It was 1946. And according to interviews, memoirs, and other recorded documents, they had to overcome a lot of challenges. Because they wanted to release their movie in May. And that’s because the head of Fox Studios, Darryl F. Zanuck said that’s when more people go to the movies. And the Christmas theme was supposed to be a secret.
The Christmas theme was for the movie “Miracle on 34th Street.”
And their challenge included getting Maureen O’hara to come back to United States to be in the movie. Apparently she had recently moved back home to her native Ireland just after the end of World War II.
And then, they had to market the movie to not look like a Christmas movie. So, the movie promo posters made it look like more of a love story with O’hara and John Payne in the forefront.
Then, there were all the logistics. It’s not easy to film a major movie without drawing attention to the theme.
Records show that Arthur Jacobson, the assistant director, used nine cameras at the same time to film the Macy’s Parade on Thanksgiving morning.
And Maureen O’hara, in her memoir, talked about those outside shots, too. They were filmed during the actual 1946 parade. She said, “It was a mad scramble to get all the shots we needed. And we got to do each scene only once. It was bitterly cold that day, and Edmund and I envied Natalie (Wood) and John Payne, who watched the parade from a window.”
And they used real crowds to speed up production.
Besides the Macy’s Parade, they also filmed Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood in a scene where they were in the actual Macy’s Department store cafeteria line. And it was right in the middle of a weekday lunch.
Plus, they filmed Maureen O’hara during a shopping spree with “real” people around. I bet that was no small task.
Then, for promos of the movie, they used a “fake” producer who walked around the studio backlot. And he’d casually and “accidentally” bump into stars who were at work. Of course, they said wonderful things about the upcoming Miracle on 34th Street movie. But I’m sure they had to be sure there weren’t any Christmas theme props or costumes.
When you consider all those planning details, behind the scenes, it’s almost a miracle things went so well.
I read that even the house, at the end of the movie, is a real house. And it’s still around. Not just one of those fake Hollywood facades. So, think about it. Somebody had to find the “right house” and figure out the best time to go by and film those scenes.
But you know why all those details worked out and the movie was a big success? Because the people in charge had their famous Hollywood system for production. They knew what they needed. And they knew how to delegate to the right people.
And that’s gotta be even way more important now. I mean have you seen how many people it takes to make a superhero movie?
But, maybe you think that’s Hollywood and that you couldn’t do such things on your tiny budget. They’ve got the big bucks to hire anyone they need. But that’s not the point. Because even with big bucks, you gotta have a system to find, contact, and hire the right people.
And, if you own a business, that goes for you, too.
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