On the Avenue (1937)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Silly backstage story with a beautiful but uninteresting leading lady in Madeleine Carroll, this 20th Century Fox musical is buoyed by a couple of happy factors: third-billed Alice Faye, in the last of her kewpie-doll roles (after this she was always a noble leading lady, and arguably less interesting), and an excellent Irving Berlin score. Berlin had his pulse on pop music of the times like nobody else, and he delivers sumptuous ballads, rhythm numbers, and social satire from a seemingly bottomless bag of inspiration. Dick Powell, stuck with playing the sort of insipid roles he hated at Warners, doesn't seem that happy, and Cora Witherspoon, as Carroll's dotty aunt, dithers in a part that almost certainly was designed for Alice Brady. But Faye's "This Year's Kisses" and "Slumming on Park Avenue" are fabulous, and the Ritz Brothers, while nobody's favorite comedy team, are well used. It's fast and unpretentious, and rest assured, another good Berlin tune is always coming up.

"On the Avenue" was made in 1937 and starred Madeline Carroll, Dick Powell, Alice Faye and the Ritz Brothers. A musical revue does a send-up of a wealthy family, which outrages them. The writer, Gary Blake, accuses the young woman of the family, Mimi Caraway (Carroll) of being a bad sport. She invites him to dinner, and they fall in love. He promises to rewrite the skit. However, Mona Merrick (Faye), the leading lady who is in love with Gary, performs the skit so that the family comes off as even worse. Mimi retaliates by buying the production and planning some big revenge on Gary.There are some good numbers and wonderful singing by Faye and Powell; alas, the appeal of the Ritz Brothers has always been lost on me. They always do these incredibly long routines in films, and to me, anyway, they're annoying rather than funny.Madeline Carroll is stunningly beautiful; it's a shame she wasn't in Hollywood longer (in 1938, she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood). She returned to England to work for the war effort and stayed on after the war. Dick Powell, in the course of a 30-year career, reinvented himself several times. Here he is in his first incarnation, that of a juvenile tenor. He's very good and as he evolved into a serious actor and then a director and producer, he only got better. Alice Faye looks great and sings in her beautiful, smooth contralto; her stardom was just about to hit its peak.All in all, very pleasant. If you're like me, record this and fast forward through the Ritz Brothers.

This is one of the weakest musicals in the golden age of films. The script is absolutely leaden. The music is very mediocre. The dancing (Michael Kidd was apparently still learning his craft)is only so-so. The comedy is practically non-existent. A scene in a small diner, featuring Billy Gilbert, Madeleine Carroll, and Dick Powell, is one of the most embarrassing comedy bits of the era. Cora Witherspoon, playing the Charlotte Greenwood stereotype, adds not a single laugh to this labored musical. Dick Powell does his best, but the plot keeps him from doing anything more than he did in Dames and the other Warner Brothers musicals of the time. Alice Faye isn't given much to do but pout and sing some forgettable songs. The Ritz Brothers are simply pathetic. Yes, they can dance a bit, but they fail, as ever, to be even remotely comical. All in all, this film does not contribute to Zanuck's reputation. The DVD version, by the way, is fine. Now if only the movie was enjoyable.

For someone who takes movies as seriously as I do and has logged literally millions of miles of celluloid there's still an awful lot I've yet to see including musicals, one of my favorite genres and this was one of them yet barely five minutes in I realized that I had in fact seen it albeit via a remake with non-too-subtle changes. Consider the plot: We're spoon-fed the information that Gary Blake (Dick Powell) has written and will star in a new Revue 'On The Avenue' just about to open on Broadway and co-starring Mona Merrick (Alice Faye). Cut to opening night and after a number by Mona (He Ain't Got Rhythm) we segue into a sketch satirising 'the richest girl in the world' even as the subject of the sketch, Mimi Caraway (Madeleine Carroll) takes her seat in the orchestra along with her father, Commodore Caraway (George Barbier) and fiancé Frederick Sims, the well-known Arctic explorer (Alan Mowbray). Mimi, clearly based on Gloria Vanderbilt, is not too pleased about the satire any more than the Commodore and Sims but this doesn't prevent her falling for Gary before secretly buying the show and humiliating Gary. I don't know about you but I saw a movie about a millionaire who heard about a show IN REHEARSAL that satirised him; he went along incognito and fell for one of the actresses so he bought the show secretly and put himself forward as a look-alike of the real millionaire, thus securing a role which kept him close to the actress. So, if you've seen Let's Make Love starring Yves Montand and Marilyn Monroe then you've more or less seen On The Avenue but Let's Make Love had neither Alice Faye nor an Irving Berlin score and On The Avenue had to make do with Dick Powell instead of the great Yves Montand. Be that as it may Berlin contributed a fine score in which ironically singing joke Dick Powell, on loan from Warners, got to 'sing' what has become the best-known number, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - for good measure he was also allotted two further ballads, You're Laughing At Me (how right he was) and The Girl On The Police Gazette, whilst Alice Faye, the best singer by a mile, wound up with This Year's Kisses, Slumming On Park Avenue and He Ain't Got Rhythm. There was fine support from Cora Witherspoon, Billy Gilbert, an underused Joan Davis, and Sig Ruman and a good time was had by all, especially patrons. One for the collection.