for their amusement, the trio deliver Santa to Oogie Boogie, a gambling-addict bogeyman who plots to play a game with Santa's life as the stake. Christmas Eve arrives and Sally attempts to stop Jack, but he embarks into the sky on a coffin-like sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer, guided by the glowing nose of his ghost dog Zero. He begins to deliver presents to children around the world, but the gifts (shrunken heads, Christmas tree-eating snakes, etc.) only terrify the recipients. Jack is believed to be an imposter attempting to imitate Santa, and the military goes on alert to blast him out of the sky. The sleigh is shot down and he is presumed dead by Halloween Town's citizens, but in fact he has survived the crash. Although he is depressed by the failure of his plan, he quickly regains his old spirit, having come up with new ideas for next Halloween. He then rushes back home to rescue Santa and put things right. Meanwhile, Sally attempts to free Santa but is captured by Oogie. Jack slips into the lair and frees them, then confronts Oogie and unravels his outer covering to spill out all the bugs that live inside him. With Oogie gone, Santa reprimands Jack before setting off to deliver the right presents to the world's children. He makes snow fall over Halloween Town to show that there are no hard feelings between himself and Jack; the townspeople are confused by the snow at first, but soon begin to play happily in it. Jack reveals that he is attracted to Sally just as she is to him, and they kiss under the full moon in the cemetery. Voice cast * Danny Elfman (singing) and Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington: A skeleton known as the "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town. He has a pet ghost dog named Zero, who has a small, glowing jack-o'-lantern nose. Jack tries to make Christmas "better" by adding elements of Halloween, but the ploy leads to disastrous results. * Catherine O'Hara as Sally: A rag doll-like creation of Finklestein. Sally forms a romantic attraction towards Jack and is the only citizen in Halloween Town who predicts Jack's disastrous results. * William Hickey as Doctor Finklestein: A mad scientist who "created" Sally. Finklestein creates the skeleton-like reindeer for Jack, and creates a soulmate at the end of the film. * Glenn Shadix as Mayor of Halloween Town: An enthusiastic leader who conducts town meetings and is excited by Jack's direction of taking over Christmas. * Ken Page as Oogie Boogie: A bogeyman and un-respected citizen in Halloween Town. Oogie Boogie has a passion for gambling. * Ed Ivory as Santa Claus: Responsible for the annual yearly celebration of Christmas by delivering presents to children around the world. Santa ends up saving Christmas when Jack almost (accidentally) destroys the holiday. Jack repeatedly and incorrectly pronounces his name as 'Sandy Claws'. Paul Reubens, O'Hara and Elfman also supply the voices of Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Reubens previously worked with Burton as Pee-wee Herman in Pee-wee's Big Adventure. In addition Elfman also plays "Clown with the Tear-Away Face". Production Burton wrote a three-page poem titled The Nightmare Before Christmas when he was a Disney animator in the early-1980s. Burton took inspiration from television specials of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas. With the success of Vincent in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short subject or 30-minute Holiday television special. Rick Heinrichs and Burton created concept art and storyboards, with Heinrichs also sculpting character models. "Back then, I would have done anything to get the project off ground," Burton explained. "There was a lot of talk of either a short film, like Vincent or a TV special, but it went nowhere. I also wanted to have Vincent Price as narrator." Burton showed Henry Selick, who was also a Disney animator in the early-1980s, the material he and Heinrichs developed. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project. In 1990, Burton found out that Disney still owned the film rights, and the two committed to produce a full-length film with Selick as director. Disney was looking forward to Nightmare "to show capabilities of technical and storytelling achievements that were present in Who Framed Roger Rabbit." Nightmare marked Burton's third film in a row to have a Christmas setting. Burton could not direct because of his commitment to Batman Returns and he did not want to be involved with "the painstakingly slow process of stop-motion". To adapt his poem into a screenplay, Burton approached Michael McDowell, his collaborator on Beetlejuice. McDowell and Burton experienced creative differences, which convinced Burton to make the film as a musical with lyrics and compositions by frequent collaborator Danny Elfman. Elfman and Burton created a rough storyline and two-thirds of the film's songs, while Selick and his team of animators began production in July 1991 in San Francisco, California with a crew of 200 workers. Joe Ranft worked as a storyboard artist. Elfman found writing Nightmare's 10 songs as "one of the easiest jobs I've ever had. I had a lot in common with Jack Skellington." Caroline Thompson still had yet to be hired to write the screenplay. With Thompson's screenplay, Selick stated, "there are very few lines of dialogue that are Caroline's. She became busy on other films and we were constantly rewriting, reconfiguring and developing the film visually." The work of Ray Harryhausen, Ladislas Starevich, Edward Gorey, Charles Addams, Jan Lenica, Francis Bacon and Wassily Kandinsky influenced the filmmakers. Selick described the production design as akin to a pop-up book. In addition, Selick stated, "When we reach Halloween Town, it's entirely German Expressionism. When Jack enters Christmas Town, it's an outrageous Dr. Seuss setpiece. Finally, when Jack is delivering presents in the "Real World", everything is plain, simple, and perfectly aligned." On the direction of the film, Selick reflected, "It's as though he [burton] laid the egg, and I sat on it and hatched it. He wasn't involved in a hands-on way, but his hand is in it. It was my job to make it look like "a Tim Burton film", which is not so different from my own films." When asked on Burton's involvement, Selick claimed, "I don't want to take away from Tim, but he was not in San Francisco when we made it. He came up five times over two years, and spent no more than eight or ten days in total." Walt Disney Animation Studios contributed with some use of second-layering traditional animation. Burton found production somewhat difficult because he was directing Batman Returns and in pre-production of Ed Wood. Soundtrack The film's soundtrack album was released in 1993 on Walt Disney Records. For the film's 2006 re-release in Disney Digital 3-D, a special edition of the soundtrack was released, featuring a bonus disc which contained covers of several of the film's songs by Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, and She Wants Revenge. Six original demo tracks by Elfman were also included. On September 30, 2008, Disney released the cover album Nightmare Revisited. Impact Release Walt Disney Pictures decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because they thought Nightmare would be "too dark and scary for kids". Selick remembered, "Their biggest fear, and why it was kind of a stepchild project, was they were afraid of their core audience hating the film and not coming. It wasn't too dark, too scary. Kids love to get scared. In fact, I don't think it's too scary at all. Even little, little kids, as young as three, a lot of them love that film and respond well to it." To help market the film "it was released as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," Burton explained. "But it turned more into more of a brand-name thing, it turned into something else, which I'm not quite sure about." Around the release of the film, Touchstone president David Hoberman quoted, "I hope Nightmare goes out and makes a fortune. If it does, great. If it doesn't, that doesn't negate the validity of the process. The budget was less than any Disney blockbuster so it doesn't have to earn Aladdin-sized grosses to satisfy us." The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 9. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas was given a limited release on October 15, 1993, before being wide released on October 29. The film earned $50 million in the US on its first theatrical run. Danny Elfman was worried the characterization of Oogie Boogie would be considered racist by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Elfman's predictions came true; however, director Henry Selick stated the character was inspired from the Betty Boop cartoon The Old Man of the Mountain. "Cab Calloway would dance his inimitable jazz dance and sing "Minnie the Moocher" or "Old Man of the Mountain", and they would rotoscope him, trace him, turn him into a cartoon character, often transforming him into an animal, like a walrus," Selick continued. "I think those are some of the most inventive moments in cartoon history, in no way racist, even though he was sometimes a villain. We went with Ken Page, who is a black singer and he had no problem with it". The film was nominated for both the Academy Award for Visual Effects and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost both categories to Jurassic Park. Nightmare won the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film, while Elfman won Best Music. Selick and the animators were also nominated for their work. Elfman lost the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score to Kitarō of Heaven & Earth. Legacy With successful home video sales, Nightmare achieved the ranks of a cult film. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment first released the film on DVD in December 1997. It contained no special features. Nightmare was released a second time in October 2000 as a special edition. The release included audio commentary by Selick and cinematographer Pete Kozachik, a 28-minute making-of documentary, gallery of concept art, and storyboards, test footage and deleted scenes. Burton's Vincent and Frankenweenie were also included. On October 20, 2006, Disney reissued Nightmare (not under Touchstone Pictures) with conversion to Disney Digital 3-D. Industrial Light & Magic assisted in the process. It made a further $8.7 million in the box office. A more successful reissue under the Disney Digital 3-D format came on October 19, 2007. In its third run, Nightmare made a further $15.8 million, with the final gross under three releases at $74.88 million for the US market. These reissues have led to a reemergence of 3-D films and advances in Real D Cinema. Disney released the film again on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in August 2008 as a two-disc digitally remastered "collector's edition". Nightmare has also led to a brand name for Emo and Goth subcultures. In addition Nightmare has inspired video game spin-offs, including Oogie's Revenge, The Pumpkin King (on Game Boy Advance) and in the Kingdom Hearts series. A trading card game is also available. Since 2001, Disneyland has held a Nightmare Before Christmas theme for its Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction. Critical analysis The film has gone on to receive critical acclaim. Based on 67 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of the critics enjoyed The Nightmare Before Christmas with the consensus of "a stunningly original and visually delightful work of stop-motion animation." With 15 reviewers in the "Top Critics" category, the film has a 100% approval rating. By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 77, based on 16 reviews. Roger Ebert, who mainly was not enthusiastic over Burton's previous films, gave a highly positive review for Nightmare. Ebert believed the film's visual effects were as revolutionary as Star Wars, taking into account that Nightmare was "filled with imagination that carries us into a new world". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it a restoration of "originality and daring to the Halloween genre. This dazzling mix of fun and fright also explodes the notion that animation is not kid stuff. It's 74 minutes of timeless movie magic." James Berardinelli stated "The Nightmare Before Christmas has something to offer just about everyone. For the kids, it's a fantasy celebrating two holidays. For the adults, it's an opportunity to experience some light entertainment while marveling at how adept Hollywood has become at these techniques. There are songs, laughs, and a little romance. In short, The Nightmare Before Christmas does what it intends to: entertain." Desson Thomson of The Washington Post enjoyed homages to German Expressionism, the Brothers Grimm and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. More recently, the film ranked #1 on Rotten Tomatoes Top 25 Best Christmas Movies. Sequel In 2001, Walt Disney Pictures began to consider producing a sequel, but rather than using stop motion, Disney wanted to use computer animation. Burton convinced Disney to drop the idea. "I was always very protective of [Nightmare] not to do sequels or things of that kind," Burton explained. "You know, 'Jack visits Thanksgiving world' or other kinds of things just because I felt the movie had a purity to it and the people that like it," Burton said. "Because it's a mass-market kind of thing, it was important to kind of keep that purity of it. I try to respect people and keep the purity of the project as much as possible."

Susan, I speak French, but that doesn't make me Joan of Arc. 10. Miracle On 34th Street (1947) (10 of 21 lists - 64 points - highest ranking #1 knightni) Miracle on 34th Street (also titled The Big Heart in the UK) is a 1947 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. 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. Davies also penned a short novella version of the tale, which was published by Harcourt Brace simultaneously with the film's release. In a Thanksgiving tradition, NBC airs the film every year after the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Plot synopsis 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 the event's director, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to replace him. 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 at Herald Square. Ignoring instructions to steer parents to goods that Macy's wants to sell, Kris tells one woman shopper (Thelma Ritter) to go to another store, Schoenfeld's, 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 Macy's customer. Kris later informs another mother that Macy's archrival, Gimbels, has better skates for her daughter. Fred Gailey (John Payne), an attorney and neighbor of Doris, is babysitting the young divorcee's nine-year-old daughter Susan (Wood) and takes her to see Kris. When Doris finds out, she lectures Fred about filling Susan's mind with fantasy, as she has been raising Susan to be a practical young woman. Meanwhile, Susan witnesses Kris talking and singing with a Dutch World War II orphan girl in her native tongue and begins to wonder if perhaps Kris is real. (In the 1994 remake, Kris communicates with a deaf girl via sign language.) When Doris asks Kris to tell Susan the truth, Kris surprises her by insisting that he really is Santa Claus. Upset that Kris really believes he is Santa, Doris decides to fire him. 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, making it awkward to discharge the old man. To overcome Doris's misgivings, Shellhammer proposes a compromise: sending Kris to Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) to get 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). Kris then decides to donate his resulting extra bonus money to buy an X-ray machine for the nursing home at which he lives. Macy and Gimbel generously dicker down the price of the machine to wholesale price. Doctor Pierce (James Seay), the doctor at Kris's nursing home, assures Doris and Shellhammer that Kris' apparent delusion is harmless and disagrees with the vindictive Sawyer, who argues that Kris should be placed in a mental hospital. Meanwhile, Fred offers to let Kris stay with him so he can be closer to his workplace. 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 arrive at that point and 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. Warned 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 New York law firm to defend Kris and has a falling out with Doris, who has no faith in his abilities and calls his resignation an "idealistic binge" over some "lovely intangibles." He replies that one day she may discover that those intangibles are the only worthwhile things in life. At the hearing, New York County 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. Judge Harper is warned privately in chambers by his political adviser, Charlie Halloran (William Frawley), that doing so would be politically 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. Realizing that denying Kris could ruin his Christmas sales season, Macy starts to give an equivocal answer, 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! Would you, daddy?" 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 for a way to prove his case, 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 it and realizes that the post office could clear out the many letters to Santa taking up space in their dead letter office by delivering them to Kris at the courthouse. Kris receives Susan's letter and is uplifted by this breakthrough. Just then, Fred learns that over 50,000 pieces of mail have been delivered to Kris. Seeing an opportunity, Fred first establishes the authority of the United States Post Office, maneuvers Mara into agreeing for the record and then presents Judge Harper with three letters addressed only to "Santa Claus" and notes that they have been delivered to Kris. Fred nonchalantly admits he "has further exhibits." When Judge Harper demands he "put them here on my desk", the post office delivers all the bags of letters to Harper's desk. Fred then argues that the United States Post Office, a branch of the federal government, accepts Kris' claim as the one and only Santa Claus. This conveniently lets Judge Harper, now struggling to crawl out from behind the bags of letters, to rule 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, a house in the suburbs. As they are about to leave, Kris gives Fred and Doris a route home, supposedly to avoid traffic. Along the way, Susan is overjoyed to see the house of her dreams with a For Sale sign in the front yard. (The house exactly matches the drawing she had shown Kris earlier.) 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 exactly like the one Kris used, he remarks uncertainly, "Maybe I didn't do such a wonderful thing after all." Cast * Maureen O'Hara as Doris Walker. O'Hara was initially reluctant to take the role, as she had returned to Ireland before being called back to America for the film. However, she immediately changed her mind after reading the script. * John Payne as Frederick M. Gailey * Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle * Natalie Wood as Susan * Porter Hall as Granville Sawyer * William Frawley as Charlie Halloran * Jerome Cowan as District Attorney Thomas Mara * Philip Tonge as Julian Shellhammer * Alvin Greenman as Alfred * Gene Lockhart as The Hon. Henry X. Harper * Harry Antrim as R. H. Macy * Herbert H. Heyes as Mr. Gimbel * James Seay as Dr. Pierce, a geriatrics physician at the Brooks Memorial Home for the Aged * Thelma Ritter as a harried shopper * Percy Helton as the drunken Santa Claus stand-in the parade * Ann Staunton as Mrs. Mara * Bobby Hyatt as Thomas Mara, Jr. * Jack Albertson and Guy Thomajan as two United States Post Office Department employees Production Despite the fact that the film is set during the Christmas season, studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May, arguing that more people went to the movies during the summer. So the studio began scrambling to promote it while keeping the fact that it was a Christmas movie a secret. Fox's promotional trailer for the film depicted a fictional producer roaming the studio backlot and encountering such stars as Rex Harrison, Anne Baxter, Peggy Ann Garner and Dick Haymes extolling the virtues of the film. In addition, the movie posters predominately featured O'Hara and Payne with Gwenn's character kept in the background. By contrast, modern home video packaging has Gwenn and Wood dominating the imagery with the DVD release having Kringle in his Santa Claus costume. The house shown at the end of the movie is located at 24 Derby Road in Port Washington, New York. It looks practically the same, except the roof line has been altered by the addition of a window. Awards and honors 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. It was ranked ninth by the American Film Institute on its AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers. In 2005, Miracle on 34th Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Miracle on 34th Street was acknowledged as the fifth best film in the fantasy genre. Inaccuracies * There was no Mr. Macy per se by the time of the film. In 1896, R. H. Macy's was acquired by Isidor Straus, who went down with the Titanic in 1912. * In the book, Reel Justice, the authors point out that Judge Harper had an easy way of dismissing the case early without the political repercussions he feared. This was when the prosecutor rested his case immediately after Kris Kringle admitted in court simply that he believed he was Santa Claus. In doing so, Judge Harper could have ruled that prosecution had forfeited its opportunity to prove that Kringle was dangerous, the basic point of such hearings (his actual mental state itself being irrelevant), and ordered the subject immediately released. * When demonstrating that he has taken several mental examinations in the past, Kris Kringle says that Daniel D. Tompkins was John Quincy Adams' Vice President, but Tompkins actually served under James Monroe. John C. Calhoun was Adams' Vice President, and later Vice-President again for most of Andrew Jackson's first term of office. Remakes There are four remakes of the movie, as well as a Broadway musical. In addition, Lux Radio Theater broadcast an adaptation in 1948. 1955 version A 1955 television movie starring Thomas Mitchell as Kris Kringle and Sandy Descher as Susan Walker. Titled The Miracle on 34th Street instead of just Miracle on 34th Street. Originally aired as an episode of TV's The 20th Century Fox Hour. 1959 version A 1959 television movie starring Ed Wynn as Kris Kringle; also featured was Orson Bean. This version of the popular Valentine Davies story was broadcast live and in color on NBC the day after Thanksgiving in 1959 and seemed to have disappeared completely. NBC made a kinescope of the program, probably for broadcasting opening night on the West Coast. The copy was in a large collection of kinescopes donated by NBC to the Library of Congress and recently unearthed by Richard Finegan, who reported his quest and experiences in the December 2005 issue of Classic Images. 1963 Broadway musical A 1963 Broadway musical version, entitled Here's Love, was written by Meredith Willson. 1973 version A 1973 television movie starred Jane Alexander, David Hartman, Roddy McDowall, Sebastian Cabot, Suzanne Davidson, Jim Backus, David Doyle and Tom Bosley. It was adapted by Jeb Rosebrook from the George Seaton screenplay, and directed by Fielder Cook. Mrs. Walker's first name is changed to Karen in this version. 1994 version A 1994 feature film version featured Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh, Timothy Shea, James Remar, Jane Leeves, Simon Jones, William Windom and Mara Wilson. It was adapted by John Hughes from the Seaton script, and directed by Les Mayfield. Due to Macy's refusal to give permission it was replaced by the fictitious "Cole's". Gimbels no longer existed by 1994 and was replaced with the fictional "Shopper's Express". Alvin Greenman (Alfred in the original version) was featured as the doorman. This remake had a more serious tone than the original and a large portion of the movie was rewritten, although the majority of the plot and characters remained intact. The characters of Alfred and Sawyer were removed entirely and Kris is instead manipulated to land himself in trouble due to a conspiracy between the drunken Santa fired at the beginning of the film and the agents of a rival store. This version made much of the fact that the world in its current state is filled with greed and cruelty as demonstrated by how willing the people in the conspiracy were to lock up an innocent, benevolent man for their own selfish ends. This is contrasted with the number of people who support Kris, which includes an orderly at the hospital where he's placed and, apparently, the police officers who arrested him. There is a scene where Kris tells Dorey that he sees himself (Santa Claus) as a symbol of hope and compassion in a jaded modern world of selfishness. Another key difference is that the prosecutor concedes in the original movie there is no way to prove there is no Santa Claus. In the 1994 version however, he does try to disprove the existence of Santa Claus. For example, he points out in 1969 that Pope Paul VI downgraded St. Nicholas' feast day in response to the overcommercialization of Christmas. The film also added a subtext concerning religious faith. This is demonstrated in the climax of this version, where Judge Harper rules in favor of Kris after Susan presents him with a Christmas card containing a one-dollar bill with the words "In God We Trust" circled and he declares that if the United States government can issue its currency bearing a declaration of trust in God on faith alone, then he can rule that Santa Claus exists in the man of Kris Kringle. The words "In God We Trust" were not added to U.S. paper currency until 1957, so they would not have been on the one-dollar bill when the original version was made. The film also contains an early appearance by Allison Janney, who later played C. J. Cregg on the television series West Wing. In Miracle on 34th Street, she reprises the role played by Thelma Ritter in the original version. There is also an early appearance of Horatio Sanz as one of the hospital orderlies (This was brought to attention when Dylan McDermott hosted Saturday Night Live).

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Dec 21, 2008 -> 09:17 PM) High of -2 today. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around -10. Wind chill values as low as -29. West wind between 6 and 14 mph. Monday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 4. Wind chill values as low as -22. West wind at 7 mph becoming south. Monday Night: Snow, mainly after midnight. Low around 3. Wind chill values as low as -16. South wind between 8 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Tuesday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 21. Wind chill values as low as -12. South wind between 13 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. Gotta love Iowa. Overnight Snow showers. Blowing snow. Snow may be heavy at times. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Windy. Lows zero to 5 above. Temperature steady or slowly rising after midnight. West winds 20 to 30 mph. Wind chills 12 below to 22 below zero. Monday Areas of blowing snow in the morning. Cloudy with snow showers in the morning...then partly sunny with chance of snow showers in the afternoon. Snow may be heavy at times in the morning. Snow accumulation 1 to 3 inches. Total snow accumulation 4 to 8 inches. Highs 10 to 15. West winds 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Wind chills 2 below to 12 below zero. Monday Night Partly cloudy. Lows near zero. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chills 10 below to 20 below zero. Tuesday Snow likely. Light snow accumulations. Highs in the upper 20s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. Wind chills 14 below to 24 below zero in the morning. Tuesday Night Snow likely. Light snow accumulations. Lows in the upper 20s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. Join the club. Welcome to Michigan Lake Effect snow plus the Iowa cold.

I liked Cloverfield. It wasn't as good as the hype, but it wasn't as bad as people said that it was, either.

The Heat wouldn't trade Beasley.