''Fifth Avenue Girl'', sometimes stylized as ''5th Ave Girl'', is a 1939

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

comedy film directed by

Gregory La Cava Gregory La Cava (March 10, 1892 – March 1, 1952) was an American film director of Italian descent best known for his films of the 1930s, including ''My Man Godfrey'' and ''Stage Door'', which earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best ...

and starring

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

, Walter Connolly, Verree Teasdale, and

James Ellison James Ellison may refer to: * James O. Ellison (1929–2014), U.S. federal judge * James T. Ellison (1862–1920s), New York gangster *James Ellison (actor) (1910–1993), American film actor * James Ellison (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1958), E ...

. The screenplay was written by Allan Scott with uncredited contributions by La Cava and

Morris Ryskind Morris Ryskind (October 20, 1895 – August 24, 1985) was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies who became a conservative political activist later in life. Life and career Ryskind was born in Brooklyn, ...

. The film is about a rich industrialist with business problems who feels neglected by his family and hires a young woman to stir things up.

Plot

Wealthy industrialist Timothy Borden has problems both at work and at home. His employees at Amalgamated Pump are making demands that may drive the business that he has built from nothing into bankruptcy. His son Tim, who prefers playing

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

, has neglected and lost a major customer. On his birthday, when Timothy returns to his

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

mansion, he finds nobody there but the servants. His unfaithful wife Martha, his daughter Katherine and Tim have all forgotten, are busy or do not care. Feeling lonely, Timothy takes the advice of his butler and visits

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

, where he meets Mary Grey, a young unemployed woman. He invites her to dine with him at a fancy nightclub. They get drunk, dance and run into Timothy' wife, who is on a date with her usual beau. The next morning, he wakes with a

hangover A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol (beverage), alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than ...

and a black eye, discovering that he had invited Mary to spend the night in a guest room. Seeing the reaction this elicits from his formerly indifferent family, he hires Mary to pretend to be his mistress. He intentionally neglects his company, thereby forcing his son, Tim who develops fresh new ideas, to save the firm. Timothy and Mary go out every night, pretending to cavort for hours, although they are actually driven around by the ardently communist chauffeur Mike, whom Katherine loves. Embarrassed by the newspaper gossip columns and shunned by her friends, Martha consults a psychiatrist who finds nothing wrong with her suddenly cheerful and carefree husband. She starts staying home, plotting ways to drive Mary away. Tim, who shows contempt for Mary, unsuccessfully tries to buy her off and eventually falls in love with her. Mary tries to help Katherine with Mike, who does not pay any attention to her. Finally, Martha tries to convince Mary that she has surrendered and that they should all be friends. In

, Tim kisses Mary, who is upset the next day and wants to leave but is confronted by Tim. Martha and Timothy dine together in the kitchen, which reminds them of when they were young and poor. They page through old photographs, reminiscing about their life together. Katherine announces that she has married Mike, who has decided to quit and open a repair shop. Martha is aghast, but Timothy reminds her that they had started their own marriage in a similar fashion, and she grudgingly accepts her new son-in-law. When Mary and Tim enter, Timothy feigns rage, but Mary can no longer continue with the charade and tearfully confesses the truth about her arrangement with Timothy. When she leaves, Tim chases her and carries her back into the mansion. When a policeman tries to interfere, Mary tells him to mind his own business.

Cast

as Mary Grey * Walter Connolly as Timothy Borden * Verree Teasdale as Martha Borden *

as Mike *

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning more ...

as Tim Borden * Kathryn Adams as Katherine Borden *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Inter ...

as Higgins, the butler *

Ferike Boros Ferike Boros (3 August 1873 – 16 January 1951) was a Hungarian-born American stage and movie actress. Biography Ferike Weinstock was born in Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary, in 1873, Boros was on stage starting in 1893. She moved to London in 19 ...

as Olga, a maid *

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known by his stage name Louis Calhern, was an American actor. Described as a “star leading man of the theater and a star character actor of the screen,” he appeared in over 100 roles ...

as Dr. Hugo Kessler *

Theodore von Eltz Julius Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Early life Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Von Eltz ...

as Terwilliger *

Alexander D'Arcy Alexander D'Arcy (; born Alexandre Sarruf, ; 10 August 1908 – 20 April 1996) was an Egyptian-American actor with an international film repertoire. He often portrayed a suave gentleman or smooth rogue, and at one time was pinned as the natural ...

as Maitre D' *

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963), known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including '' The Strawberry Blonde'' ...

as Sailor in Central Park (uncredited)

Production

Production on ''Fifth Avenue Girl'' took place from May 20 to June 28, 1939. Retakes took place on August 9, 1939. Principal photography was completed 12 days earlier than scheduled. Working titles for the film were ''My Fifth Avenue Girl'' and ''The Other Half''.

, who plays Dr. Kessler, was originally slated to play the role of Tommy Hopkins that was taken by

Cornelius Keefe Cornelius Keefe (July 13, 1900 – December 11, 1972) was an American film actor. Keefe was born in Boston. He attended Brookline High School and Newton High School. Career Keefe played in ''The Poor Nut'' on stage and was the only member o ...

. The film as presented to preview audiences included a different, unhappy ending with Mary leaving the house and walking down Fifth Avenue. According to Ginger Rogers' autobiography ''Ginger: My Story'', Rogers vacationed in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

after the filming of ''Fifth Avenue Girl''. A new ending was shot when she returned.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer. He wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

described the film as "cheerful and cheerfully unimportant. It may not be a strikingly good comedy, but then it isn't militantly bad either." The film was a box-office hit and earned a profit of $314,000.

Radio adaptations

''Fifth Avenue Girl'' was presented on ''Lux Radio Theater'' in 1940, starring Ginger Rogers and Edward Arnold. Another version was presented on ''Hollywood Players'' on January 1, 1947, with

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...

playing Mary Gray.

References

External links

* * * {{Gregory La Cava 1939 films 1939 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films Films directed by Gregory La Cava Films set in New York City RKO Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language romantic comedy films Films scored by Robert Russell Bennett