It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)

Looking for something new for your holiday viewing this year?  Look no further than the little-known 1947 heartwarmer It Happened on Fifth Avenue. Directed by Roy Del Ruth, this delightful film stars Victor Moore, Don DeFore, Charlie Ruggles, Ann Harding, and Gale Storm.  Since catching this 4-star charmer when it made its TCM premiere in 2009 (as one of their holiday movies), our family has included it in our own holiday viewing schedule.  Although the setting is more winter than Christmas---with the exception of a small tree-trimming/Christmas Eve scene---I think the message of the movie shouts that this is a holiday movie.

The story takes place on Fifth Avenue in New York City, at the home of the extremely wealthy Michael O'Connor (Charlie Ruggles).  Every winter, from November 1st to March 15th, O'Connor closes up his mansion and heads south to Virginia.  What he doesn't know is that after he moves out, the homeless Aloysius McKeever (Victor Moore) moves in.

This particular year, McKeever runs into Jim Bullock (Don DeFore), whose apartment building has just been sold, sending him to the streets in search of new living arrangements.  Unable to find anything, Jim is resting on a park bench when McKeever meets up with him.  Telling Jim he lives alone, McKeever invites Jim to be his guest for the evening.  Jim has no idea Mac (as he calls McKeever) is living in the home with the owner unaware, so he accepts the offer.

That same evening, O'Connor's daughter, Trudy (Gale Storm), who has run away from her finishing school, arrives at the house, and not wanting Mac and Jim to know of her connection to the very wealthy O'Connor, she invents a story about being in town looking for a job.  She, too, is invited to remain a guest in the mansion, and very soon, she and Jim are in love with one another.

Before long, two of Jim's Army buddies---unable to find a suitable apartment---are calling the O'Connor mansion home, and then when O'Connor himself makes an unexpected early appearance, he is assumed to be homeless and, also, is welcomed into the fold.

How long can the charade be kept up?  How long will Michael O'Connor be willing to be a guest in his own home?  And what happens when Trudy's mother---Michael's ex-wife (Ann Harding)---shows up as well?  These are the questions that play out in this very sweet little film.

According to Robert Osborne, when this film was originally being made, Frank Capra was going to direct it; however, early on, he heard about another script---the beloved It's a Wonderful Life---and he chose to direct that film instead, selling his rights to It Happened on Fifth Avenue to Roy Del Ruth.  In true It's a Wonderful Life style, though, It Happened on Fifth Avenue also features a beautiful line about friendship...  "To be without friends is a serious form of poverty." 

This sweet film is on TCM's Christmas Day schedule---Friday, December 25th at 6:00 p.m. (ET), so if you'd like to see it (and I definitely recommend it), be sure to set your DVR.  It's also TCM's lineup earlier in the month---Sunday, December 20th, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Happy viewing!!!