MovieChat Forums > Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Discussion > Mrs. Shellhammer Scene

Mrs. Shellhammer Scene

posted 10 years ago by MichaelMartinDeSapio
13 replies | jump to latest

What the heck was the point of the drunk Mrs. Shellhammer scene? I mean, I know they had to establish that Kringle would be staying with Fred, and I understand that Mr. Shellhammer gave her a triple strength martini to make her "more receptive to the idea" of hosting Kringle, but even so the way the scene was handled was so jarring. Mrs. Shellhammer was not an established character in the movie, so to suddenly show her drunk and acting foolishly seemed gratuitous and pointless.

[–] joe_538 8 years ago

It was great. I've done an impression of her on a few occasions.

"Helllooooo?"

[–] nmitrione (293) 3 years ago

I found the scene funny.

[–] Owlwise (1535) a year ago

One of the delights of this movie is how even minor characters get their chance to shine, even if it's just for a line or two. The way the drunken Santa delivers his line about the coffee, "Black ... with a little cream." The way Sawyer's secretary has picked up his twitch by working for him. And of course Mrs. Shellhammer, whose brief scene is so memorable & funny!

It's little gratuitous moments like these that make a really good movie even better.