Hobos, Millionaires, and Christmas Comedy

Directed by Roy Del Ruth, 1947's It Happened on 5th Avenue is an underrated holiday comedy playing on the post-WWII homelessness of G.I.'s, the recovering from the Great Depression, and what it really means to be a rich man and a poor man. It magnificently blurs the line between rich and poor using comedy and fun.

Michael O'Connor (Charles Ruggles) is the second richest man in New York, but not exactly the nicest. When he has the tenement buildings he owns destroyed, Jim Bullock (Don DeFore) refuses to move. He is out of work, has nowhere else to live, and his to be physically taken from the apartment. Walking the streets with nowhere to go, John runs into Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore), a hilarious New York City hobo who spends his winter in a 5th Avenue mansion since the owner is away spending his winter in the south. The owner of the mansion happens to be the second richest man in New York, Michael O'Connor. McKeever ends up hanging around his winte rpalace with ex-G.I.Bullock and Trudy O'Connor ( the beautiful and tempestuously named Gale Storm), who is Michael O'Connor's daughter. Trudy runaway and has slipped into the house to pick up some clothes so she can strike on her own, being finished with finishing school. Of course, they mistake Trudy for a thief and she goes along with it, having much more fun with the squatters than she ever had with stingy old dad. When O'Connor finds out that Trudy has fallen for Jim, he is furious and demands to have his house back. He comes back incognito and winds up working as a servant for the squatters. Trudy calls up her mother Mary (Ann Harding), who then helps set everything with her husband to right. A true switcheroo comedy, this is a film that reminds you just what is important over the holidays.

This film was the first release by Allied Artists, an independent film, music, and television production company which is still running today. The film was originally optioned by Frank Capra's Liberty Films and announced by them to be filmed, but Roy Del Ruth acquired the story from them. The film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but lost out to another Christmas film set in the island of Manhattan in New York City, Miracle on 34th Street. Just some random trivia to throw in here: its roughly three miles from 5th Avenue to 34th Street in New York City.

Despite being practically a lost film, there still are some out there who have seen and enjoyed this film. The film has its own website, hoping to spread its popularity. I also found two reviews that recommend the film, this one from Associated Content and this one from Sukip.com. Another review, accompanied by a review of 1947's Dear Ruth, can be found here via The New York Times. The film was also recently released by Warner Brother's in its second volume of Classic Holiday DVD collection, along with the films All Mine to Give, Holiday Affair, and Blossoms in the Dust. If you haven't seen it, It Happened on 5th Avenue is a film that should truly be added to every one's holiday movie collection.