Pea Arts About

*I’ve been running a film club at the Grove, Gosforth, branch of Abbeyfield residential care homes since June 2017. In a special festive film club, we watched the 1947 version of Miracle on 34 th Street written and directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O’Hara and John Payne. To my surprise, the DVD included a colourized version, which we collectively decided to have a go with. As vision is an issue for many residents, colour is easier for them than black and white film. Being a joyful story about the spirit of Christmas, the colour (first added in the 1980s) was full of vibrant hues of red, green and gold, and rarely was its addition discernible. Six residents attended, and we were joined by two relatives. I was surprised that not only had no one seen this version before, but they also hadn’t heard of the story at all. It has experienced quite a few incarnations in theatre, radio, television, novelization and film since the original story was written by Valentine