In this heartwarming holiday story about the importance of childhood wonder, trust, and standing up for what you believe, Doris Walker (
Maureen O'Hara), an executive at Macy's, is responsible for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. When the Santa Claus she has hired for the parade shows up drunk, she quickly substitutes Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), who is an enormous success and is becomes the store's even more successful in-house Santa. He tells customers to shop elsewhere when Macy's doesn't have what they want. The employees are aghast, but it turns out to be a public relations triumph. Doris raises her daughter Susan (
Natalie Wood) without any fantasies or illusions, to help her handle "reality." Susan does not believe in Santa Claus. But Kris tells her that he really is Santa Claus, and after observing him for a while she begins to believe him. Kris has the enthusiastic support of lawyer Fred Gailey (
John Payne), who cares deeply for Doris and Susan. But Kris' insistence that he really is Santa Claus leads to a hearing on his mental competency. Downtrodden, Kris doesn't even want to assist in his defense. So it's up to Doris, Susan, and kids everywhere to show adults the truth.