I was watching Miracle on 34th Street (1947) yesterday. There's a scene in it where Kris Kringle speaks to a Dutch girl orphaned by the war -- in Dutch -- and I wondered how good it was. (The girl in the scene was American; the Santa Claus character British.)
Since I'm currently at a conference with a Dutch contingent, I showed them the Youtube clip and asked. They said the Dutch was good, even if clearly accented.
Still, it's a step up from what sometimes happens -- Hollywood will use German and simply pretend it's Dutch. As for the dialogue, which is not subtitled, IMDB has the original dialogue and the translation.
-Kris Kringle: [to the little girl] Hallo! Ik ben blij dat je gekomen bent! [Hello! I'm glad you came by!]
-Dutch Girl: [her face lights up] O, U bent Sinterklaas! [Oh, you are Sinterklaas!]
-Kris Kringle: Maar jazeker! [But of course!]
-Dutch Girl: Ik wist 't wel. Ik wist dat U het zou begrijpen! [I knew it. I knew you would understand!]
-Kris Kringle: Natuurlijk! Zeg maar wat je zou willen hebben van Sinterklaas. [Naturally! Tell me what you would like to have from Sinterklaas]
-Dutch Girl: Niks! Ik heb van alles. Ik wil alléén maar bij deze lieve dame zijn. [Nothing! I have all kind of things. I want only to stay with this lovely lady]
[Source]
Edmund Gwenn received an Oscar for his Santa Claus performance -- the only Santa Claus actor to ever be so awarded.
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