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It Happened On Fifth Avenue - 1947
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Coming up next is 1947's "It Happened On Fifth Avenue", a story about a homeless man who moves into a boarded up mansion on New York's Fifth Avenue while its occupants are away at their country estate. This man endears himself to all who meet him, not least of all is the mansion's owner, who arrives in disguise.
The film's cast includes Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore, Gale Storm, Grant Mitchell, Edward Brophy, Alan Hale Jr., Dorothea Kent, Charles Lane, and Corky.
This boarded up mansion you see before you is the residence of the second wealthiest man in the world: Michael J. O'Connor. Currently, he is residing at his estate in Virginia.
However, for the past three years, the house has been occupied by Aloysius T. McKeever, or "Mac" to his friends, and his dog Sammy. They come in through a loose board in the fencing.
Mac and Sammy waste no time in making the O'Connor mansion their own home sweet home. Mac even rigs up a special contraption that will alert him should anyone come through the front door unexpectedly.
This year, though, Mac extends a welcome to a down on his luck ex-serviceman named Jim Bullock. However, Mac only says that he is a guest of Mr. O'Connor, and not that he is staying their without permission.
Blissfully unaware of all this is Michael J. O'Connor, who is enjoying his time at his Virginia estate.
Trudy, O'Connor's daughter, comes home unexpectedly and overhears Mac telling Jim the truth about what he is doing there. Every November he moves in when the O'Connors move to Virginia. And they switch places in March. The O'Connors return to New York, and Mac heads to Virginia. Trudy smiles when she hears this. She isn't about to tell on them as she's run away from her father.
Using a fake last name, Trudy gets the guys to allow her to stay. She tells them a false story about how her father is an abusive drunk who beats her and her thirteen siblings. Naturally, they can't see her returning to such a home.
And the group just gets bigger when Jim runs into a couple of his ex-servicemen buddies and their families. The two families can't seem to find a place to live. Mac is kind enough to allow them all to stay in the mansion. And Trudy is thrilled that the house is getting used.
Mac even helps the guys come up with a scheme that will allow them to get good jobs and a steady source of income.
All of this is threatened when Michael J. O'Connor returns to New York in search of his daughter. She convinces him to join the ruse and not let on who he is. She also tells him that she's in love with Jim. So, after a visit to a secondhand clothes shop, Michael J. O'Connor is transformed into "Mike", a crochety old man who is in need of a place to stay.
But when Mike sees that his reception hall has been turned into a veritable laundry room, and Mac is wearing his clothes and smoking his cigars, he turns to Trudy with fury in his eyes.
It's the last straw for Mike when Mac makes him do the dishes, and because of his moods relegates him to stay in the servants' quarters. "I can't have you near the women or children," says Mac. Mike tells Trudy that he wants all the people out of his house or he'll have them arrested.
Trudy resorts to calling in her mother, Mary. Mike and Mary have been divorced for some time, but Mary is anxious to do anything to help her daughter.
Mary takes a position in the house as a cook, and Mike is very surprised to see her. "You've taken on a little weight since I last saw you...in the wrong places," he tells her. She snaps back, "It’s the clothes. And you’re no Van Johnson, yourself! I can remember when you only had one chin!"
Things get worse for Mike when Mac decides that he needs to start earning his keep and gets him a job shoveling snow for a dollar an hour.
However, having Mary in the house works a wonderful thing in Mike, and he starts to change. They even rekindle their old romance.
Everyone in the house has a wonderful Christmas together. Gifts are exchanged and good memories are made.
Mike has even changed so much that he helps the three guys living in his house with their business project. When they come to the office of Michael J. O'Connor, they are shocked to see "Mike" sitting behind the desk. He tells them to please keep his identity a secret from Mac, to which they agree.
At Christmas, the group was discovered by a couple of patrolmen who agreed to let them stay until the New Year. On New Year's Eve, the group spends their last night together. Mac says a few words to those gathered. "Tonight is our last night together. We may never cross paths again. And I would like to feel that you’re all my
friends. For to be without friends is a
serious form of poverty."
Having decided to get married, Jim and Trudy invite Mac to stay with them. He refuses, saying he's got a place in Virginia waiting for him. They bid him goodbye.
As they watch him leave with Sammy, Mike leans towards Mary and says that there are some men richer than him, indicating towards Mac.
While they wave him goodbye, Mike also says, "Mary, remind me to nail up the board in the back fence. He's coming through the front door next winter."
Cast rundown:
Don DeFore...................................Jim Bullock
Ann Harding..................................Mary O'Connor
Charles Ruggles.............................Michael J. O'Connor
Victor Moore..................................Aloysius T. McKeever
Gale Storm....................................Trudy O'Connor
Grant Mitchell.................................Farrow
Edward Brophy...............................Cecil Felton
Alan Hale Jr....................................Whitey Temple
Dorothea Kent................................Margie Temple
Charles Lane..................................Landlord
Corky.............................................Sammy
And that's all for It Happened On Fifth Avenue. In one scene, Mike gets paid $1 an hour for shoveling snow. In 2020, that is about $11.50. In another scene, Trudy gets paid $30 a week to play the piano and sing at a music store. That is about $344.00 a week in 2020.
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