On the Avenue
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Movie Reviews of On the Avenue
Movie Review: Another Great Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
As a fan of Alice Faye, Madeleine Carroll, and the Ritz Brothers, an unbiassed review is impossible. All they had to do was move about, which they did. An example of real entertainment which Hollywood and TV seem to have lost sight of in the last two decades wherein bottom-line profit has apparently become the sole motivation and raison d'etre of production.Movie Review: "When two people can laugh their way into love, they're lucky," says Dick Powell. Irving Berlin helps him out.
Summary: 4 Stars
Dick Powell and Irving Berlin come off best in On the Avenue, with Alice Fay and the Ritz Brothers a close second. If that doesn't leave romance much to work with, you can imagine what it does to Madeleine Carroll, the second billed lead and Powell's love interest.
The plot is sappy and needs help. Sappy, because it's the usual boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl silliness, not bad if handled with style. Help is in order because this attempt at a screwball musical badly needs two things, a more stylishly executed story line and Carole Lombard, or at least someone who can convince us that rich and selfish is just rich and not really selfish. Think of Irene Bullock in My Man Godfrey. Madeleine Carroll is blond and a looker, and a competent actress who can handle amusing situations. Her faint but posh accent (she was British, and made a big splash in The 39 Steps) and natural reserve (it would be hard to imagine her taking a bottoms-up pratfall) make her, for me, difficult to warm up to. It wasn't long before she was back in Britain and became a great success.
Dick Powell, in my opinion, finds here a perfect balance between not looking so much the self-satisfied juvenile as in his early musicals and not the getting-too-old-for-the-part appearance of his last ones. As Gary Blake, Broadway writer and performer, he comes cross as less cocky and even more likeable. He's still quick, confident and at ease with himself, but he's reached the point where he can be just a bit puzzled by love and with jokes at his expense. It's a nice performance.
Alice Faye even in black and white looks like a scrumptious bowl of cream and peaches. She's so easy to like with that sexy, warm contralto, sleepy eyes and, of all things, a really sweet, good-natured smile. As far as The Ritz Brothers go, a little goes a long way. But I'll tell you, they were a whiz at fast. close-order comic dancing. In the opening number, "He Ain't Got Rhythm," they nearly take the movie away from Powell and Faye right then.
And while some may say that this isn't Irving Berlin's greatest score, I'll gladly settle for one of Berlin's greatest songs ("I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm") and two of his near greats ("You're Laughing at Me," "Slumming on Park Avenue"). It doesn't get much better than Dick Powell, dressed to the nines, strolling on stage, tossing his top hat, white gloves and topcoat to an aged butler, and singing...
"The snow is snowing
The wind is blowing
But I can weather the storm
What do I care how much it may storm
I've got my love to keep me warm..."
If that's the high point, the low point is Stepin Fetchit as Gary Blake's servant. It's not Lincoln Perry's fault, exactly (Fetchit was his stage name). This is what kept him in work. However, his constant portrayals of slow, half-wit, shufflin' "darkies" is, or should be, offensive to any modern audience. It's hard to blame a guy for taking work in an industry that only portrayed blacks as stupid, as brutes or as mammies. Blame the industry or the audiences? There's plenty for all.
All is mostly forgiven, however, when Powell, again in white tie and tails, and Carroll, in a stunning gown that's nothing but white gauze and glitter, are driven in the moonlight through Central Park in a horse-drawn cab, stop and dance a bit, and then Powell sings to her ...
"I love you, which is easy to see
But I have to keep guessing what you feel about me
You listen to the words that I speak
But I feel that you listen with your tongue in your cheek.
You're laughing at me
I can't be sentimental for you're laughing at me
I know I want to be romantic, but I haven't a chance
You've got a sense of humor, and humor is death to romance..."
What's the plot? I thought I mentioned. Gary Blake is a hit in his Broadway review, which, among other things, has a funny and irreverent skit about the richest family in America, the Caraways. The skit includes jibes at young Mimi Caraway (Madeleine Carroll). Mimi and her dad are in the audience. Outraged, they get up and walk out. Mimi confronts Gary backstage. Gary falls for Mimi. Mimi falls for Gary. Mona Merrick (Alice Fay), who is co-starring with Gary and likes him a lot, takes steps to bollix things up for Gary. Then she helps unbollix things. Happy endings eventually for everyone. Keep your eye out for some fine comic character actors. Among them are Alan Mowbray, Sig Ruman, Joan Davis, Walter Catlett, Billy Gilbert and Cora Witherspoon.
Stick with Dick Powell and some of those Irving Berlin songs and you'll go away smiling. If you'd like to know more about Irving Berlin and America's great songwriters, Alec Wilder's American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 is invaluable. So is The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin.
Movie Review: The Fox Musicals Were Bright
Summary: 4 Stars
I always felt that 20th Century Fox put out the best story/music combination in the mid 1930s to early 1940s. There is a light hearted bounciness to the songs and these Fox musicals are, for me, much preferred to the overdone, sluggish MGM musicals. WB was great too but had that harsh urban twist to them which is by no means a knock to that studio. I love them. The 20th musicals, with Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Jack Haley, Betty Grable, Cesar Romero, John Payne, Jack Oakie, display in these performers, an infectious light-hearted quality. Too bad Dick Powell couldn't have been part of this group after 1935; he would have fit right in with his high likeability factor. Both of Dick Powell's loan outs to Fox, "On the Avenue," along with the forgotten but terrific "Thanks a Million," from 1935, are 2 of his very best films from this era. I hope this latter title comes to dvd as well.Movie Review: + 1/2 star-----you're kidding me, right ???
Summary: 3 Stars
(3.5 stars)
On The Avenue is one of those Fox musicals that could have been great but was somehow inexplicably doomed to become little more than a "B" movie--and that's on a good day! Oh yes, the acting is quite good and the musical numbers are well done. In addition, the cinematography and the choreography also work well; and the plot moves along at a good pace. Unfortunately, however, that's where the plusses leave off and the minuses begin to add up. The Ritz Brothers do nothing for me. The Ritz Brothers can't even begin to compare to The Marx Brothers; and I am left wondering why the purest looking girl on the screen, Alice Faye in the role of Mona Merrick, DOESN'T get the man at the end of the picture. Worse yet, when Stepin Fetchit goes through his routine onscreen I do nothing but cringe and wince; it offends me even if his "act" was considered a funny way to portray African-Americans at that time.
When the action starts, we quickly see that a hot new Broadway show is opening--much to the chagrin of Commodore Caraway (George Barbier), his daughter Mimi (Madeleine Carroll) and their explorer friend Frederick Sims (Alan Mowbray) who is well known for his trips to the artic. The show, which stars Gary Blake (Dick Powell), has a comedy sketch spoofs the Caraway family to such an extent that there can be no misunderstanding that the joke's on them; and the Caraways and Sims leave the theater in a huff feeling angry and very embarrassed. Commodore Caraway wants to sue; but his lawyer Mr. Trivet (Douglas Wood) says they don't have enough grounds to sue. Meanwhile, we also meet Mimi's nutty Aunt Fritz (Cora Witherspoon) who can laugh much more easily at life as she drifts from a fixation on all things Russian to all things German and more.
Mimi bribes a stage door guard to let her into the theater; and she has a nasty first meeting with Gary Blake. She makes it clear that she and her family are furious. Somehow (and this is not well done), Gary and Mimi make amends and spend the night on the town pretending they don't know each other. That way they can get a fresh start and maybe romance will bloom. Mimi eventually gets Gary's promise that the sketch in the show about them will be changed for the better.
Of course, there are complications. Romance between Gary and Mimi doesn't sit well with Mona Merrick (Alice Faye), who works as Gary's sidekick in the show. Despite the fact that Mona is clearly the sweet, pure and rather charming girl next door type, she is ignored by Gary who becomes ever more interested in dating Mimi.
From here the plot can go anywhere. What happens between Mimi and Gary in the long run? Will Gary and Mimi keep seeing each other after Mona makes surprise changes in the show to foul up Gary's plans to please Mimi and her family? Will the Caraways sue the manager J.J. 'Jake' Dibble (Walter Catlett)? What might happen if Mimi tries to take over the show? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!
The DVD comes with a few extra features; I especially liked the featurette on Alice Faye.
On The Avenue has several plusses in its favor; but the minuses drag it down and leave it behind the better musicals from the golden age of Hollywood. I recommend this for fans of the actors in this movie; but in general please make sure you're going to be comfortable with the minuses or else, like me, you'll be somewhat disappointed.