On the Avenue

On the Avenue


(aka Irving Berlin's On the Avenue)

20th Century-Fox, 1937, B/W, 88 minutes, ***½

Released February, 1937



Frolicsome musical-comedy with Dick Powell as a Broadway impresario who produces a satirical musical starring Alice Faye as "The Richest Girl in the World." When the woman Faye plays appears at the theater outraged, Powell falls for her, setting in motion all sorts of wacky events. Madeleine Carroll and The Ritz Brothers co-star; among the Irving Berlin tunes is "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm".


In Charge of Production: Darryl F. Zanuck

Associate Producer: Gene Markey

Directed by: Roy Del Ruth

Assistant Director: William J. Scully

Screen Play by: Gene Markey and William Conselman

Music and Lyrics by: Irving Berlin

Musical Direction: Arthur Lange

Dances Staged by: Seymour Felix

Art Direction: William Darling

Associate: Mark-Lee Kirk

Set Decorations by: Thomas Little

Costumes: Gwen Wakeling

Sound: Joseph Aiken, Roger Heman

Photography: Lucien Andriot

Film Editor: Allen McNeil



Cast: Dick Powell [Gary Blake], Madeleine Carroll [Mimi Caraway], Alice Faye [Mona Merrick], The Ritz Brothers [Themselves, Comedy Specialty], George Barbier [Commodore Caraway], Alan Mowbray [Frederick Sims], Cora Witherspoon [Aunt Fritz], Walter Catlett [Jake Dibble], Douglas Fowley [Eddie Eads], Joan Davis [Miss Katz], Stepin Fetchit [Herman], Sig Rumann [Herr Hanfstangel], Billy Gilbert [Joe Papaloupas], E. E. Clive [Binns, the Cabby], Douglas Wood [Mr. Trivet], John Sheehan [Stage Manager], Paul Irving [Harry Morris], Harry Stubbs [Kelly], Ricardo Mandia [Luigi], Edward Cooper [Potts], Paul Gerrits [Joe Cherry], Additional Cast: Lynn Bari [Chorus Girl], Geneva Sawyer [Chorine], Hank Mann [Footman in Sketch], Frank Darien [bit]



Musical Program: [0:00] Overture (played by Orchestra behind titles); [0:02] He Ain't Got Rhythm (sung by and danced by Alice Faye and Girls Chorus, then sung and danced by the Ritz Brothers and Chorus Girls); [0:07] Comedy Sketch: "A Quiet Evening at Home with the Richest Girl in America" (acted by Dick Powell, Alice Faye, The Ritz Brothers and Chorus); [0:22] The Girl on the Police Gazette (sung by Dick Powell and Chorus; acted by Dick Powell, Alice Faye and Chorus); [0:38] You're Laughing at Me (sung by Dick Powell to Madeleine Carroll in the park); [0:45] This Year's Kisses (sung by Alice Faye at rehearsal); [0:48] Comedy Sketch: "A Quiet Evening at Home with the Richest Girl in America" (revised version) (acted by Dick Powell, Alice Faye, The Ritz Brothers and Chorus); [0:52] I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (sung by Dick Powell joined by Alice Faye and Chorus Girls); [1:04] Slumming on Park Avenue (sung and danced by Alice Faye and Chorus, then sung and danced by the Ritz Brothers - one in drag); [1:10] You're Laughing at Me (sung by Dick Powell, interrupted by the Ritz Brothers); [1:11] Otchi Tchorniya (comic rendition sung by the Ritz Brothers); [1:16] This Year's Kisses (reprised by Alice Faye in cafe); [1:26] Slumming on Park Avenue (sung by Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Cora Witherspoon, Sig Rumann, Alice Faye, George Barbier and the Ritz Brothers)