On the Avenue (1937), 6+

Broadway producer satirizes an important New York family. The family sues but their daughter falls in love with producer.
(89 min) Released 1937-02-04
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Stars: Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye
Seymour Felix ... dances staged by

Genres: Musical | Comedy | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029345/

IMDb Trivia: "Remade as "Let's Make Love" (1960) but with the genders of the leads reversed: Marilyn Monroe played Dick Powell's role and Yves Montand played Madeleine Carroll's." Yes, well, same studio, and they shared the premise of famous person spoofed in a theatrical show, but with a huge difference. In 1960, the spoofed mogul learns to sing, dance and tell jokes to infiltrate the show's company as an impersonator of himself, and romances MM as a fellow actor. In 1937, the actor knows he's dating the heiress herself, and said actor is also writer/producer.

Most of the songs are by Irving Berlin. The best: I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm. Good production numbers here, but all bound by the realism of being staged in a theatre. Commentary says that Seymour Felix was loaned to Fox from MGM for this film, and Zanuck wanted the realism. AF dances well (again), and does excellent comedy work in the theatrical show. Very strange that AF pines for DP, and he treats her like a pal at best, and no one pines for AF.

I'm really not thrilled by the Ritz Brothers. Somehow I want them to come out of the manic performance and be real people once in a while. Not for a whole film, just let us see 2 sides in the same story. (I may have said this before: the Marx Bros were manic with a purpose (depose pomposity/authority), and climbed out of their mania to perform music, or show compassion for others. Ritz Bros are just manic because fast is funny and funny is their only purpose.) I must point out that the Ritz Bros dance really well. I'm tempted to put them on my list of worthwhile dancers, but enduring the mania is too high a price for enjoying the dancing. Their athleticism is used well here in the Slumming on Park Avenue number (scene 19), and their dancing in He Ain't Got Rhythm (Harry as an astronomer, lyrics about scientists), starting 5:50 for about 2 min.

This is already the 8th Alice Faye film on my musicals list: 3 in '35, 4 in '36, and I don't have her 1st 3 films. (I previously made an effort to collect as much of her work as I could.) According to the commentary on this disc, AF (b. 1915) graduated 8th grade at age 13 and went to Broadway to be in the chorus. Rudy Vallee discovered her. No wonder she looked so bad in the Jean Harlow shaved brows: she was too young in '35 (and it didn't suit her personality). Her eyebrows are more natural here.

Fox, dir. Del Ruth; 6+