Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)

Director:

Roy Rowland

Writers:

Angna Enters (story)
Eleanore Griffin (writer)

Release Date:

20 February 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Flavia's been told that her Aunt Susan's fiancé, Steve, has been on a trip around the world, but in truth he's finished his prison term...

Plot Keywords:

Little Girl | Lie | Christmas | Gullibility | Ex Convict

Cast

Margaret O'Brien	...	Flavia Mills
Angela Lansbury	...	Susan Bratten
George Murphy	...	Steve Abbutt
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Helen Mills
Warner Anderson	...	Joseph Mills
Rhys Williams	...	Blind Mac
Barry Nelson	...	Al Parker
Connie Gilchrist	...	Mrs. Murphy
Tom Trout	...	Daniel Oliver Madson
Richard Tyler	...	Jimmy Madson (as Dickie Tyler)
Henry Blair	...	Rad Ardley
Charles Cane	...	Parole Officer
Richard Lane	...	Street Vendor

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Filmed between March 11 and May 15, 1946, with retakes shot in April 1947, the movie was held back until its nationwide release on February 20, 1948. Moreover, the picture was not given a contemporary New York Times review.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Flavia brings home a loaf of "dark bread, your daddy's favorite", as her mother says. One look at the wrapper clearly reveals it to be Wonder Bread, which at the time made only white bread.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Forecast (1945)

Mushy sentiment in tenement tale with Margaret O'Brien...

Aptly described by Leonard Maltin as a BOMB is this mawkish tear-jerker from MGM, filmed in '46 but released in '48 and showcasing their popular moppet MARGARET O'BRIEN.

O'Brien has the kind of role Shirley Temple had in the '30s. In fact, it's a Depression story that takes place in Hell's Kitchen of 1936 about a girl who learns some lessons about truth-telling that are pretty obvious.

Let me put it this way--Margaret O'Brien is at her most Margaret O'Brien in this tale about a prim little girl who isn't told the truth about her aunt's sweetheart GEORGE MURPHY--supposedly returning from an around the world trip. In reality, he's returning from prison. But that angle of the story is as gritty as it gets. All the rest is so syrupy it's enough to make you diabetic by the time it reaches the Christmas theme ending.

But let's face it--O'Brien had lost most of her appeal as a child star by the time she made this one and it bombed at the box-office, despite surrounding her with pros like ANGELA LANSBURY, PHYLLIS THAXTER, BARRY NELSON and others. This is one of her weakest vehicles and is best forgotten unless you're such a staunch fan that anything will do.