La avenida de la tentación

Ginger Rogers is out of work and Walter Connolly has just the job for her in "5th Ave Girl," also starring Verree Teasdale and Tim Holt.

Connolly is a pump manufacturer (not shoes, the other kind) who is filthy rich and, though he lives with his family, is estranged from them. His two brat kids pay no attention to him, and his wife is always making the gossip columns for running around - with someone and without her husband.

So he hires Ginger to shake things up and make them think he's got a life without them, too. It's a cavernous, ugly house of the kind seen in "Holiday" and so many '30s films, and it's filled with malcontents.

The daughter is in love with the chauffeur who spouts Communist propaganda and hates the rich, the wife panics when she sees Ginger, and the son, against his will, has to take over the family company because his father is so distracted with his new young girlfriend.

Rogers plays this role in an offhanded manner, with sardonic line delivery. It works fairly well but it's a little too one-note. However, you definitely catch the character's underlying fear and vulnerability. She takes life as it comes - but when it's not what she expected, she's unnerved.

Walter Connolly is excellent - I especially loved him practicing the rumba in the doorway. Verree Teasdale does a good job as the wife - attractive, imperious, and vain. Unfortunately, while Tim Holt is good as the son, he and Rogers have no chemistry, so their connection seems to come out of left field.

This is an enjoyable film but somehow it lacks spark. A little variation in Rogers' performance might have helped, and more development of the relationship between Holt and Rogers.

Ginger Rogers seemed to mumble listlessly through a part she didn't like. Tim Holt seemed too immature for the romantic lead and has no chemistry with Ginger. These items detracted from the good screenplay, which has Ginger hired by millionaire Walter Connolly to stay at his house and sort of straighten out his family. It was almost like "My Man Godfrey" (also directed by Gregory La Cava) with the sex roles interchanged, but it was not nearly as good, and certainly did not come close to the pairing of William Powell and Carole Lombard.

Preview comments played a big part in studio decisions in those days. The ending in the film was changed to the one you see after preview audiences panned the original, less happy ending.

For some reason, this doesn't really work. It has a sensational cast. It's part fairy tale, part socio-political commentary, and mostly a romantic comedy.

The romance comes late, though, and seems slightly tacked on/.

Out-of-work Ginger Rogers meets mogul Walter Connolly In Central Park. He's gone there to look at the seals with his butler Franklin Pangborn; and right here something seems a little forced and improbable.

Rogers is a sort of tabula rasa who helps Connolly get back together with his wife -- amusingly played by Veree Teasdale. She also heaps his uninterestingly played daughter break down social barriers to get together with family chauffeur and would-be Socialist, hunky James Ellison. And she helps his son Tim Holt settle down and, as we of course knew she would, gets together with him at the end.

She is like the Terence Stamp character in Pasolini's fascinating "Teorema" almost 30 years later and like Michael York in the thoroughly disagreeable, arch "Something For Everyone" of approximately that same time. Both those characters are overtly sexual, though Rogers is decently not so here, beginning and ending the movie eating an apple. (Eve she is not. More like her Sue-Sue character from "The Major and The Minor.") It's kind of funny and kind of not very funny.

When she and Holt revisit the park bench where she met his father, Jack Carson, playing a Navy man on leave, sits beside them with his lady friend and sings a delightful chanty about temptresses. It's the best I've ever seen him and it's a breath of fresh air and believability for this movie.

Know Ginger Rogers best from her legendary partnership with another dancing legend Fred Astaire, but she did show numerous times that she fared very well in the acting department as well in comedy and drama. She was my main reason in seeing 'Fifth Avenue Girl'. Have also liked some of Gregory La Cava's other films, namely the wonderful 'Stage Door'. Really liked comedy and romance and they have been known to blend very well together, especially in the golden age of film history.

'Fifth Avenue Girl' is one of those many films from the golden age, but sadly to me it is not one of the classics. Have seen better from Rogers, films and performances, and from La Cava, as well as better blendings of comedy and romance and both elements done better individually in other films. That is not saying that 'Fifth Avenue Girl' is terrible as it isn't, it just wasn't my definition of great and the potential for it to be great was absolutely there.

There are definitely good, even great, things. 'Fifth Avenue Girl' looks great, beautifully photographed that is never too elaborate or too much of a filmed play. The costumes are also suitably distinguished and one of the film's most striking things was that magnificent staircase and the clever way it's used throughout. The music is pleasant, not too chirpy and also not too serious. La Cava has some stylish direction evident.

Although the script is not perfect, it does amuse frequently, intrigues and can be witty and sophisticated. Same goes for the story. Rogers looks lovely and her sass and elegance shines often. Walter Connolly is amusing and Veree Teasdale has fun in her role.

Sadly there are debits. Tim Holt is bland from playing his part too seriously and his chemistry with Rogers always looks stiff and under-rehearsed. Something of a big problem when it plays a sizeable part in the film. Rogers has good moments, but sometimes she is too low-key and some parts are less engaged-looking than others.

Do agree that the script is too talky and too heavy on heavy-handed and of the time social commentary. Some of the pace is sluggish and the ending is rushed and silly.

In conclusion, not bad at all. Just not great. 6/10

It's obvious when you watch this film that it was strongly inspired by the wonderful comedy "My Man Godfrey", though it never comes close to the quality or zaniness of this earlier hit. This isn't to say I didn't like "5th Avenue Girl"--it just isn't in the same league as "Godfrey".

The film begins with a rich industrialist (Walter Connelly) meeting Ginger Rogers on a park bench. It's his birthday, yet no one in his family cares or took notice. On a lark, he invites this total stranger to go out partying with him. At first, she's hesitant. However, he can afford it and she's not used to this sort of life, so she agrees.

The next day, Connelly awakens with little recollection of all the details of the night before, as he had gotten quite drunk. He's surprised, however, when Rogers turns up in his home--it seems he invited her to stay in the guest room. Now you'd think this would cause a huge problem with Connelly's wife...a strange woman in the house. However, that's the crux of the problem--his family doesn't really care. So, on a lark, he decides to take this to the next step--and pay Rogers to stay and pretend to be his mistress--though there is absolutely nothing between them. He just wants to make his no-good family take notice! As for Connelly and Rogers, they are both excellent in this film. I especially love Connelly, as he was a delightful supporting actor and here he gets a chance to play the leading man--with nice results. However, after these two, the film's cast and writing really falls short. In "Godfrey", the family was kooky--filled with eccentrics and oddballs. However, here in "5th Avenue Girl", the family just seems selfish and a bit despicable--a major problem for the film. The wife and son were just selfish jerks, while the daughter, to put it bluntly, is an annoying idiot--who's in love with a really, really annoying young communist. As a result, the film rests solely on Rogers and Connelly--with no real support from anyone. If this had been worked out, the film would have been more than a pleasant comedy--it could have been something exceptional. Still, it is charming and fun to watch--plus I'd watch Connelly in anything--he's that good.

By the way, listen up for a great final line by Ginger--it's a doozy.