Again I’m just really gonna repeat and elaborate on what Mark Kermode said about this recently, though I’d planned to watch the original again first so I can’t comment on how it compares except to say I’m sure I’d agree that this version is better. And it is because of Richard Attenborough. Just take the early scene where he tells the stuffy legal types about the Easter Bunny. He tells that story in almost exactly the same manner as you’ll find him in any given recent interview telling a story about Richard Burton or David Lean. He just leaves no room for doubt in Kris Kringle. These days there’d be no hesitation in nominating him for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. The rest of the movie has its flaws but they won’t be discussed here. This is really one of the best this time of year. (sorry for the shortness of review … catching up …)

This one is interesting for a lot of reasons – Tarantino fans will get excited as soon as the opening credits start up (that theme will be in my head for days, it’s one that’s always catchy and never tires; made even more memorable by the character it represents here; could do without the slaughtered “jazz” version, though, lol), and Hayley Mills is ridiculously gorgeous.

It’s very risqué for its time (not to mention for a Hayley Mills film gasp) while at the same time giving its age away with phenomenally narrow-minded generalisations. At 2 hours it’s way overlong. Hitchcock would’ve had much more fun with it, and it’s a massive shame he didn’t. For a Hayley Mills fan, though, it’s a similar kind of gem as I found Far From Home as a Drew Barrymore fan. I’ve been reading the novel of Marnie recently and in trying to find a different, more British voice for Marnie in my head I found myself settling on Hayley Mills and ultimately thinking how great it would’ve been not only to see her in that movie, but in any Hitchcock movie … so, especially with the Bernard Herrmann music, this is about the best consolation prize you could hope for and personally, I loved it.