Product Description

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/07/2008 Run time: 128 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70155 in DVD
• Brand: Twentieth Century Fox
• Released on: 2008-10-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 89 minutes

Customer Reviews

One of Fox's best musicals
Fox's musicals haven't weathered so well as have the products of MGM and Warner Brothers: their performers were so singular that they've been forgotten over the years or are treated (as in the case of Carmen Miranda) largely as kitsch. But ON THE AVENUE shows beautifully what Fox could do exceptionally well in the musical format when they had all the right elements together--in this case, a superb Irving Berlin score.

The queen of Fox musicals was Alice Faye, an extremely distinctive performer with a gorgeously lush contralto voice much like Karen Carpenter's. With her heavy eyelids and great open smile she always looked like she was smiling through tears, and no one was better at singing a rueful ballad, like this film's famous "This Year's Kisses," one of Berlin's rare sad numbers. Faye's part in this is a bit underwritten, and though Dick Powell is the male lead (at this point moving away from the juvenile twerp he played in Warners musicals to an authentic and convincing leading actor he would become in films noir--and here in superb voice), he must contend with the beautiful but forever irritating Madeleine Carroll as his aristocratic love interest. The film is redeemed, though, by the Ritz Brothers, another great Fox musical staple. All but forgotten today, the Ritzes were a kind of cross between the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges, and they could also sing well and dance even better. Their manic energies are not to everyone's tastes, but to many people (myself included) they're hilarious, and the surprisingly virile Harry Ritz is hysterical in his parody of Faye during the "Let's Go Slumming" number.

A Great Musical
I believe that in the 1930s, Irving Berlin was at his creative best, and he really hit his stride writing the music and lyrics to "On The Avenue". All of the songs are great with the ballad "This Year's Kisses" being the most famous. Some of the other great songs include:"I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm","Slumming On Park Avenue", and "You're Laughing At Me". Irving Berlin definitely was a musical genuis.

Dick Powell and Alice Faye should of been paired more often, because they definitely had chemistry on the screen. However, surprisingly Alice takes backstage to Madeline Carroll who is the gal that gets Dick Powell in the end. Dick Powell was great as the level-headed producer and star who falls in a heap over a rich socialite. Madeline Carroll was superb as the socialite who hates Powell in the beginning, but grows to love him in the long run. Alice Faye is absolutely beautiful as the girl-next-door that doesn't get the man. The cast is also rounded out by a truly funny appearance by Billy Gilbert as a diner owner/cook.

The only bad point of the movie, and it is an annoying point at that is the appearance of the Ritz Brothers. It may be a personal thing, but I think they are the least funny of all of the comedy teams, and their corny moments in "On The Avenue" definitely bring down the movie, but only slightly. If you are looking for a fell good musical of the 1930s, look no further. "On The Avenue" is definitely up your alley...

On the Avenue
Nothing heavy, this is a very enjoyable 1930s musical. The highlites are the musical numbers, since the songs are by Irving Berlin. While "I've got my love to keep me warm" is the best known, my favorite is Alice Faye's rendition of "This year's kisses," and the Ritz Brothers have some very funny routines. Highly recommended.