It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)

the leading man is my tpye

Well Deserved Praise

the audience applauded

Good concept, poorly executed.

Up in Central Park, the millionaire businessmen abandon their century old mansions for equally old mansions in Virginia. Powerful businessman Charlie Ruggles isn't quite Ebenezer Scrooge, but if he doesn't change his ways, he'll be haunting Manhattan a la Jacob Marley. Tearing down cheap $40 a month apartments in the poor section of town, his management company kicks war veteran Don DeFore out, and after an encounter with foppish Victor Moore, he accepts an invitation to move into a Fifth Avenue mansion, owner by Ruggles but boarded up for the winter. In the meantime, Ruggles discovers that his 18 year old daughter (Gale Storm) has run away from boarding school. Guess where Ms. Storm shows up, creating more chaos, especially when Ruggles finally locates her.A touching comedy that has absolutely no reality, but ends up working simply because it is presented so sweetly. The real star is the adorable Victor Moore, seen at the very beginning sneaking into the house via a manhole. He's sort of the den mother, a rather pickled old darling who could charm the ticker symbol off of a stock report. Charlie Ruggles is cast against type but an absolute delight. Early '30s leading lady Ann Harding is still a stunner and gets some nice lighthearted moments as his estranged wife who becomes a last minute addition thanks to the scheming machinations of daughter Storm. The future "My Little Margie" makes a perky young heroine, smoothly paired with the handsome DeFore.A nice roster of character actors ably support the leads, with a very young Alan Hale Jr. instantly recognizable as one of the many interlopers. DeFore and Hale take on child hating landlord Charles Lane in a surprisingly violent but amusing manner. Grant Mitchell, Edward Brophy and Vera Lewis are just a few of the familiar faces who pop up in bits. There's a few songs thrown in for good measure. When stage veteran Moore throws on a Santa suit for a Christmas celebration, you might find all of your cynicism's disappearing. It's just a tiny bit overlong, but why should that matter when it makes you feel so good?

It's right after WWII and Defoe and his vet buddies are out of money and out of luck. Until they happen upon the vacant (or so they think) O'Connor mansion on 5th Avenue in NYC. Nice to see the Skipper (Alan Jr.) out there, I've always said if it's a WWII movie you always have a shot at either Alan Jr or Sr, often as a cook. Gail Storm glows and shows just how she became a household name in early TV, and when you hear her movie dad Ruggles you'll recognize his voice from Rocky and Bullwinkle. This really isn't as polished as It's A Wonderful Life, so I can't put it up there with the top Christmas classics, I think it fits better in the Little-Known Christmas Gems category.

This is one movie I often watch throughout the year. A movie when the weather is hot, you miss family, friends, you encounter strangers by chance, remembering fellow Veterans. Odd combination? Not so."It Happened on Fifth Avenue" has simple creativity and thought. It pulls together the Christmas spirit of family, friends, strangers, and Veterans along their journey. The bonus for the time it was filmed, in old-school black and white. This classic starts off with a simple poke and brings you home.The actors are real and genuine.It's a good old-fashion Christmas movie to watch year round.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue is directed by Roy Del Ruth and the screenplay adapted by Everett Freeman & Vick Knight from a story by Herbert Clyde Lewis & Frederick Stephani. It stars Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore, Gale Storm, Grant Mitchell and Alan Hale Jr.Aloysious T. McKeever (Moore) is a hobo gentleman who squats in empty mansions while their rich owners are away for the holiday seasons. This Christmas in New York he's having one of his stays at the home of Michael O'Connor (Ruggles), the second richest man in the world. But where once it was just him and his dog, McKeever opens up his adopted home to Jim Bullock (DeFore), an ex Army veteran who has fell on hard times. This sets the wheels in motion for old friends to also find their way to the mansion, so too does O'Connor's daughter, Trudy (Storm), who in all the confusion falls in love with Jim. But that's not all, this opens the way for Michael O'Connor to be coerced into posing as a hobo in his own home! Which in turn gets extra complicated when Mary O'Connor (Harding), Trudy's mother and Michael's divorced wife, also rocks up to be part of the homeless furniture. It's a nutty Christmas for sure, but Christmas is a time of miracles after all….The back story to the film sees it as the first release from B movie studio Allied Artists. The story was first optioned by Liberty Films as a project for Frank Capra, who instead chose to make It's a Wonderful Life. It's no surprise that Liberty thought it a good project for Capra because the story is very Capraesque, but as it turned out, Del Ruth acquired the story and made the film for AA. Tho receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Original Story (It lost out to Valentine Davies for Miracle on 34th Street), Del Ruth's film has remained largely unknown in the pantheon of the Christmas movie. Obviously not helped by the success of Capra's film over the years, thus it has become the film that Capra left to make his holiday classic, It Happened on Fifth Avenue was further hindered by getting a release at Easter! Some what strange given that the film climaxes at Xmas and thematically ties in with the season of good will. After its run on the TV schedules in the 50s had ceased, the film practically disappeared from the public conscious, but a cult fan base existed and the advent of the internet kept the film alive and up for discourse on forums. Thankfully in 2008 Warner Home Video saw fit to give the film a scrub up DVD release, so now the film can rightly find a new and deserving audience.Everything in the film is telegraphed, this is a message movie at the holiday time and where it's going too is exactly where many other similar movies eventually end up. It's a testament to Del Ruth and his professional cast that we the audience are happy to be taken for a ride down this well sign posted road. Tho not containing the overtly dark aspects of It's a Wonderful Life, "Fifth Avenue" does contain a sad edge from which to launch onwards to the warmth that most Xmas movie viewers seek. Themes concerning the homeless (ex servicemen no less), selfish wealth and broken hearts all feature prominently in the narrative, that these will flourish into happiness, life lessons learned and second chances is classic holiday season fervour. But the edginess has made its point and we still come away knowing that not everybody is well off around the Xmas period. Spare a thought indeed.Some minor itches do exist, tho. The film is overlong at almost two hours and DeFore doesn't really cut it as an heroic ex army guy-come-romantic lead. But with the likes of Moore, Harding and the brilliant Ruggles around him, not to mention Storm's classical beauty, DeFore's inadequacies barely make a ripple in the story. There's even some nice musical numbers to take in; with "That's What Christmas Means To Me" the undoubted highlight. In short the film is fit to be on the same list as It's A Wonderful Life, The Bishop's Wife and Miracle on 34th Street. So if you like those film's then you really should get much from this delightful little piece. Seek out and enjoy. 8/10