Simply put dialogue is two or more actors or actresses speaking to each other (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). The use of dialogue in today’s films makes it easier to follow what the true story of the movie is. Without dialogue we are left wondering what the writer actually wanted us to get from the film. In Miracle On 34th Street dialogue is used to tell us the story of a Christmas fantasy we all probably had at one point in time, Santa Clause. Without dialogue it is possible that we could think this was about a normal man who never once thought he was Santa Clause and was just helping out Macy’s for Christmas. We could run through hundreds of different situations that could work with the different scenes simply because it lacks dialogue.
Sound effects are used to emphasize or express the noises we would hear during a particular scene. I think a perfect example of a sound effect in Miracle On 34th Street is in the beginning when Kris Kringle is walking through the parade and he finds the drunk Santa. He is lying on the float ringing his bells singing Jingle Bells. If he was laying there simply singing the song without the bells it would not have the same effect.
Music has been used in films for a long time. It was key for music to be played at specific times to show the emotion, severity or warmheartedness of a scene. In Miracle On 34th Street one of my favorite pieces of music played is at the end when Susan sees the house she wanted and screams for the car to stop. The music in the background had a frantic tempo but the melodic tone was happy. It helped us to see the concern that Doris and Fred had while showing how excited and happy Susan was.
I believe that the dialogue, sound effects and music were very effective in presenting us with a realistic film. If we were to remove sound effects from this film I think that Christmas aspect would be a little lost and the film would probably be boring.
References
Arcuri, L. F. (10-30-2009). The Miracle on 34th Street house today {Photograph}. Retrieved from http://forum1.aimoo.com/theyulelog/HOLIDAY-MOVIES/The-Miracle-on-34th-Street-house-today-1-1652546.html
Gatti, A (2013, December 21). Christmas Movie Blogathon: Miracle on 34th Street {Weblog post}. Retrieved from http://www.classicmoviehub.com/blog/christmas-movie-blogathon-miracle-on-34th-street/
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.
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Introduction to Film 