I have a partial answer to that ... spring and summer were the seasons that saw the heaviest movie attendance, so studios often released their biggest productions during that time for maximum box-office return. For example, "Miracle on 34th Street" was released in the summer (you'll notice that the posters and other publicity hid the Christmas setting). By the time the films reached the "neighborhood houses," it was closer to Christmas.
Thanks for the info. That's interesting. It seemed that I had heard something before about movies set during Christmas being released out-of-season.
Today if a studio released a Christmas film in the middle of the summer it would be viewed as distinctly odd and I have no doubt that the box office would suffer for it.
Yes! This is one of my all-time favorite movies. Actually, the last two or three reels take place during the Christmas season. A Blu-ray with a beautiful new transfer came out last year, replacing the DVD transfer that had at least one slightly rickety reel.
Nothing beats the scene where Frank Morgan (as the store owner, Mr. Matuschek) is hinting to his employees as they leave for an invitation to Christmas dinner. He winds up taking the delivery boy, who he discovers is living away from his family and alone in the city, out to dinner. A really heartwarming scene.
Glad to find someone else who appreciates this film! I just ran across it randomly the other night in HBO Max's holiday section and was like, "Oh, Jimmy Stewart. . . Guess I'll check it out." I had never heard of it before, but I enjoyed it immensely and then recommended it to my dad and rewatched it with a friend of mine.
I had also never heard of Margaret Sullavan. I looked her up on IMDB and her filmography, especially in comparison with her contemporaries, is quite bare. Not sure if it's because she just wasn't offered the roles or if she didn't enjoy working that much. I thought she was good in this film, though. In fact, the whole cast is great.
And yes, that scene with Matuschek and the and the new delivery boy is a good scene. Matuschek was actually a great character who was brought to life masterfully by Morgan.