''On the Avenue'' is a 1937 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

directed by

Roy Del Ruth Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker. Early career Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...

and starring

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

, Madeleine Carroll,

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as ''On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime B ...

, George Barbier, and The

Ritz Brothers The Ritz Brothers were an American family comedy act who performed extensively on stage, in nightclubs and in films from 1925 to the late 1960s. A fourth brother, George, acted as their manager. Early life The four brothers were born to Austria ...

. Many of the songs were composed by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

. Many of the plot details (with a reversal of the male and female roles) were used in '' Let's Make Love''. Initially, the movie was called ''Out Front''.

Plot

Gary Blake stars in a new show, ''On the Avenue'', with Mona Merrick. The show contains a satire on the richest girl in the world, Mimi Carraway. Mimi and her father are in the audience on opening night and feel insulted. She goes backstage and tries to get Gary to take the skit out of the show. He refuses and calls her a "bad sport". Shocked by the remark, Mimi decides to make a date with Gary. They spend the entire evening together and, by morning, have fallen in love. He finally agrees to revise the skit so it can no longer hurt the Carraways. Mona is in love with Gary and is furious when she hears about Gary's date with Mimi. When the Carraways appear to see the revised sketch, she changes it, without Gary's knowledge, making it worse than before. The Carraways decide to file suit against Gary. To get back at him, Mimi buys the show from the producer and embarrasses Gary by hiring a paid audience to walk out on the show. Word leaks out to the press and makes Gary the laughingstock of New York. Furious, he tears up his contract, refusing to work with Mimi. Soon, Mimi becomes engaged to Arctic explorer Frederick Sims. On her wedding day, Mona arrives and tells Mimi that she, not Gary, changed the skit. Mimi runs out of the wedding and goes to city hall with Gary to be married. The film's action is interspersed with songs from the play, including Berlin's songs "He Ain't Got Rhythm," and "Let's Go Slumming On Park Avenue."

Cast

as Gary Blake * Madeleine Carroll as Mimi Caraway *

as Mona Merrick * The

as themselves * George Barbier as Commodore Caraway *

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in Wo ...

as Frederick Sims *

Cora Witherspoon Cora Witherspoon (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1957) was an American stage and film character actress whose career spanned nearly half a century. She began in theatre where she remained rooted even after entering motion pictures in the ...

as Aunt Fritz *

Walter Catlett Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards. Career Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...

as J.J. Dibble *

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

as Eddie Eads * Joan Davis as Miss Katz *

Stepin Fetchit Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black a ...

as Herman 'Step' *

Sig Ruman Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains i ...

as Herr Hanfstangel (as Sig Rumann) *

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

as Joe Papaloupas

Partial soundtrack

* '' I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm'' (1937) ** Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin ** Sung by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in the show * '' This Year's Kisses'' (1937) ** Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin ** Sung by Alice Faye with piano accompaniment at rehearsal * '' You're Laughing at Me'' (1937) ** Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin ** Sung by Dick Powell with the studio orchestra * ''The Girl on the Police Gazette'' (1937) ** Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin ** Sung by Dick Powell with a barbershop quartet * ''

Cheek to Cheek "Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for the star of his new musical, Fred Astaire. The movie was ''Top Hat'', co-starring Ginger Rogers.

'' (1935) ** Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin ** Partially sung by Harry Ritz in the "He Ain't Got Rhythm" number * ''He Ain't Got Rhythm'' (1937) ** Music and Lyrics by

** Performed by Alice Faye, The Ritz Brothers and chorus in the show

Reception and accolades

Writing for '' Night and Day'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a good review, noting the film's astute direction and succinctly summarizing it as "a good film with some charming songs". Greene's only significant complaint was that of the performance given by Carroll which Greene described as evoking "the less endearing traits of a young elephant", "her stupendous coquetry", and her "intense proboscine whispers". Speaking for the audience, Greene claims that "we don't want weight or fidelity in a musical comedy". The film was nominated for the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

's 2006 list

AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals is a list of the top musicals in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute at the Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Holl ...

References

*Green, Stanley (1999) Hollywood Musicals Year by Year (2nd ed.), pub. Hal Leonard Corporation page 65

External links

* * * {{Irving Berlin 1937 films 1937 musical comedy films 1937 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Roy Del Ruth 20th Century Fox films Films scored by Irving Berlin Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge 1930s American films