Posts Tagged ‘edmund gwenn’

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) has it all – the cute, precocious kid (Natalie Wood), a fantastic Santa Claus (Edmund Gwenn) that makes you want to believe, and an awesome story to boot. There have been remakes of course – including television productions in 1955 and 1979 and a 1994 feature film but nothing beats the original.

In the spirit of Halloween, there seems to be a proliferation of horror films that come out in the month of October. In the realm of classic cinema, I have a new entry to my library – The Walking Dead, a 1936 feature starring Boris Karloff, Edmund Gwenn (jolly ole Saint Nick himself) and directed by Michael Curtiz.

This film was clearly exploiting the popularity of Karloff’s performance as Frankenstein another more recognizable tale of a man being brought back to life. In the case of The Walking Dead, I think I have my earliest cinematic experience with the revenge thriller of a man avenging the frame-up that has sent him to the electric chair.

This film also touches on the subject of “crossing over” and what is on the other side after our terrestrial lives cease to be. Of course, that is left unanswered and unfulfilled in some respects but it is rather tantalizing in that you are hoping for some explanation even if you do not go along with it.

For enthusiasts of films from this era, I think the film merits a look-see. Yes you know how the events will eventually unfold but the beauty and enjoyment is in the bearing witness to it.