Tenth Avenue Angel

Tenth Avenue Angel might remind you somewhat of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn - the apartment seemed similar, the mother becomes pregnant, there's a family member who has to overcome a stigma,an economically challenged household, the coming-of-age of the daughter. However, all of it is without emotional resonance, to say the least. And although I'm usually not fans of these kinds of films I DID love "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".

So what's missing? Despite the evocative lower Manhattan sets, the genuinely warm and believable performance of Phyllis Thaxter as the mother, Rhys Williams as a blind newspaper vendor and (occasionally) Margaret O'Brien (when she's ruling the roost of her neighborhood in a precociously cynical way; not when she's required to do The Crying and saying lines like "How do cows know it's Christmas?") the movie doesn't work for me at all. This is one of those "we-don't-know-what-to-do-with-her" parts for the supremely talented Angela Lansbury, here completely wasted as O'Brien's young aunt, in love with the equally miscast George Murphy (he does his best, though the script just sinks him). Rhys Wiliiams was so much better served in How Green Was My Valley in much the same type of character (albeit more pugilistic).

Margaret gives a patriotic speech at a Fourth of July block party which it's safe to surmise (since the film was made in 1946, only one year after FDR died though released in 1948) is a double tribute to him and his principles (they even show his picture); convenient dovetailing as the story takes place in Depression era 1936.

Apparently mice are so common in their household that the one O'Brien sees doesn't phase the family one bit; nobody bats an eyelash. Also, when pregnant women fall down stairs, they are not taken to the hospital.Also, bovine miracles will astound you. I was underwhelmed throughout.

I'd say it's a take it or leave it proposition, probably a 4.5, but I'll be kind given the season and round up to five.

I saw this movie as a child, and of course I have a different perspective than I would have had as an adult. I never forgot that she doubted God; because her Mom had told her about untrue superstitions.

OK, so it seems a bit cheesy and sentimental and all. So what. I like every movie that Margaret O'Brien is in. The viewer can see things through a little girl's eyes in New York during the Depression. She roller skates around and thinks that Tenth Street is her territory.

She idolizes the adults in her life, including her mother and aunt, and a potential fiancée of her aunt, Steve. As the movie progresses, Flavia discovers more and more little white lies that those she loves have told her. She has to deal with it.

I loved to see her interaction with her mother, played so well by Phyllis Thaxter, and all of the adults, including the blind man who sells papers and magazines. Of course Margaret O'Brien had to do at least one crying scene, one of her many specialties. She also can deliver a monologue with the best of them, in this case reciting a patriotic speech. She is just mesmerizing in that scene.

I teared up a few times and felt good when the movie was over. I don't see this movie as dated. Children have to grow up and move on from fantasies and stories that they have grown up with. That is timeless. I also appreciated the underlying moral to the story of getting answers to prayer and the importance of closeness in families.

One viewing of Tenth Avenue Angel will not be enough for any real Margaret O'Brien fan. Miss O'Brien tugs at the heartstrings in this lovely holiday story that will have you longing for more! No doubt Margaret O'Brien was one of the most talented young actresses of all time. Her simple beauty, her ability to come across as a real child, and her talent for delivering lengthy lines never fail to astound you. The story is simple but tender, and other leads such as George Murphy and Angela Lansbury, take a backseat to Miss O'Brien. When she is in a scene, you cannot take you eyes off her. Just as in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, and Lost Angel, Margaret O'Brien is a delight. A don't miss for any fan of hers and an even bigger treat for those who have never seen her films!

Tenth Avenue Angel is a film about growing up and also about the disadvantages of same. It's never easy to discover that family and friends are sometimes all too human.

Which is what happens to Margaret O'Brien as a little world she's created in her own mind. The biggest bit of disillusionment comes from George Murphy who is the fiancé of her aunt Angela Lansbury. True to the code of the street Murphy whose cab was used by holdup men clammed up and did nine months as an accessory. But young O'Brien has been told he's been on a trip around the world.

It's not easy with her parents either. Her father Warner Anderson is an out of work musician and her mother Phyllis Thaxter is having one difficult pregnancy. On Christmas as Thaxter is in labor, Margaret may have to face the possibility of losing her. That's never easy at any age.

Although at times Margaret O'Brien can be cloying and a bit much, in Tenth Avenue Angel she hits the mark of your heart strings. She put just the right amount of sentiment into her performance and face it, the film rises and falls on what she does on the screen and how you accept her.

Tenth Avenue Angel is a wonderful family film about a little girl's Christmas in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York. And it holds up well for today.