IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE (Mike Smolinski)

Film Description A warm-hearted comedy (and one of the best Christmas films from Hollywood’s Golden Age), It Happened on Fifth Avenue tells the story of a homeless New Yorker who moves into a mansion left vacant by its traveling owners, 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.

This Oscar-nominated film (Best Original Story) was a hit in 1947 in a year overrun by Christmas pictures. It went out of circulation until it was released on DVD and broadcast on several movie cable channels. It’s now a perennial favorite with ever-expanding popularity.

Featuring a great cast of “character” actors: Victor Moore, Don De Fore, Gale Storm, Charlie Ruggles, Alan Hale Jr., and Ann Harding

Interesting Facts • The year 1947 tops the list of “Merriest Movie Years Ever” with no less than 4 Christmas-themed films that have become all-time classics: It’s a Wonderful Life (released at the end of 1946 with a wider release in 1947), followed by It Happened on Fifth Avenue, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Bishop’s Wife. • At the Oscars honoring the films of 1947, It Happened on Fifth Avenue and Miracle on 34th Street competed against each other for Best Original Story. (I was a big year for Christmas on New York Streets apparently.) • Frank Capra was originally set to direct It Happened on Fifth Avenue, but when he got the script for It’s a Wonderful Life, he decided to direct that Christmas picture instead – both began filming the same year. • This was the first movie produced by a new studio – Allied Artists – later responsible for classics like El Cid, Cabaret, Papillion, and The Man Who Would Be King. • Strange Fact: It Happened on Fifth Avenue was remade in Hindi twice in India (1948 and 1972) as well as a radio production late in 1947 and a TV version in 1957. • Praised by the New York Times, our film was endorsed by and praised publicly by Orson Welles, Frank Capra, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Cary Grant, who collectively took out an ad in Hollywood trade papers endorsing it. • The film went out of circulation (reasons unknown) but was rediscovered by the public with its DVD release in 2008 and its reputation and popularity has grown exponentially • SPOILER ALERT: A major plot point in the film was the use of empty WWII barracks as civilian housing. This idea was adopted in reality later in 1947 after the film’s release.

1 What to Look For • Like any well-written film, It Happened on Fifth Avenue has many layers. That’s what keeps it fresh – even today. It’s a warm-hearted comedy, but it also deals with homelessness, the gap between the wealthy and the poor, the disregard for residents by developers, turning our back on veteran needs, etc. o Examples: Jim, a recently discharged vet is thrown out of his apartment during the VERY REAL housing shortage after WWII. In reality, 15 million people had to find new housing that year. o O’Connor’s plan to arbitrarily tear down apartment buildings with no regard for its residents and replace the housing with office buildings is the kind of thing that still makes news today. o While Michael O’Connor has three giant houses, the families who squat at his Fifth Avenue residence can’t even find one apartment to share. • Pay attention to the clever dialog. For example, the double entendres when the baby is mistakenly assumed to be Trudy and Jim’s. • Clever visual symbolism such as Jim’s position on the ladder when he and Mike are decorating the Christmas tree. Whoever has the more salient point has the “higher ground” on the ladder at the time. • The layers of commentary on marriage (fake and real), the meaning of true friendship, and coming to terms with empathy…all packed into this funny, charming film.

Talking Points • What was your favorite scene and why? • Who was your favorite character and why? • How do you think these people would make out today? • What do you think happened to these characters after they parted ways at the end of the film? • Is it a happy or sad ending?

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