5th Ave Girl

1939 "From park bench to parkside mansion in a riot of romantic complications and Hi-Hat Hilarity!"
6.8| 1h23m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 22 September 1939 Released
Producted By: RKO Radio Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A wealthy man hires a poor girl to play his mistress in order to get more attention from his neglectful family.

Genre

Comedy, Romance

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Director

Gregory La Cava

Production Companies

RKO Radio Pictures

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5th Ave Girl Audience Reviews

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.
Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
MartinHafer It's obvious when you watch this film that it was strongly inspired by the wonderful comedy "My Man Godfrey", though it never comes close to the quality or zaniness of this earlier hit. This isn't to say I didn't like "5th Avenue Girl"--it just isn't in the same league as "Godfrey".The film begins with a rich industrialist (Walter Connelly) meeting Ginger Rogers on a park bench. It's his birthday, yet no one in his family cares or took notice. On a lark, he invites this total stranger to go out partying with him. At first, she's hesitant. However, he can afford it and she's not used to this sort of life, so she agrees.The next day, Connelly awakens with little recollection of all the details of the night before, as he had gotten quite drunk. He's surprised, however, when Rogers turns up in his home--it seems he invited her to stay in the guest room. Now you'd think this would cause a huge problem with Connelly's wife...a strange woman in the house. However, that's the crux of the problem--his family doesn't really care. So, on a lark, he decides to take this to the next step--and pay Rogers to stay and pretend to be his mistress--though there is absolutely nothing between them. He just wants to make his no-good family take notice! As for Connelly and Rogers, they are both excellent in this film. I especially love Connelly, as he was a delightful supporting actor and here he gets a chance to play the leading man--with nice results. However, after these two, the film's cast and writing really falls short. In "Godfrey", the family was kooky--filled with eccentrics and oddballs. However, here in "5th Avenue Girl", the family just seems selfish and a bit despicable--a major problem for the film. The wife and son were just selfish jerks, while the daughter, to put it bluntly, is an annoying idiot--who's in love with a really, really annoying young communist. As a result, the film rests solely on Rogers and Connelly--with no real support from anyone. If this had been worked out, the film would have been more than a pleasant comedy--it could have been something exceptional. Still, it is charming and fun to watch--plus I'd watch Connelly in anything--he's that good.By the way, listen up for a great final line by Ginger--it's a doozy.
raskimono Ginger Rogers was good at doing this kind of roles and this is one of her best performances. The plot,an attack on the social strata of society; both the rich and the poor and the consequences that bereave who they are. Without a doubt, the star of the movie is the script. It's so good, it's basically impossible to muck up. Gregory La Cava, that serious and more respected directors of his time who is much forgotten today shoots and directs so wonderfully emphasizing every nuance of the script with style and wit improves on his NY critics winning direction in Stage door. Just a wondeful movie.
Arthur Hausner Ginger Rogers seemed to mumble listlessly through a part she didn't like. Tim Holt seemed too immature for the romantic lead and has no chemistry with Ginger. These items detracted from the good screenplay, which has Ginger hired by millionaire Walter Connolly to stay at his house and sort of straighten out his family. It was almost like "My Man Godfrey" (also directed by Gregory La Cava) with the sex roles interchanged, but it was not nearly as good, and certainly did not come close to the pairing of William Powell and Carole Lombard.Preview comments played a big part in studio decisions in those days. The ending in the film was changed to the one you see after preview audiences panned the original, less happy ending.
elansix The first time I watched this movie, I thought it was just okay. The second time it was pretty good, and after the third time it was very good. The story has so many setup concepts that it is easy to miss them the first few times one watches it. Gregory La Cava is one of the all time great directors. La Cava is probably one of the few directors to shoot movies in the sequence of the story rather than in planned location setups. It cost the studio more money, but it enabled the cast to give better performances, as it seemed to them they were doing a play instead of a movie. The comments in the movie about communism, capitalism, sexual mores, factory workers and almost any other facet of society are timeless. We all have the same problems and feelings now and probably will in the next century. And along with all the "thinking" the movie is very funny and has a lot of low key but erotic sexual tension. P.S. The movies of "A Star is Born," were based somewhat on La Cava's life. The very first version of "A Star is Born," was called "What Price Hollywood."