What happens
Chris Kringle, an elderly man, is hired as Santa Claus for Macy's Christmas parade and then for the store's toy department in New York. Doris Walker, a department store executive, is skeptical of his claims and worried about her daughter Susan's belief in him. Fred Gailie, a lawyer who has become close to the family, takes Chris's side. The Screen Directors Playhouse presents this 1950 radio adaptation of the film Miracle on 34th Street, starring Edmund Gwenn, who won an Academy Award for the role, and broadcast on NBC on December 21, 1950. The story follows Chris's growing popularity at the store and the tensions it creates for the people around him.
New York City, around Thanksgiving and Christmas, at Macy's department store and the Walker home
Characters: Chris Kringle, Doris Walker, Susan Walker, Fred Gailie, Mr. Shellhammer, Mr. Macy, Mr. Sawyer
Listen for: Chris Kringle's advice to shoppers, Susan's wish for a house, and Doris Walker's doubts about Chris's sanity
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.