Slightly tipsy hobo Victor Moore (as Aloysius T. McKeever) arrives with his dog "Sam" at a swanky New York City brownstone. This is where he spends the winter, while owner and "second richest man in the world" Charles Ruggles (as Michael "Mike" O'Connor) is in Virginia at his "Bubbling Springs" mansion. Meanwhile, World War II veteran Don DeFore (as Jim Bullock) is down on his luck and in his underwear. Thrown out of a tenement, Mr. DeFore is sleeping on a city bench when Mr. Moore happens by, his ragged clothes replaced by Mr. Ruggles' classy duds. Moore invites DeFore over to his adopted mansion...
Houseguest DeFore's homeless buddies move in because their prospective apartment won't allow children. Young father Edward Ryan Jr. (as Hank) begs him to reconsider, but landlord Charles Lane asserts, "We don't take children!" Dripping with sarcasm, Alan Hale Jr. (as Whitey) offers to drown the kids while DeFore asks, "If he lets your kids in, everybody'd start having children - then what would happen to the human race?"
Meanwhile, nubile young heiress Gale Storm (as Trudy O'Connor) runs away from school, intending to hide out in New York while her father's away. Hoping to stay incognito, Ms. Storm decides to pose as a vagrant in her own mansion. Naturally, father Ruggles hires a detective, and divorced mother Ann Harding (as Mary O'Connor) is also concerned...
The whimsical fun continues with Moore and Ruggles reversing their rich man, poor man roles. The older gentlemen are in fine form. Minor bits with tailor Abe Reynolds and waiter Pat Goldin's wobbly table add to the fun, smoothly guided by producer/director Roy Del Ruth. The thoroughly charming script, by Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani, won a much-deserved "Academy Award" nomination. Other than that, "It Happened on Fifth Avenue" seems to have fallen through the cracks. If you're looking for "lost gems" among old movies, you'll find one here.
********* It Happened on Fifth Avenue (4/19/47) Roy Del Ruth ~ Victor Moore, Charles Ruggles, Don DeFore, Ann Harding
Houseguest DeFore's homeless buddies move in because their prospective apartment won't allow children. Young father Edward Ryan Jr. (as Hank) begs him to reconsider, but landlord Charles Lane asserts, "We don't take children!" Dripping with sarcasm, Alan Hale Jr. (as Whitey) offers to drown the kids while DeFore asks, "If he lets your kids in, everybody'd start having children - then what would happen to the human race?"
Meanwhile, nubile young heiress Gale Storm (as Trudy O'Connor) runs away from school, intending to hide out in New York while her father's away. Hoping to stay incognito, Ms. Storm decides to pose as a vagrant in her own mansion. Naturally, father Ruggles hires a detective, and divorced mother Ann Harding (as Mary O'Connor) is also concerned...
The whimsical fun continues with Moore and Ruggles reversing their rich man, poor man roles. The older gentlemen are in fine form. Minor bits with tailor Abe Reynolds and waiter Pat Goldin's wobbly table add to the fun, smoothly guided by producer/director Roy Del Ruth. The thoroughly charming script, by Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani, won a much-deserved "Academy Award" nomination. Other than that, "It Happened on Fifth Avenue" seems to have fallen through the cracks. If you're looking for "lost gems" among old movies, you'll find one here.
********* It Happened on Fifth Avenue (4/19/47) Roy Del Ruth ~ Victor Moore, Charles Ruggles, Don DeFore, Ann Harding