'On the Avenue' had quite a cast, and who can go wrong with Irving Berlin. The good news is that 'On the Avenue' does not disappoint, and even exceeds eager expectations.Debits are hardly any and also minor, all subjective personal opinion and not to be taken objectively. The pace does slacken ever so slightly in the middle, which is noticeable when the pacing for the rest of the film is so jaunty and exuberant. Also had mixed feelings on the Ritz Brothers, though admittedly this is one of their better film outings.They don't disappoint in the dancing, which they are remarkably nimble at, and do have some entertaining sequences, with the slumming number being especially priceless. Their comedy is an acquired taste, to many people and to me, and while some parts work others are overdone, gimmicky and bizarre so it comes over as irritating.Flaws aside, 'On the Avenue' works absolutely terrifically as entertainment and as a film on the whole. It looks wonderful, with sumptuous set and costume design and exquisitely and cleverly shot. Irving Berlin's score and songs are an all-round winner, as well as vibrantly staged. Not a weak link in the bunch. "You're Laughing At Me" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" are particularly noteworthy, while "This Year's Kisses" has the benefits of being beautifully sung and providing a lot of emotion.Roy Del Ruth directs adeptly, and his reputation from getting great performances from his casts is evident. 'On the Avenue' has a lot to say about love's nature and its passion, and tells its story (which is more eventful and less corny and clichéd than most) with an impeccably bright tone and with effortless verve, incisiveness and wit. Both in the musical numbers and in the comedy and the drama, making for a script with a good balance of the funny and the heart-warming.Madeleine Carroll and Dick Powell are both stunning, as is an affecting Alice Faye in one of her better and underrated performances (though all her performances seen of her have never been less than very good). Billy Gilbert and George Barbier are particularly zany support, Cora Witherspoon is a lot of fun and Alan Mowbery is dashing. Was really expecting Stepin Fetchit to strike a false note, expecting him to be a stereotypical caricature and out of place, didn't mind him here.All in all, terrific film and highly recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox

On the Avenue has a simple musical comedy plot. Dick Powell plays the lead actor and creator of a musical comedy on Broadway. When the wealthiest man in America and his daughter go to see it, they are annoyed to discover that a portion of the play is dedicated to mocking them. The girl (Madelein Carroll) gets steamed up, goes backstage, slaps Powell around, and then . . . they fall in love. He promises to change the play so it is less offensive to her, but the lead actress (Alice Faye) is in love with him and she manages to make it even more offensive when Carroll and her family come back to the theater to see it again. Carroll then gets revenge by buying the musical from its producers and sabotaging Powell's performance.It's a promising little plot, but the attempts at comedy they hang on it often misfire terribly. There are no three people more annoying than the Ritz Brothers, who seem to think that going cross-eyed is the height of comedy. And there is a scene where Powell and Carroll go to a diner and then laugh at the accent of its Greek owner . . . whoo-hooo hilarious. There is a laugh or two wedged in here and there, and some of the musical numbers are entertaining, but on the whole this thing is a bust.

ON THE AVENUE (20th Century-Fox, 1937), directed by Roy Del Ruth, is a lively musical film capitalizing on the current trend of screwball comedies that never seems to go out of style: spoofing high society. For instance, art imitating life with a theatrical company poking fun of a rich family with a well-to-do family recognizing themselves as the subject matter, and taking action.Gary Blake (Dick Powell), star of the latest musical show, "On the Avenue," has written a play about "The Richest Girl in Town," starring himself as the rich father with Mona Merrick (Alice Faye) in the title role. Mimi Carraway (Madeleine Carroll), the richest girl in town, along with her father, the Commodore (George Barbier), Aunt Fritz (Cora Witherspoon) and fiancé, Frederick Sims (Alan Mowbray), an Arctic explorer, attend the opening and immediately recognize themselves as the topic of society fun. At the conclusion of the play, Mimi storms over to Blake's dressing room where she greets him with anger and a slap on the face. Because she refuses to listen to reason, Blake hasher forcibly ejected from the theater for not being a "good sport." Thinking back of what was said, Mimi agrees on becoming a "good sport" by inviting Gary for a night on of town, posing as Mr. and Mrs.Hossenpfeiffer, to discuss matters and have fun at the same time. Returning home at dawn, Gary and Mimi, who have fallen in love, come to a compromise. Mimi agrees to let Gary carry on with his show as written while Gary goes one step further by tastefully changing the material so it won't be offensive. Jealous over Gary's infatuation towards Mimi, Mona takes it upon herself on sketching the musical play to be even worse than before. Mimi and family attend to witness the shock of their lives with the play's revision. Believing Gary is at fault, Mimi gets even by buying the rights to the show and hiring patrons to walkout during Gary's performance and using the Ritz Brothers to make him look ridiculous for every newspaper critic in town to see. Once Gary discovers what Mimi has done, it becomes his turn to have the last laugh.With music and lyrics composed by the legendary Irving Berlin, the motion picture soundtrack is as follows: "He Ain't Got Rhythm" (sung by Alice Faye, and The Ritz Brothers); "The Girl On the Police Gazette"(sung by Dick Powell in 1890s attire, bowler and mustache); "You're Laughing at Me" (sung by Powell to Madeleine Carroll); "This Year's Kisses" (sung by Faye); "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (sung by Powell and Faye); "Slumming on Park Avenue" (Sung by Alice Faye and The Ritz Brothers); "You're Laughing at Me" (Powell); "Ochye Tchonia"(Russian Folk Song sung and performed by The Ritz Brothers); "This Year's Kisses'" (sung by Alice Faye); and "Slumming in Park Avenue"(sung by cast).In spite the fact that the Berlin songs, as good as they are, never became as legendary as "Blue Skies" or "White Christmas," he did acquire fine singers to promote his distinguished tunes: Dick Powell, on loan out from Warner Brothers, having the film's best song, "You're Laughing at Me," while Alice Faye, in a secondary role, contributes some of her best vocals, namely "This Year's Kisses." In between songs,the Ritz Brothers collaborate their version of bizarre comedy, ranging from facial expressions, crossed-eyes, and dressing in drag. Others in the cast include: Joan Davis (Miss Katz, a secretary); Douglas Fowley(Eddie Eads); Stepin Fetchit as "Step," billed as Herman; Sig Rumann(Herr Hanestange); Billy Gilbert (Joe Papaloupas, the lunch wagon proprietor); Walter Catlett (Jake Dibble); and E.E. Clive (Ben, the Central Park Horse Cabby), Dewey Robinson (Lunch Wagon Patron), among others.The sequence where Powell (in tuxedo and top hat) and Carroll (in glittering white evening gown) are strolling through Central Park, in medium camera range the couple resemble that of current song and dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In fact, watching Powell and Carroll together in this scene alone, anyone would expect them to go into their dance to "You're Laughing at Me," which doesn't happen. With Seymour Felix credited as choreographer, much of the dancing takes place on stage.Regardless of listenable tunes, agreeable cast and above-average story, ON THE AVENUE is a forgotten item from the 1930s. Its 1994 video cassette distribution consisted of an added bonus with a surviving comedy outtake featuring Alice Faye and the Ritz Brothers. Seldom revived these days, ON THE AVENUE was formerly presented on American Movie Classics cable channel in 1996 as part of its tribute to the movie musical during the station's annual film preservation festival. ON THE AVENUE is old-fashioned entertainment that should still please its viewers whenever aired on the Fox Movie Channel. (***1/2)

"On the Avenue" is a highly underrated gem from the 30s and one of Alice Faye's best musicals at Fox. It is less well-known than Faye's other Fox musicals such as "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "That Night in Rio" and "Hello, Frisco, Hello". But "On the Avenue" has a taste and class of its own, not to mention lots of great and rollicking tunes including the memorable "Slumming on Park Avenue", "He Ain't Got Rhythm", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", and "This Year's Kisses". Excellent stuff.