It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Everett Freeman (screen play)
Vick Knight (additional dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

19 April 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

It's Happer Than Heaven ... the Hit of '47!

Plot:

A homeless New Yorker moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners. |

Plot Keywords:

Mansion | Winter | Eviction | Sheet Music | Newspaper Headline

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Don DeFore	...	Jim Bullock
Ann Harding	...	Mary O'Connor
Charles Ruggles	...	Michael J. 'Mike' O'Connor
Victor Moore	...	Aloysius T. McKeever
Gale Storm	...	Trudy O'Connor
Grant Mitchell	...	Farrow
Edward Brophy	...	Gates Patrolman Cecil Felton
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Whitey Temple
Dorothea Kent	...	Margie Temple
Edward Ryan	...	Hank (as Edward Ryan Jr.)
Cathy Carter	...	Alice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Andren	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Johnny Arthur	...	Apartment Manager (uncredited)
Florence Auer	...	Miss Parker, Head Mistress (uncredited)
Leon Belasco	...	Musician (uncredited)
George Blagoi	...	Executive (uncredited)
James Cardwell	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Chester Clute	...	Phillips (uncredited)
Dudley Dickerson	...	Joe, the Chauffeur (uncredited)
Adolph Faylauer	...	Executive (uncredited)
Al Fenney	...	Executive (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	First Policeman (uncredited)
Edward Gargan	...	Policeman in Park (uncredited)
Jack George	...	Executive (uncredited)
Pat Goldin	...	Waiter (uncredited)
John Hamilton	...	Harper (uncredited)
Arthur Hohl	...	Brady - Gates Patrolman (uncredited)
Bert Howard	...	Executive (uncredited)
Major Kieffer	...	Executive (uncredited)
William Kline	...	Executive (uncredited)
Charles Lane	...	Landlord (uncredited)
Carl M. Leviness	...	Executive (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	Woman in Chauffeured Car (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Foreman of Movers (uncredited)
Eddie Marr	...	Tour Bus Spieler (uncredited)
David Martell	...	Executive (uncredited)
Rowland McCracken	...	Executive (uncredited)
George Meader	...	Music Store Manager (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Executive (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Executive (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Detective (uncredited)
Abe Reynolds	...	Finkelhoff - the Tailor (uncredited)
Linda Lee Solomon	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Farrow's Associate (uncredited)
Jack Stoney	...	Man wearing Second Hand Clothing Advertising Sign (uncredited)
Anthony Sydes	...	Jackie Temple (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Executive (uncredited)
Max Willenz	...	Musician (uncredited)
Al Winters	...	Executive (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Del Ruth

Writing credits
Everett Freeman		(screen play)
Vick Knight		(additional dialogue)
Herbert Clyde Lewis		(original story) and
Frederick Stephani		(original story)
Ben Markson		contributor to dialogue and special sequence (uncredited)

Produced by
Roy Del Ruth	....	producer
Joe Kaufmann	....	associate producer (as Joe Kaufman)

Original Music by
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
Henry Sharp		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Richard V. Heermance		(as Richard Heermance)

Art Direction by
Lewis H. Creber		(as Lewis Creber)

Set Decoration by
Raymond Boltz Jr.		(as Ray Boltz)

Makeup Department
Harry Ross	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Glenn Cook	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Fox	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Corson Jowett	....	recording engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
John M. Lee	....	chief electrician (as John Lee)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Willard H. George	....	furs (as Willard George)
Lorraine MacLean	....	fashion supervisor

Music Department
The King's Men	....	singer: theme song
T.K. Wood	....	music editor

Other crew
Clarence Bricker	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Roy Del Ruth Productions

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Association Internationale Cinématographique (A.I.C.) (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Central Motion Picture Exchange (1948) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Omnium Verleih (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Allied Artists Home Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (Canada) (DVD) (4 film collection)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (4 film collection)

Other Companies

• King's Men  group cast members

Also Known As:

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #12016, General Audience) | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Roy Del Ruth Productions

Trivia:

The men are getting paid $1.00 an hour for shoveling snow. One dollar in 1947 is worth $9.65 in 2010. The minimum wage in NY in 2011 is $7.25.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Alice recounts her proposal 7 years earlier at a Gregory Peck film. Peck's first film was 1944, only 3 years before the movie is set.

Quotes:

Detective:Anybody in that house?
Brady - Gates Patrolman:Who are you?
Detective:I am looking for a girl - Michael O'Connor's daughter.
Gates Patrolman Cecil Felton:She ain't there. That joint's as empty as a sewing basket in a nudist camp.

Movie Connections:

Remade as "Lux Video Theatre: It Happened on Fifth Avenue (#7.15)" (1957)

Soundtrack:

Speak - My Heart

This is a truly GREAT movie!!!! Sure would like a copy of it!

This a movie for all to see for it is so superb in the story, the actors and the directing!!! I would recommend it to everyone and it sure would be wonderful to be able to see it on television or even better to have a copy on DVD or VHS. It is so sad that great movies like this are forgotten in lieu of action films of today that are all too often do NOT have a good story or acting! Most are full of foul language and sex scenes which are not at all necessary for a truly great film such as "It Happened On Fifth Avenue". In summary this is a wonderful Family Film that will truly bring tears to your eyes.