Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 9-December-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)

The time: the Great Depression.
The place: Central Park.
The players: a young beauty with $5 to her name and an old businessman with millions.
The setup: they meet by chance and spend a wild night on the town; she moves into his mansion the next morning.
The aftermath: scandal ensues.
The punchline: it is not what you think.

No, in the charming comedy "Fifth Avenue Girl," what appears to be a simple case of geriatric folly and feminine gold-digging is in fact more innocent and more cunning. When Mary Grey (Ginger Rogers) bumps into Mr. Borden (Walter Connolly) in the park, he solicits her company only because he wants to celebrate a birthday which every member of his family has forgotten. He is not a letch but a sweetheart who seeks to enjoy life, or what's left of it, but cannot do so because he is alone. The poor guy even spots his wife (Verree Teasdale) out with her lover while having his birthday dinner! So after spending the evening with Mary he comes up with a plan.

She infiltrates the household of Mr. Borden, his wife, their indolent son (Tim Holt), their party-hopping daughter (Kathryn Adams), and several servants, occupying her own room for all the world to see. She and her apparent Sugar Daddy go out every night, leaving the others to speculate and scheme ... and maybe decide they want to be a family again. This being a classic comedy, the scenes sparkle with snappy dialogue comprised of equal parts wit and truth. The family dynamics feel very real (everybody has everybody else's number yet still remains fond), although the mechanics of other relationships do not (the romances which bloom have that "Pop! They're in love!" abruptness that plagues Hollywood movies).

But there is so much to like about this picture one can easily grant the characters some love. Rogers enchants with her sassy blond self, as usual, and she shares a nice chemistry with the lovable Connolly. Many moments are just plain cute, as when the May-December couple has a cozy chat in the back seat of a limo, or when Mrs. Borden wafts the aroma of beef stew around the house as bait for her estranged husband. "Fifth Avenue Girl" is built around deceit as so many romantic comedies are (strange), but it stands out as a genuinely feel-good movie.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.