Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Movie Review

Trading Places, 1940s edition.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 30, 2020

Originally optioned by Liberty Films as the studio's debut production (during which time Frank Capra turned down directing duties in favor of It's a Wonderful Life), Roy Del Ruth's It Happened on 5th Avenue shares a few similarities with that perennial favorite. Both are warm and well-meaning dramas that have become associated with Christmas despite only a fraction of their scenes taking place during the holidays, and even end with the New Year's Eve staple "Auld Lang Syne". Both also feature a "magical" central supporting character, although Wonderful Life's Clarence boasts much more literal abilities. But beyond those surface-level comparisons they couldn't be more different... and while I doubt many prefer 5th Avenue pound-for-pound, it's still worth watching as the year draws to a close.

Although personal drama intensifies during the film's second half, It Happened on 5th Avenue sets itself up like a screwball comedy. It immediately establishes interest in the exploits of one Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore), a hobo who enters -- by way of sewer access -- the lavish Fifth Avenue mansion of ultra-wealthy Michael J. O'Connor (Charles Ruggles) while he is gone for the winter. It turns out this isn't the first time Aloysius has done it; he plans his squatting almost down to the day, even setting up a clever "alarm system" using the mansion's power supply. It's an ingenious plot disrupted by two visitors: veteran Jim Bullock (Don DeFore), left homeless after his apartment is cleared out for O'Connor's new modern office building; and pretty young Trudy "Smith" (Gale Storm), who Aloysius and Jim think is a burglar but actually turns out to be O'Connor's estranged runaway daughter. The mansion's guest list later grows with Jim's old war buddies Whitey (Alan Hale, Jr.) and Hank (Edward Ryan), and their respective families. There's more than enough room in the house for everyone, yet this ever-expanding plan seems to be at its breaking point as Christmas approaches -- and with O'Connor himself looking for Trudy, it might not be long before the jig is up.

If It Happened on 5th Avenue does one thing particularly well, it establishes a very comfortable tone and character-driven atmosphere almost immediately, sticking to its guns during the film's surprisingly lengthy 116-minute running time -- that's more than enough time to expand on the central ever-expanding roster of houseguests, and maybe a little too much if I'm being perfectly honest. Many of the lesser supporting characters -- none more so than war buddies Whitey and Hank, and by extension their respective families -- contribute a few moments of satisfying drama and interesting dynamics but ultimately tend to distract from the central plot, which concerns O'Connor's relationship with his daughter (as well as his ex-wife) as well as Trudy's budding romance with Jim. This is an awful lot of balls to juggle in the air and It Happened on 5th Avenue isn't always up to the challenge, although its warm, Christmas-ready sentiments and largely satisfying third act end up keeping the film mostly light and buoyant. Its core concept of "good will towards men", which largely contributes to the film's purely optimistic and heartwarming conclusion, is probably why it's long been associated with late December. (While It Happened on 5th Avenue, again, shares this obvious similarity with It's a Wonderful Life, the former was actually released four months later in middle of April.)

I'll admit to being a relative newcomer to this film -- I'm sure I saw it at least once in full at some point and probably a few scenes here and there over the years while channel surfing, so anyone with more of a nostalgic attachment to It Happened on 5th Avenue might see absolutely no flaws in its story or structure. I enjoyed it much more often than not and may warm up to it even further when it inevitably becomes part of my "B-team" holiday movie lineup, along with Warner Archive Collection's recent Blu-ray release of Don Hartman's Holiday Affair, another lesser-seen but mostly satisfying Christmas-themed production. Much like that title, Warner Archive has once again come to the rescue with a sparkling new restoration, lossless audio, and limited but appreciated bonus features. Die-hard fans will be pleased to have yet another well-rounded package from one of the very best boutique labels in the business.

It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It Happened on 5th Avenue is advertised as having a brand-new 4K restoration which looks to have been taken from at least two different sources. The majority of this presentation is a five-star effort all the way around: image detail is frequently fantastic with very rich textures and a pure, film-like appearance that's perfectly clean and stable with excellent density. True to the film's nitrate roots, gray scales often have a pleasingly silver appearance and, of course, the noticeable levels of natural film grain add a awful lot of visual appeal. A handful of other shots and scenes are of slightly lesser quality; more often than not, they exhibit harsher levels of contrast with less pronounced shadow detail, as well as a somewhat softer overall appearance and fewer smoothly-defined edges. Several other (mostly very brief) shots also stand out for their higher brightness -- almost as if the gamma levels don't match, which was distracting but over quickly. Yet under the circumstances, the wide majority of 5th Avenue looks flat-out flawless and I'd imagine that die-hard fans will have their socks knocked off by this overall outstanding home video presentation. As usual, Warner Archive's Blu-ray is authored perfectly and runs at a very high bit rate from start to finish.

Need more proof, or just tired of reading words? Warner Archive has recent added three HD clips of this restoration to their YouTube channel: the opening scene, "Ungrateful Guest", and "Unexpected Visitor".

It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio supports 5th Avenue's one-channel roots just about perfectly with a crisp presentation that sounds a good deal younger than the film's age implies. Dialogue is very clean and overlapping voices are handled nicely with very good placement -- although the central mansion is more or less empty when the film begins, it gets quite crowded in a hurry. Scenes shot outdoors -- whether real or simulated -- have a suitably more "open" feeling, as do interior scenes in the mansion's largest rooms. Edward Ward's original score also sounds great with a remarkably strong and full presence that doesn't fight for attention and, though the split two-channel audio obviously doesn't have any discrete effects, it certainly does at least feel a bit wider than most mono tracks.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film; they're formatted perfectly with no sync issues.

It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. Only one bonus feature is included here -- and it's surprisingly not a trailer, which are almost always on WAC discs. But I couldn't find one online anywhere, so it may not have been available.

• Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (50:09) - This vintage radio adaptation, originally broadcast on May 19, 1947, features four of the film's original stars: Victor Moore, Charlie Ruggles, Gale Storm, and Don DeFore (all reprising their roles), and was produced and directed by Vic Knight.

It Happened on 5th Avenue Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Roy Del Ruth's It Happened on 5th Avenue isn't quite a top-tier holiday classic -- not that it really has much to do with Christmas, honestly -- but it's still a warm and well-meaning drama with memorable performances and a leisurely pace that feels more comfortable as it goes on. Although its supporting cast is a little crowded and the concept itself feels sillier than it ought to, it makes up for these shortcomings with great time-capsule footage of NYC and, of course, a message that shouldn't be limited to any specific era. Warner Archive Collection's Blu-ray edition adds plenty of A/V support with a terrific 4K-sourced restoration and great lossless audio, even if the bonus features predictably come up short. It's heartily recommended to long-time fans but others may want to try before they buy.