Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) User Reviews

Nice movie

[Chaser101 · 6/10 · 25 December 2006]

One user comment contains an error that should be rectified. The character of Steve, played by George Murphy, is not the child's (Flavia's) father. His original relationship to the family is unclear, but he's a potential uncle, and the point is that he is a big favorite of this little girl's. Flavia's father appears early in the film, very briefly. He appears to be a music teacher. Steve is unmarried, and one of the major themes in the movie concerns whether he and Susan (the unbelievably pretty Angela Landsbury) can build up a life together after he has been released from prison.

Maybe my tolerance for smaltz is higher, I don't find the film to be that cheezy or obvious. It's hard for children to know the difference between fact and fiction, how fiction is often truer in spirit than facts, and how stories help get us through rotten times. (If you notice, Flavia's mother uses stories mostly to console the child).

Christmas stories are supposed to be schamltzy, aren't they?

A pure delight!

[saved4eternity · 8/10 · 6 October 2004]

One viewing of Tenth Avenue Angel will not be enough for any real Margaret O'Brien fan. Miss O'Brien tugs at the heartstrings in this lovely holiday story that will have you longing for more! No doubt Margaret O'Brien was one of the most talented young actresses of all time. Her simple beauty, her ability to come across as a real child, and her talent for delivering lengthy lines never fail to astound you. The story is simple but tender, and other leads such as George Murphy and Angela Lansbury, take a backseat to Miss O'Brien. When she is in a scene, you cannot take you eyes off her. Just as in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, and Lost Angel, Margaret O'Brien is a delight. A don't miss for any fan of hers and an even bigger treat for those who have never seen her films!

Another good movie for Margaret O'Brien

[jlwalker19-1 · 8/10 · 26 January 2013]

OK, so it seems a bit cheesy and sentimental and all. So what. I like every movie that Margaret O'Brien is in. The viewer can see things through a little girl's eyes in New York during the Depression. She roller skates around and thinks that Tenth Street is her territory.

She idolizes the adults in her life, including her mother and aunt, and a potential fiancée of her aunt, Steve. As the movie progresses, Flavia discovers more and more little white lies that those she loves have told her. She has to deal with it.

I loved to see her interaction with her mother, played so well by Phyllis Thaxter, and all of the adults, including the blind man who sells papers and magazines. Of course Margaret O'Brien had to do at least one crying scene, one of her many specialties. She also can deliver a monologue with the best of them, in this case reciting a patriotic speech. She is just mesmerizing in that scene.

I teared up a few times and felt good when the movie was over. I don't see this movie as dated. Children have to grow up and move on from fantasies and stories that they have grown up with. That is timeless. I also appreciated the underlying moral to the story of getting answers to prayer and the importance of closeness in families.

All Too Human

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 24 December 2013]

Tenth Avenue Angel is a film about growing up and also about the disadvantages of same. It's never easy to discover that family and friends are sometimes all too human.

Which is what happens to Margaret O'Brien as a little world she's created in her own mind. The biggest bit of disillusionment comes from George Murphy who is the fiancé of her aunt Angela Lansbury. True to the code of the street Murphy whose cab was used by holdup men clammed up and did nine months as an accessory. But young O'Brien has been told he's been on a trip around the world.

It's not easy with her parents either. Her father Warner Anderson is an out of work musician and her mother Phyllis Thaxter is having one difficult pregnancy. On Christmas as Thaxter is in labor, Margaret may have to face the possibility of losing her. That's never easy at any age.

Although at times Margaret O'Brien can be cloying and a bit much, in Tenth Avenue Angel she hits the mark of your heart strings. She put just the right amount of sentiment into her performance and face it, the film rises and falls on what she does on the screen and how you accept her.

Tenth Avenue Angel is a wonderful family film about a little girl's Christmas in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York. And it holds up well for today.

Angel

[jhkp · 7/10 · 20 November 2012]

Warm film with the usual top MGM production values, strong cast.

When I finally saw this film I was surprised it was described as a "bomb" by Leonard Maltin. While it's not the greatest movie ever made, it's hardly a bomb, despite the problematic production history. Because retakes took so long, Margaret O'Brien is noticeably taller and older in some scenes than in others. The character's belief in fairy tales strains credulity in the scenes where little Margaret seems to be aging rapidly.

One could argue, as well, that, despite the hardships supposedly being endured by the characters in their poor New York neighborhood, at the height of the Great Depression, they seem reasonably well fed, dressed, and housed. The apartment where Flavia (O'Brien) lives is quite large, for example.

But there are some very true things in the film, the experience of being an only child, living among adults; the realities of readjustment for an ex-con (George Murphy). Many of the realities are not in the scenes or the lines, but in Margaret's and George Murphy's faces.

The cast is great and there's a nice Christmas atmosphere in the scenes that wrap up the story.

Do cows really kneel?

[Aleta_Nook · 6/10 · 16 October 2015]

This is one of Margaret O'Brien's weaker films. She's the little girl that played in Meet Me In St. Louis, but although her character here is not as annoying as the precocious girl in Meet Me In St. Louis, she's still cloying and appears to have been surrounded by a wise family.

Margaret O'Brien was 9-10 years old here, this movie had had production problems which kind of ruined the film for her because at times, she doesn't look much like an 8-year-old. Though, I still loved her marvelous performance and the expressions and emotions she conveys are real.

This just strikes me as something that they have wasted Margaret's talent on, the director didn't seem to get her to perform her scenes as well as she did in other movies. And the script could've been rewritten in order for the movie to be a great one.

It was a big reason why I never lie to my children.

[pjj-3 · 7/10 · 5 July 1999]

I saw this movie as a child, and of course I have a different perspective than I would have had as an adult. I never forgot that she doubted God; because her Mom had told her about untrue superstitions.

Great Classic Film

[whpratt1 · 10/10 · 26 December 2007]

This picture takes place during the depression in New York City's Hell Kitchen which ran along 10th Avenue and the living condition were not favorable during this period of time in the 1930's. Margaret O'Brien plays the role as Flavia Mills a little girl about the age of eight years old and is a very happy little girl who lives in a world of her own and is a great joy to all the people in the neighborhood. Angela Lansbury, (Susan Bratten) is Flavia's aunt and she plans to get married to Steve Abbutt, (George Murphy). However, Steve has been away in prison for eighteen months and has kept it a secret from Flavia, who believes he went around the world. Flavia's make believe world starts crumbing as she gets older and she becomes very disillusion about what her family tells her. Margaret O'Brien gave an outstanding performance and her great acting abilities will make you reach for a box of tissues. This is another Christmas story which was great entertainment in 1948 and is a great film you don't want to miss.

A bit too much...well...just a bit

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 1 January 2014]

Of course, times have changed. And this felt very 1930-ish (the story takes place in the late 1930s)...which of course, it was supposed to. Today, it's a little too sweet for my palate.

And Margaret O'Brien. There's no question that she was an exceptional child actress, but I always felt that a little Margaret O'Brien went a long ways. Okay for a child's role in an adult-oriented picture, but a bit too much for me in terms of being the star of the film. Nevertheless, she does well here.

It's interesting to see Angela Lansbury here. I found it an oddly minor role considering her performance in "State Of The Union" (with Tracy and Hepburn) the same year, though this was filmed after that classic. George Murphy. I must admit, I've never understood the attraction to George Murphy as a movie star. But, he's pleasant enough, if a bit bland. Phyllis Thaxter is fine as the mother of O'Brien. Interesting to note that Thaxter became a polio victim four years after this film was made. A supporting actor that is notable here is Rhys Williams as a blind news stand owner. And, a very young Barry Nelson is here, as well.

As to the plot, it's fairly decent, with a couple of reservations. The biggest being that for such a long period of time it could be kept from O'Brien that Murphy had been in prison. A smaller point -- just how many different kids knew of the secret hiding place...guess it wasn't much of a secret. And third, just how naive was O'Brien's character, considering how otherwise worldly she seemed to be? And finally, the ending is just too sickeningly sweet -- let's see, a new baby, a kneeling cow for Christmas, Murphy goes straight, and Murphy gets engaged. I'm feeling queasy.

I have two suggestions for O'Brien's spoiled attitude toward the end of the picture. 1.) Slap her! (Only kidding). 2.) She desperately needs some counseling! (Not kidding).

I sat through it once and it was "okay", but never again. ***** Oops...I just rewatched this and I have changed my mind on a couple of things. First, I still think a little of Margaret O'Brien goes a long way...but she was one of the most exceptional child actors in American cinema. Shirley Temple could be cute. O'Brien could act. I've also changed my mind about George Murphy. Somehow I've seen quite a few George Murphy films in the past year, and while he isn't a "great" actor, he was always quite dependable. I originally rated this a "6", I'm going to bump that up to a "7"...except if you're a diabetic.

At Christmas, skip 10th avenue and go see what happened on 5th avenue!

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 25 December 2015]

Tenth Avenue Angel might remind you somewhat of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn - the apartment seemed similar, the mother becomes pregnant, there's a family member who has to overcome a stigma,an economically challenged household, the coming-of-age of the daughter. However, all of it is without emotional resonance, to say the least. And although I'm usually not fans of these kinds of films I DID love "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".

So what's missing? Despite the evocative lower Manhattan sets, the genuinely warm and believable performance of Phyllis Thaxter as the mother, Rhys Williams as a blind newspaper vendor and (occasionally) Margaret O'Brien (when she's ruling the roost of her neighborhood in a precociously cynical way; not when she's required to do The Crying and saying lines like "How do cows know it's Christmas?") the movie doesn't work for me at all. This is one of those "we-don't-know-what-to-do-with-her" parts for the supremely talented Angela Lansbury, here completely wasted as O'Brien's young aunt, in love with the equally miscast George Murphy (he does his best, though the script just sinks him). Rhys Wiliiams was so much better served in How Green Was My Valley in much the same type of character (albeit more pugilistic).

Margaret gives a patriotic speech at a Fourth of July block party which it's safe to surmise (since the film was made in 1946, only one year after FDR died though released in 1948) is a double tribute to him and his principles (they even show his picture); convenient dovetailing as the story takes place in Depression era 1936.

Apparently mice are so common in their household that the one O'Brien sees doesn't phase the family one bit; nobody bats an eyelash. Also, when pregnant women fall down stairs, they are not taken to the hospital.Also, bovine miracles will astound you. I was underwhelmed throughout.

I'd say it's a take it or leave it proposition, probably a 4.5, but I'll be kind given the season and round up to five.

Extremely moving film

[fairken · 9/10 · 25 December 2011]

Some reviews may note that the story between Flavia's Aunt (Angela Landsbury) and Steve is a "filler". I don't agree. Although clearly a sub-plot to the story about Flavia coming to terms with growing up and what to believe, the relationship between the Aunt and Steve is very pertinent to the story in that much of the drama is also about Steve, not just Flavia. The ending is very moving and the 4th of July speech delivered by Flavia is something you have to see to believe.

I highly recommend this film, which is a tribute to films about real life. The problems faced by the characters are real life issues. Questions about faith, the nature of truth and lies, and how difficult it can be to get back on the right path.

A Beautiful and Endearing Story

[rjw999 · 7/10 · 27 December 2020]

An innocent story with a wholesome message so missing today. We need this more now than ever.

Another Journey for Margaret

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 8 January 2012]

In 1936 New York City, pretty pig-tailed Margaret O'Brien (as Flavia Mills) leads a charmed life. She roller-skates through traffic oblivious to danger, which works out well because the little "Tenth Avenue Angel" may be divinely protected. Young O'Brien believes in country, God and fantastical stories shared by several loving adults in her life, especially sweet mother Phyllis Thaxter (as Helen). One of these stories suggests mice bring money; another involves a magical cow...

The difference between truth, lies and fantasy confuses O'Brien as nice guy George Murphy (as Steve) gets out of jail. O'Brien has been told Mr. Murphy was in Australia. Due to both the Depression and his criminal past, Murphy has trouble finding work as a taxi driver and marrying O'Brien's aunt Angela Lansbury (as Susan). This was not a bad story idea, but too saccharine an approach for the still capable little actress, who needed something less obvious to revitalize a limited career.

***** Tenth Avenue Angel (2/20/48) Roy Rowland ~ Margaret O'Brien, George Murphy, Angela Lansbury, Phyllis Thaxter

more Flavia

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 24 December 2020]

It's 1936. It's the adventures of Flavia Mills (Margaret O'Brien) who is the Tenth Avenue Angel. Her aunt Susan (Angela Lansbury) lives with her poor family. Susan's boyfriend Steve (George Murphy) is returning home after getting out of prison although Flavia believes that he had been traveling around the world.

Flavia needs to do more with her sidekick. They need to have adventures on the streets. The sidekick would be better as a cute smaller boy. This should have more Flavia which would make it a better kids' movie. It has to be her movie from her point of view. The mouse story is fun which is a great way to get into a coming-of-age progression. It needs to come from her level and little Margaret O'Brien is capable of delivering.

some big names in this okay film

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 28 January 2020]

23 year old Angela Lansbury is Susan; Lansbury had been nominated for Gaslight just a couple years before. Margaret OBrien is the extra-precocious child Flavia. Susan's boyfriend Steve (George Murphy) is getting out of prison, but they have been keeping that from Flavia. it gets tiring listening to high-energy Flavia, much like a little bit of Shirley Temple, goes a LONG way. when money goes missing, everyone's life gets turned upside down. Flavia learns some hard lessons, while Steve realizes he'll always be suspected when anything bad happens. a gritty look at life in the big city during the 1930s. and so many of the things Flavia believed as a happy little girl turned out to be false. Can she regain happiness? some religion thrown in here too. starts out ok but gets soapy, sudsy. and all that sad music. meh. Directed by Roy Rowland. educated guy. married to hollywood royalty.

Tenth Avenue Angel was well worth the watch

[rheapearl · 10/10 · 23 December 2002]

Tenth Avenue Angel was a film that I have seen completely for the first time today. It stars Margaret O'brien, Angela Lansbury, and George Murphy. I am a big fan of Margaret O'brien. So naturally I enjoyed the movie very much. I highly recommend it!!!

Idealized poverty plus Margaret O'Brien make for a very sugary holiday treat

[bmacv · 5/10 · 23 December 2002]

A second- or third-string feel-good movie trundled out perennially as the holidays draw nigh, Tenth Avenue Angel will charm or irritate viewers in proportion to their responses to Margaret O'Brien, who stays front and center throughout. Best known for stealing Meet Me in St. Louis away from Judy Garland, she was 11 years old at the time of this, her 17th film role, and her precocious tomboy routine was running on fumes.

The story's set in the Depression year of 1936, in the shadow of the El in Hell's Kitchen, where O'Brien lives in proud poverty with her parents and aunt (Angela Lansbury). Lansbury's set to marry George Murphy, who's been `away;' O'Brien thinks he was in Australia, although he was doing a stretch up the river. Coming to learn the truth over the course of the movie, and in the process discarding other falsehoods foisted on childhood, ushers her from girlish innocence to the dawning of grown-up wisdom. It's that kind of movie.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but....

In almost a counterrevolutionary movement against the cynical world-view of newly-hatched film noir, the late ‘40s also saw a spate of movies whose view of American family life was glacéed in sentimentality. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (which this movie resembles, with petty crime instead of alcoholism) was one; that canonized Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life another. (I Remember Mama was the pick of the litter.) Struggling to make ends meet was gift-wrapped as ennobling, good for stiffening the backbone; hardship never bred discord or dysfunction. Maybe being poor once had its plus side, when most people were barely staying afloat in their small and leaky crafts. Or, if not, maybe the myth was necessary. At any rate, most of us will no doubt be finding out the truth for ourselves in very short order.

Not a BOMB as claimed by TCM

[pbergsagel · 8/10 · 17 December 2014]

The TCM review claims this film is a bomb. I do not agree. The film enjoyable and sweet. It is not as sugary as TCM's review claims. Please do not dismiss this film simply because TCM feels it is a BOMB.

Tenth Avenue Angel involves eight year-old Flavia who is growing up in a tenement during the depression in New York City. Family problems abound in Flavia's family and Flavia is glue keeping the family from falling apart. She is the "Guardian Angel" of Tenth Avenue.

This film is definitely worth watching! If you are looking for a family film to view over the Christmas season this film is perfect, particularly if you are looking for a lesser known film.

O'Brien's sunny impertinence gets a real workout, however the theme of childhood beliefs is quite strong...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 6 December 2009]

Margaret O'Brien doesn't look or sound like a Depression-era tyke from the New York tenements who knows everybody on her block and what they're up to...however, she's self-assured on the screen and pretty much carries the day here. Thin story has an optimistic neighborhood girl heartbroken to learn that all those 'little white lies' adults tell children (such as one about mice turning into money) are just made-up stories, though she comes to rely on one about kneeling cows in order to save her dying mother's life. M-G-M tinkered with this thing in post-production for 18 months, and then only released the picture sporadically. One can see early on there simply wasn't enough material here for a feature, with a side-plot regarding O'Brien's aunt getting reacquainted with an ex-con sweetheart used simply as filler. Still, there's a maniacally patriotic speech given by little Margaret on the Fourth of July that has to be seen to be believed, and the finale (though engineered for heart tugging) is effective. The editing and continuity are predictably bad considering the film's internal troubles and reshoots, yet O'Brien roller-skates through it all rather blithely. ** from ****

My Kind Of Movie

[tmj-9 · 9/10 · 30 December 2006]

I guess I'm just old-fashioned, since this is the kind of movie that appeals to me. I haven't gone to a theater in years due to the crap they put out now. What's wrong with a sweet little film that leaves you feeling good about life? It was quite inspiring. I like to watch movies that are as I would imagine things to be without all the harsh and ugly realities that are out there.I can't stand most newer movies due to the bad language. (many times put in only to give it a more restrictive rating) I would like to see the return of this style of movie with a modern day setting. At least you could take your kids without feeling embarrassed about it.

I'm not sure if it's cute or cloying...

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 28 February 2010]

This is definitely not the sort of film they make any more. Margaret O'Brien plays an amazingly cute and sweet kid--the sort of role she was known for but that today seems a bit cloying...at times. Here she lives in a Hollywood version of poverty in New York City--one that, despite being told they're dirt-poor, just looks like a safe and clean place. Despite the poverty, she is a very chipper and optimistic girl. She sees the world as a magical and wonderful place and doesn't see the realities of life--such as what's really happened to her friend (George Murphy). There's more to the story than all this--including a plot involving her mother and some mice (don't ask--you just have to see it to understand).

Overall, it's a decent film but not at all my cup of tea. While I loved O'Brien in "Journey for Margaret" and "Meet Me in St. Louis", here the plot seems fair at best. If you do see the film, look for an uncredited Elinor Donahue who plays O'Brien's friend about mid-way through the movie. However, apart from that, this one is pretty easy to skip.

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

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 19 December 2006]

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.

No miracle in Hell's Kitchen.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 15 May 2015]

Having seen many sentimental movies over the years, I can vouch that I do have a big heart and can swallow even some of the most unbelievable situations. However, this one made me wince thanks to its outrageousness in trying to get me to stretch my imagination. When newly released jailbird George Murphy asks Margaret O'Brien why is she crying, I half expected her to respond, "I do that in all my movies". Like Tootie in "Meet Me in St. Louis", this is one weird child, and today, there would be some psychological term for the issues she has. For one thing, she seems to be much closer to her concerned aunt (an understated Angela Lansbury) than her own mother (Phyllis Thaxter), involved in their lives that they all share together in Hell's Kitchen. She's unaware that Murphy (Lansbury's fiancée) has been in prison, and the fact that the elders in her family keep all these secrets from her is the set-up for an emotional explosion that could destroy everybody.

Mama Thaxter doesn't really endear herself to O'Brien by constantly telling her "wives tales" that really aren't true. For example, she says that the presence of a mouse in the house means that money is not far behind, and when O'Brien catches a mouse in a cigar box trap she's made, she hides it in a wall where she's sure she'll come back to find coin, not a dead mouse. Two neighborhood brats steal from the blind newspaper man whom O'Brien has befriended and ironically replace it with the cigar box mouse (still alive for you animal rights activists) which O'Brien then finds, only to discover that the money she found belonged to her pal.

This sets off a whole series of tragedies which threatens the health of a pregnant Thaxter, and is even further compounded by the revelation to O'Brien of Murphy's past. Will O'Brien's search for a kneeling cow on Christmas Eve be the saving grace for the ailing Thaxter? Will Murphy and Lansbury get past his decision to leave Hell's Kitchen once his parole is up? All this seems to be in the hands of little Margaret, that little Tenth Avenue Angel who buried her dead dolls at Christmastime in St. Louis, now stalks the stock yards of the meatpacking district, ironically coming across Murphy who barely escapes being caught in another crime.

Saccharine overloaded family drama, one of the most outlandish in the late Louis B. Mayer days at MGM, takes his pet child to the point of ridiculousness. The film certainly is watchable, and some messages might be learned in it, but as a film, it really stretches the credibility to an all-time low. Everybody in the cast does their best with the pretentiousness of the script which is as close to Tenth Avenue as Sesame Street is. Lansbury is made up to look rather dowdy, but it's nice to see her playing something other than the harridans she was usually cast as. Rhys Williams is very good as the kindly blind newspaper stand operator who obviously doesn't deserve the cruelty that befalls him and is never dealt with after O'Brien returns the money to him. Obviously made to capitalize on the success of "The Miracle on 34th Street", this fails in practically every aspect.

Typical B-movie

[HotToastyRag · 2/10 · 28 March 2019]

Little Margaret O'Brien lives with her mother, Phyllis Thaxter, and aunt, Angela Lansbury, in a small apartment in a poor part of town. She's constantly upbeat and everybody loves her, so much so that they've all lied to her about where her uncle, George Murphy, has been for the past 18 months. She thinks he's been travelling, but he's been in jail. Do you think eventually someone will slip up and she'll find out the truth?

Since Hollywood only makes movies about conflict, there's a good chance someone will eventually slip up. The only problem is this is such a B-movie, no one in the audience will care. The acting feels like someone accidentally turned on the camera during the second rehearsal, the production values feel like everything from the costumes to the sets were borrowed from another film that was finished earlier in the year, which they probably were. The story is uninteresting, predictable, and boring, including a tired trope of a wise, blind friend who sells newspapers on the corner. Rhys Williams actually says, "I'm smart, and not just because I'm blind."

Bad Christmas movies must die!

[filmfann · 4/10 · 27 December 2023]

It's hard to express how mind numbingly stupid this movie is. I really wanted to like a sweet, inspirational Christmas movie like Miracle On 34th Street, but instead I ended up watching this insipid, clumsy, overly sentimental garbage (and I really like sentimental films).

The film depends on the likability of the lead child actor (Margaret O'Brien). Even Shirley Temple couldn't drag this dog out of the mud. The writing, which every movie needs to give structure to build on, is embarrassingly awful. Supporting roles are all rote and trite. Don't look for anything worth your time here.

It's a suckfest.