MartinHafer "On The Avenue" begins with a show. This is odd, as most 1930s stage musicals eventually end up with a show--but this one STARTS in the middle of one. The musical is ridiculous (as usual)--with over the top costumes and sets. It also features the Ritz Brothers as well as Alice Faye and Dick Powell. Uggh, I hate the Ritz Brothers' antics--which, often, make the Three Stooges look downright cerebral by comparison! Fortunately, they are not a huge focus of most of this film. The show culminates in a burlesque that makes fun of a famous explorer, Commodore Caraway. The Commodore happens to be in the audience and he and his daughter, Mimi (Madeleine Carroll) are NOT amused and they decide to sue. However, to prevent this, Gary Blake (Powell) promises to make major changes in the show. Most of this change of heart is because Gary is very smitten with Mimi...and she feels likewise. He eventually makes major changes--and the show really sucks as a result. In fact, it's so bad the Ritz Brothers come on the stage to 'save the day'! That's like getting rid of the Plague by giving someone Ebola!!! Either way, the public is NOT impressed. What's next? Do we even care?This is a very slow and uneven film for many reasons. First, the characters are awfully one-dimensional. Part of this is because there are so many musical numbers, there's no time for character development. And, part of it is that they really don't seem all that likable. Including the Ritz Brothers and Stepin Fetchit didn't help, that's for sure. It's hard for a sane person to like the Ritzes and Fetchit is just an embarrassment to watch--though his stereotypical antics are FAR more restrained than usual thank goodness. The only big plus in the film COULD have been Alice Faye--but she just isn't given much to do because the filmmakers didn't realize she would very soon be a mega-star--far bigger than Powell or Carroll. Within a year of making "On The Avenue", Faye would be on to far better things and probably never looked back.

mark.waltz When the wealthiest girl in the world and her family are spoofed in a Broadway musical revue, she takes action against the producers and ends up falling in love with the leading man! How will she get him to change the show and not make the show loose its popularity? That's about all the plot line in this Irving Berlin classic that stars Dick Powell (on loan from Warner Brothers), Madeline Carroll, Alice Faye, and The Ritz Brothers. But it works, and hysterically so! I must admit, I've never been much of a Madeline Carroll fan; I found her to be rather wooden, but here, she has lightened up considerably. Dick Powell, always paired with Ruby Keeler in those Warners musicals (except when someone like Gloria Stuart or real-life wife Joan Blondell stepped in), came over to Fox for this two years after doing a delightful political musical spoof called "Thanks a Million". He was a fine singer, and unlike MGM's Nelson Eddy, was full of charm. Fox didn't yet have Tony Martin (who later married Alice Faye) doing leads, so it needed a star, and at the time, Dick Powell was on the list of top 10 moneymakers.Alice Faye, switching between leads and supporting parts at the time (and on the verge of being the studio's top female adult star), plays a more scheming character than normal. When Powell decides he no longer wants to cruely spoof Carroll and papa George Barbier, Faye adds her own schtick into the revue material. Having entered in the first scene of the revue with a pack of huge dogs trailing behind her, she takes out the dogs at his request, but refuses to let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak. What she does I will not print here, but it is hysterical. The only one of the eccentric family who enjoys the review is wacky aunt Cora Witherspoon, obsessed with Russian culture. She in fact is up there with Carol Channing who enjoyed "Forbidden Broadway" by recording "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" on one of that Off Broadway revue's CD's. The others should have just went along with it and said, "The only bad publicity is no publicity".As for the Ritz Brothers, people can either take em' or leave em', and here, I sort of do both. They are like children who have one sort of gimmick to get attention and do it non-stop to the extent of annoyance. They do fine when spoofing Alice Faye's "Let's Go Slumming" by one of them appearing as her in drag. Fortunately, they aren't in the film all that much. Irving Berlin's music is wonderful, especially the standard "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm".Sad to state, Joan Davis, who plays a secretary in the film, has very little to do. She was obviously hired by Fox for her comic talents, but it was not used here. She would have been great onstage spoofing Witherspoon. She was doing here what all starlets do, and would have much better things happen to her down the road. Still, this is a very enjoyable film, and worth a look on DVD, which has a great bio on Alice Faye attached.

lugonian ON THE AVENUE (20th Century-Fox, 1937), directed by Roy Del Ruth, is a lively musical film capitalizing on the current trend of screwball comedies that never seems to go out of style: spoofing high society. For instance, art imitating life with a theatrical company poking fun of a rich family with a well-to-do family recognizing themselves as the subject matter, and taking action.Gary Blake (Dick Powell), star of the latest musical show, "On the Avenue," has written a play about "The Richest Girl in Town," starring himself as the rich father with Mona Merrick (Alice Faye) in the title role. Mimi Carraway (Madeleine Carroll), the richest girl in town, along with her father, the Commodore (George Barbier), Aunt Fritz (Cora Witherspoon) and fiancé, Frederick Sims (Alan Mowbray), an Arctic explorer, attend the opening and immediately recognize themselves as the topic of society fun. At the conclusion of the play, Mimi storms over to Blake's dressing room where she greets him with anger and a slap on the face. Because she refuses to listen to reason, Blake hasher forcibly ejected from the theater for not being a "good sport." Thinking back of what was said, Mimi agrees on becoming a "good sport" by inviting Gary for a night on of town, posing as Mr. and Mrs.Hossenpfeiffer, to discuss matters and have fun at the same time. Returning home at dawn, Gary and Mimi, who have fallen in love, come to a compromise. Mimi agrees to let Gary carry on with his show as written while Gary goes one step further by tastefully changing the material so it won't be offensive. Jealous over Gary's infatuation towards Mimi, Mona takes it upon herself on sketching the musical play to be even worse than before. Mimi and family attend to witness the shock of their lives with the play's revision. Believing Gary is at fault, Mimi gets even by buying the rights to the show and hiring patrons to walkout during Gary's performance and using the Ritz Brothers to make him look ridiculous for every newspaper critic in town to see. Once Gary discovers what Mimi has done, it becomes his turn to have the last laugh.With music and lyrics composed by the legendary Irving Berlin, the motion picture soundtrack is as follows: "He Ain't Got Rhythm" (sung by Alice Faye, and The Ritz Brothers); "The Girl On the Police Gazette"(sung by Dick Powell in 1890s attire, bowler and mustache); "You're Laughing at Me" (sung by Powell to Madeleine Carroll); "This Year's Kisses" (sung by Faye); "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (sung by Powell and Faye); "Slumming on Park Avenue" (Sung by Alice Faye and The Ritz Brothers); "You're Laughing at Me" (Powell); "Ochye Tchonia"(Russian Folk Song sung and performed by The Ritz Brothers); "This Year's Kisses'" (sung by Alice Faye); and "Slumming in Park Avenue"(sung by cast).In spite the fact that the Berlin songs, as good as they are, never became as legendary as "Blue Skies" or "White Christmas," he did acquire fine singers to promote his distinguished tunes: Dick Powell, on loan out from Warner Brothers, having the film's best song, "You're Laughing at Me," while Alice Faye, in a secondary role, contributes some of her best vocals, namely "This Year's Kisses." In between songs,the Ritz Brothers collaborate their version of bizarre comedy, ranging from facial expressions, crossed-eyes, and dressing in drag. Others in the cast include: Joan Davis (Miss Katz, a secretary); Douglas Fowley(Eddie Eads); Stepin Fetchit as "Step," billed as Herman; Sig Rumann(Herr Hanestange); Billy Gilbert (Joe Papaloupas, the lunch wagon proprietor); Walter Catlett (Jake Dibble); and E.E. Clive (Ben, the Central Park Horse Cabby), Dewey Robinson (Lunch Wagon Patron), among others.The sequence where Powell (in tuxedo and top hat) and Carroll (in glittering white evening gown) are strolling through Central Park, in medium camera range the couple resemble that of current song and dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In fact, watching Powell and Carroll together in this scene alone, anyone would expect them to go into their dance to "You're Laughing at Me," which doesn't happen. With Seymour Felix credited as choreographer, much of the dancing takes place on stage.Regardless of listenable tunes, agreeable cast and above-average story, ON THE AVENUE is a forgotten item from the 1930s. Its 1994 video cassette distribution consisted of an added bonus with a surviving comedy outtake featuring Alice Faye and the Ritz Brothers. Seldom revived these days, ON THE AVENUE was formerly presented on American Movie Classics cable channel in 1996 as part of its tribute to the movie musical during the station's annual film preservation festival. ON THE AVENUE is old-fashioned entertainment that should still please its viewers whenever aired on the Fox Movie Channel. (***1/2)

bkoganbing Alice Faye's movie career was just getting into high gear when she did this gem in 1937. The Irving Berlin score is among the best he ever wrote for the screen and Alice does well with Let's Go Slumming on Park Avenue and This Year's Kisses. The former is somewhat autobiographical for her as Alice Faye was brought up in Hell's Kitchen and she sings it against a Hell's Kitchen background.In her early career at 20th Century Fox, Darryl Zanuck had a problem with finding someone who could sing opposite her. The only one available on the lot was Don Ameche. Zanuck's number one leading man, Tyrone Power, was non-musical. So Zanuck had to reach out to his former employer, Jack Warner, to borrow Dick Powell to play opposite Faye. Ironically Powell got the hit song out of this film with I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm.The rest of the cast is top rate. Madeline Carroll plays a typical 1930s débutante and it's the antics of her family and actor-writer Dick Powell's satire of same that form the basis of the story. My two personal favorites of the supporting cast are George Barbier who always hits the right note as Madeline's perennially choleric father and Billy Gilbert who has a great bit as a diner owner.Wonderful film, great entertainment.