It Happened on Fifth Avenue

1947 "It's 1947's Richest Comedy!"
7.6| 1h56m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 17 April 1947 Released
Producted By: Roy Del Ruth Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A New Yorker hobo moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners.

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Reviews

Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
evanston_dad When introducing this film on TCM, the host mentioned that Frank Capra had originally signed on to direct this property, and that's not surprising at all. In its story of a wealthy tycoon who gains sympathy for the downtrodden by becoming involved with a group of squatters living in his New York mansion over the winter, it's got Capra's fingerprints all over it. And maybe not being directed by Capra is ultimately what prevents this film from being more of a classic. It's cute and entertaining, and more of both than I expected it to be, but it's also a tad lacking in something -- magic, whimsy, pacing -- that would have made it more memorable.Charlie Ruggles plays the tycoon and Victor Moore plays the principal squatter who sets the whole premise in motion.Grade: B
SimonJack "It Happened on 5th Avenue" is one of the funniest comedies ever made. It was the debut film of Allied Artists, and although it was filmed in 1946, it wasn't released until Easter 1947. Its winter setting has made it a Christmas favorite ever since. From 1990 to 2008 it seemed to disappear, but its DVD release in 2008 renewed interest. It now airs on TV during the holiday season. It's sure to delight modern audiences as it did those in 1947.All of the cast are superb in this movie. And it's a huge cast with many familiar Hollywood faces. The plot is wonderful, with some very interesting twists. All the qualities of production are first-rate. The movie won the 1948 Academy Award for best writing of an original story. Publicity for the film included some big celebrity endorsements: Orson Welles, Al Jolson, Constance Bennet and Frank Capra. Yet, it got only mediocre reviews. It was one of those times when the press was out of touch with the public who loved the film. The movie was a huge box office success. The humor in this movie comes in big doses and all forms. It has a plethora of laughter inducements and humor, with the warmth of a holiday family setting. Witty dialog, hilarious scenes, and very funny situations give this film a secure place at the top of my comedy and Christmas movie lists. I don't want to give away any of the plot outright – for those who don't want to know the story in advance. But I have to note a superbly clever and outlandishly funny scene. Abe Reynolds is uncredited as Finkelhoff, a tailor who owns a used clothing store. His monologue about a $6 allowance for a fancy tailored all wool suit is hilarious. It leads to a moth convention, purchase of pesticides, night work to combat the bugs, a wife who divorces him, his jailing for failure to pay alimony, and losing his shop. All because he took an all-wool suit.Don DeFore (Jim), Ann Harding (Mary), Charles Ruggles (Mike) and Gale Storm (Trudy) have top billing for the film. But the story revolves around Aloysius T. McKeever (aka, "Mac," played by Victor Moore). The sizable supporting cast of top performances add great lines to the film. All of the leads have witty lines at times. Mac offers occasional pearls of wisdom and philosophical tidbits. These McKeeverisms are apropos for the scene, and usually carry some humor. Here are a few examples. "The essence of big business, gentlemen, is never put one worry ahead of another." Speaking to Mike, "Mike, a house – any house, is only what it's occupants make it." At the dinner table, "That proves what I've always believed. Indigestion is caused by unhappiness. If you don't like the things the world makes you do, you're not hungry." And later, "And I would like to feel that you're all my friends. For to be without friends is a serious form of poverty."Here are more dialog samples of humor, to further whet one's appetite. Jim, "Sure, you've gotta wear a mink coat when you work in a music shop. They play those Frank Sinatra records. Chills run up and down your spine. It gets cold. You have to wear a mink coat."Mac, "Where do you live?" Trudy, "In Dubuque, with my 13 brothers and sisters." Jim, "Well, the neighbors must call your house the Stork Club."Patrolman Brady (Arthur Hohl, uncredited), "How'd you like to live in a joint like this?" Patrolman Cecil Felton (played by Edward Brophy), "What? And have room for the rest of my wife's relations? Oh!"Trudy, "I can't go back to him." Jim, "You're married?" Trudy, "It's my father. He's a drunkard, he's lazy and he beats us." Jim, "Beats all 14 of you?" Trudy, "Every night." Jim, "You're old man's not lazy."Mac, "Well, I believe that people who require money should work for it. As for myself, I gave up working years ago. I never could make enough to satisfy my lavish tastes. So, I let other people work for it, and I enjoy it."Trudy, "My goodness, a girl of 18 is practically middle-aged nowadays."Hank (played by Edward Ryan), "What have you got against children?" Apartment manager (played by Johnny Arthur), "It's a rule of the house." Jim, "Naturally, you can't break the rule. If he lets your kids in, everybody'd start having children. Then what would happen to the human race?"Mary, "What does your father think of him?" Trudy, "Dad's going to have him arrested." Mary, "Well, whatever for? Loving you?" Trudy, "No, for trespassing." Mary, "Well, that's the same thing, isn't it? To your father."Mike, "You've taken on a little weight since I last saw you, in the wrong places." Mary, "It's the clothes, and you're no Van Jonson yourself. I can remember when you only had one chin." Mac, "Not in my 20 years of living as a guest in other people's homes have I ever been faced with a situation like this."Mike, "I want them to disregard the idea and offer him a job. Yes, yes… I don't care if it's teaching Eskimos the Boogie Woogie or milking whales in Patagonia, only it must be out of the country."Mac, "Oh, Mike. I'm sorry to interrupt your negotiations. I know you have millions and millions of dollars hanging in the balance. But, Mike, you didn't make your bed this morning."Farrow (played by Grant Mitchell), "Mr. O'Connor, what were you doing in that closet?" Mike, "I like it in there. There's nothing so restful as a nice, dark, stuffy closet."This is a movie that's sure to delight most people at any time of the year. It's especially good over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
RNMorton 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.
wes-connors Slightly tipsy hobo Victor Moore (as Aloysius T. McKeever) arrives with his dog "Sam" at a swanky New York City brownstone. This is where he spends the winter, while owner and "second richest man in the world" Charles Ruggles (as Michael "Mike" O'Connor) is in Virginia at his "Bubbling Springs" mansion. Meanwhile, World War II veteran Don DeFore (as Jim Bullock) is down on his luck and in his underwear. Thrown out of a tenement, Mr. DeFore is sleeping on a city bench when Mr. Moore happens by, his ragged clothes replaced by Mr. Ruggles' classy duds. Moore invites DeFore over to his adopted mansion...Houseguest DeFore's homeless buddies move in because their prospective apartment won't allow children. Young father Edward Ryan Jr. (as Hank) begs him to reconsider, but landlord Charles Lane asserts, "We don't take children!" Dripping with sarcasm, Alan Hale Jr. (as Whitey) offers to drown the kids while DeFore asks, "If he lets your kids in, everybody'd start having children - then what would happen to the human race?" Meanwhile, nubile young heiress Gale Storm (as Trudy O'Connor) runs away from school, intending to hide out in New York while her father's away. Hoping to stay incognito, Ms. Storm decides to pose as a vagrant in her own mansion. Naturally, father Ruggles hires a detective, and divorced mother Ann Harding (as Mary O'Connor) is also concerned...The whimsical fun continues with Moore and Ruggles reversing their rich man, poor man roles. The older gentlemen are in fine form. Minor bits with tailor Abe Reynolds and waiter Pat Goldin's wobbly table add to the fun, smoothly guided by producer/director Roy Del Ruth. The thoroughly charming script, by Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani, won a much-deserved "Academy Award" nomination. Other than that, "It Happened on Fifth Avenue" seems to have fallen through the cracks. If you're looking for "lost gems" among old movies, you'll find one here.********* It Happened on Fifth Avenue (4/19/47) Roy Del Ruth ~ Victor Moore, Charles Ruggles, Don DeFore, Ann Harding