It Happened on 5th Avenue
Encyclopedia
It Happened on Fifth Avenue is a 1947 motion picture comedy, with an Academy Award nomination for original story
.
, formerly a low-budget film studio. The story was originally optioned by Liberty Films
in 1945 for director Frank Capra
(who decided to direct It's a Wonderful Life
instead); later that year producer-director Roy Del Ruth acquired the story. The casting of Ann Harding and Victor Moore was announced in June 1946, Don DeFore and Gale Storm in July, and filming proceeded from August 5 to mid-October 1946. The production schedule and Christmastime climax of the story suggest a Christmas release was originally planned, but for whatever reason, the movie's release was delayed until Easter 1947.
The screenplay was adapted for a radio version on Lux Radio Theater
in May 1947, with Don DeFore, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore, and Gale Storm repeating their roles; and a live television
production for Lux Video Theatre
in 1957, with Ernest Truex
, Leon Ames
, Diane Jergens, and William Campbell
.
Among the four songs in the movie, "That's What Christmas Means to Me" was not the Varnick-Acquaviva minor hit for Eddie Fisher but another song written by Harry Revel which is hard to find anywhere these days. There are at least three songs with that title, one is by Stevie Wonder is a perky hit - but again, not the Eddie Fisher song of the 50s. Also, Betty Rhodes recorded "You're Everywhere" in 1947.
), a New York City
hobo
, makes his home in a boarded-up Fifth Avenue mansion, using the back door, while its owner, multi-millionaire ("the second richest man in the world") Michael J. O'Connor (Charles Ruggles
), winters in the South. McKeever winds up taking in homeless ex-G.I. Jim Bullock (Don DeFore
), who has been evicted from an apartment building O'Connor is tearing down for a new skyscraper
, and runaway 18-year-old Trudy "Smith" (Gale Storm
) who, unknown to him, is O'Connor's daughter. Soon Jim invites war buddies Whitey (Alan Hale, Jr.
), Hank (Edward Ryan) and their families to share the vast mansion while they seek permanent homes of their own.
Trudy falls in love with Jim, and when her father demands to meet him, convinces O'Connor to also take up residence, pretending to be the panhandler "Mike", to win Jim's love without the temptation of marrying her for her wealth. McKeever "allows" Mike to move in, but treats him as a servant. When Mike warns Trudy that he intends to have them all arrested for criminal trespass, she persuades her mother Mary (Ann Harding
) to fly up from Florida and pretend to be the 11th interloper, a cook. Mike has one of his construction companies bribe Jim with a great job offer in Bolivia
, but Jim turns it down to pursue his dream.
The ex-GIs have an idea to buy a former Army camp and convert its barracks into inexpensive family housing. Unbeknownst to either side, Mike and Jim get into a bidding war for the camp the GI's are trying to buy, which Mike wants for an air cargo terminal. In the meantime, Mike and Mary reconcile when she believes he has changed. All are celebrating Christmas Eve
together, forgetting to hide as usual from the patrolmen who check the house every night, but the patrolmen agree to let the families stay until after the New Year. Jim reveals that he and his partners have lost the camp to Michael J. O'Connor, and when Mike later defends his business dealings to Mary, she tells him he hasn't changed after all.
His dream shattered, a depressed Jim takes the job offer in Bolivia, breaking off with Trudy. Mary and Trudy angrily tell Mike they are leaving for Florida the next day because of the way he has manipulated Jim. McKeever is also depressed and tells Mike he is going to find another mansion to live in next winter. Mike spins a tale that he has arranged a meeting with O'Connor for Jim and his partners, who are dubious but accept. They are astounded to learn that Mike is O'Connor. He transfers the camp to them on the condition that they never reveal his true identity to McKeever. That night everyone is reunited and share a celebratory dinner before putting the house back "just the way we found it". They see the still-unaware McKeever off as he heads to the O'Connors' mansion in Virginia, and Mike tells Mary that next year McKeever will be coming in through the front door.
thought the celebrity endorsements (by Frank Capra, Orson Welles
, Al Jolson
, Constance Bennett
and others) used in the movie's advertising to be "high-flown" and "Hollywoodesque"; instead, the movie was a "mild, pleasant little film which probably will find many admirers."
Time
magazine said,
Bosley Crowther
in The New York Times praised its "geniality and humor" and the "charming performance" by Victor Moore. The New Republic
called it "childish stuff" and Victor Moore "too cute for words".
In 1948, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Story. It lost to another Christmas-themed story, Miracle on 34th Street
, written by Valentine Davies
.
After 1990, this film essentially disappeared from broadcast and retail availability. Despite an Academy Award nomination, a cult film
following through a dedicated fan website, and requests to Turner Classic Movies
and American Movie Classics to show the film, it was not shown on American television for almost twenty years.
On November 11, 2008, Warner Home Video
released the film on DVD, and it is now available through most major DVD retailers and distributors.
It was finally shown on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) on December 10, 2009.
Academy Award for Best Story
The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1957, when it was eliminated in favor of the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, which had been introduced in 1940.-1920s:...
.
Production
It marked the debut of Allied Artists Pictures, the higher-budget division of Monogram PicturesMonogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
, formerly a low-budget film studio. The story was originally optioned by Liberty Films
Liberty Films
Liberty Films was an independent motion picture production company founded in California by Frank Capra and Samuel J. Briskin in April 1945. It produced only two films, It's a Wonderful Life , originally released by RKO Radio Pictures, and the film version of the hit play State of the Union ,...
in 1945 for director Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
(who decided to direct It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
instead); later that year producer-director Roy Del Ruth acquired the story. The casting of Ann Harding and Victor Moore was announced in June 1946, Don DeFore and Gale Storm in July, and filming proceeded from August 5 to mid-October 1946. The production schedule and Christmastime climax of the story suggest a Christmas release was originally planned, but for whatever reason, the movie's release was delayed until Easter 1947.
The screenplay was adapted for a radio version on Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
in May 1947, with Don DeFore, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore, and Gale Storm repeating their roles; and a live television
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
production for Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
in 1957, with Ernest Truex
Ernest Truex
Ernest Truex was an American actor of stage and film.-Career:...
, Leon Ames
Leon Ames (actor)
Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
, Diane Jergens, and William Campbell
William Campbell (film actor)
William Campbell was an American actor who appeared in supporting roles in major film productions and also starred in several low-budget B-movies, including two cult horror films.-Career:...
.
Among the four songs in the movie, "That's What Christmas Means to Me" was not the Varnick-Acquaviva minor hit for Eddie Fisher but another song written by Harry Revel which is hard to find anywhere these days. There are at least three songs with that title, one is by Stevie Wonder is a perky hit - but again, not the Eddie Fisher song of the 50s. Also, Betty Rhodes recorded "You're Everywhere" in 1947.
Plot
Aloyisius T. McKeever (Victor MooreVictor Moore
Victor Frederick Moore was an American actor of stage and screen, as well as a comedian, writer, and director.-Personal life:...
), a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
hobo
Hobo
A hobo is a term which is often applied to a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, often penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States during the last decade of the 19th century. Unlike 'tramps', who work only when they are forced to, and 'bums', who do not...
, makes his home in a boarded-up Fifth Avenue mansion, using the back door, while its owner, multi-millionaire ("the second richest man in the world") Michael J. O'Connor (Charles Ruggles
Charles Ruggles
Charles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
), winters in the South. McKeever winds up taking in homeless ex-G.I. Jim Bullock (Don DeFore
Don DeFore
Donald John DeFore was an American actor who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Life and career:...
), who has been evicted from an apartment building O'Connor is tearing down for a new skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
, and runaway 18-year-old Trudy "Smith" (Gale Storm
Gale Storm
Gale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
) who, unknown to him, is O'Connor's daughter. Soon Jim invites war buddies Whitey (Alan Hale, Jr.
Alan Hale, Jr.
Alan Hale, Jr. was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale, Sr....
), Hank (Edward Ryan) and their families to share the vast mansion while they seek permanent homes of their own.
Trudy falls in love with Jim, and when her father demands to meet him, convinces O'Connor to also take up residence, pretending to be the panhandler "Mike", to win Jim's love without the temptation of marrying her for her wealth. McKeever "allows" Mike to move in, but treats him as a servant. When Mike warns Trudy that he intends to have them all arrested for criminal trespass, she persuades her mother Mary (Ann Harding
Ann Harding
Ann Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...
) to fly up from Florida and pretend to be the 11th interloper, a cook. Mike has one of his construction companies bribe Jim with a great job offer in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, but Jim turns it down to pursue his dream.
The ex-GIs have an idea to buy a former Army camp and convert its barracks into inexpensive family housing. Unbeknownst to either side, Mike and Jim get into a bidding war for the camp the GI's are trying to buy, which Mike wants for an air cargo terminal. In the meantime, Mike and Mary reconcile when she believes he has changed. All are celebrating Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
together, forgetting to hide as usual from the patrolmen who check the house every night, but the patrolmen agree to let the families stay until after the New Year. Jim reveals that he and his partners have lost the camp to Michael J. O'Connor, and when Mike later defends his business dealings to Mary, she tells him he hasn't changed after all.
His dream shattered, a depressed Jim takes the job offer in Bolivia, breaking off with Trudy. Mary and Trudy angrily tell Mike they are leaving for Florida the next day because of the way he has manipulated Jim. McKeever is also depressed and tells Mike he is going to find another mansion to live in next winter. Mike spins a tale that he has arranged a meeting with O'Connor for Jim and his partners, who are dubious but accept. They are astounded to learn that Mike is O'Connor. He transfers the camp to them on the condition that they never reveal his true identity to McKeever. That night everyone is reunited and share a celebratory dinner before putting the house back "just the way we found it". They see the still-unaware McKeever off as he heads to the O'Connors' mansion in Virginia, and Mike tells Mary that next year McKeever will be coming in through the front door.
Cast
- Don DeForeDon DeForeDonald John DeFore was an American actor who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Life and career:...
as Jim - Ann HardingAnn HardingAnn Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...
as Mary O'Connor - Charles RugglesCharles RugglesCharles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
as Michael J. "Mike" O'Connor - Victor MooreVictor MooreVictor Frederick Moore was an American actor of stage and screen, as well as a comedian, writer, and director.-Personal life:...
as Aloyisius T. McKeever - Gale StormGale StormGale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
as Trudy O'Connor - Grant MitchellGrant Mitchell (actor)Grant Mitchell was an American stage actor on Broadway and character actor in many Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s...
as Farrow - Edward BrophyEdward BrophyEdward S. Brophy was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he was known for portraying gangsters, both serious and comic.-Career:...
as Patrolman Cecil Felton - Alan Hale Jr. as Whitey Temple
- Dorothea KentDorothea KentDorothea Kent was an American film actress. She appeared in 42 films between 1935 and 1948.In addition to her credited roles, she also had roles in 6 other films, including her last role in the 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story.She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and died in 1990 from breast cancer...
as Margie Temple - Edward Ryan as Hank
- Cathy Carter as Alice
Critical reception
The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
thought the celebrity endorsements (by Frank Capra, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
, Constance Bennett
Constance Bennett
-Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
and others) used in the movie's advertising to be "high-flown" and "Hollywoodesque"; instead, the movie was a "mild, pleasant little film which probably will find many admirers."
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine said,
- Most plausible explanations for the picture's success are: 1) the presence of Victor Moore, past master of creaky charm and pathos; 2) a show as generally oldfashioned, in a harmless way, as a 1910 mail-order play for amateurs; 3) the fact that now, as in 1910, a producer cannot go wrong with a mass audience if he serves up a whiff of comedy and a whirlwind of hokum.
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
in The New York Times praised its "geniality and humor" and the "charming performance" by Victor Moore. The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
called it "childish stuff" and Victor Moore "too cute for words".
In 1948, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Story. It lost to another Christmas-themed story, Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
, written by Valentine Davies
Valentine Davies
Valentine Davies was an American film and television writer, producer, and director. His credits included Miracle on 34th Street , Chicken Every Sunday , The Bridges at Toko-Ri , and The Benny Goodman Story...
.
Availability
It Happened on Fifth Avenue was part of a package of 49 Monogram and Allied Artists features from the late 1940s and early 1950s that were first licensed for television broadcast in 1954.After 1990, this film essentially disappeared from broadcast and retail availability. Despite an Academy Award nomination, a cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
following through a dedicated fan website, and requests to Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
and American Movie Classics to show the film, it was not shown on American television for almost twenty years.
On November 11, 2008, Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
released the film on DVD, and it is now available through most major DVD retailers and distributors.
It was finally shown on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) on December 10, 2009.