Rua dos Sonhos

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.

Warm film with the usual top MGM production values, strong cast.

When I finally saw this film I was surprised it was described as a "bomb" by Leonard Maltin. While it's not the greatest movie ever made, it's hardly a bomb, despite the problematic production history. Because retakes took so long, Margaret O'Brien is noticeably taller and older in some scenes than in others. The character's belief in fairy tales strains credulity in the scenes where little Margaret seems to be aging rapidly.

One could argue, as well, that, despite the hardships supposedly being endured by the characters in their poor New York neighborhood, at the height of the Great Depression, they seem reasonably well fed, dressed, and housed. The apartment where Flavia (O'Brien) lives is quite large, for example.

But there are some very true things in the film, the experience of being an only child, living among adults; the realities of readjustment for an ex-con (George Murphy). Many of the realities are not in the scenes or the lines, but in Margaret's and George Murphy's faces.

The cast is great and there's a nice Christmas atmosphere in the scenes that wrap up the story.

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.

Some reviews may note that the story between Flavia's Aunt (Angela Landsbury) and Steve is a "filler". I don't agree. Although clearly a sub-plot to the story about Flavia coming to terms with growing up and what to believe, the relationship between the Aunt and Steve is very pertinent to the story in that much of the drama is also about Steve, not just Flavia. The ending is very moving and the 4th of July speech delivered by Flavia is something you have to see to believe.

I highly recommend this film, which is a tribute to films about real life. The problems faced by the characters are real life issues. Questions about faith, the nature of truth and lies, and how difficult it can be to get back on the right path.

This picture takes place during the depression in New York City's Hell Kitchen which ran along 10th Avenue and the living condition were not favorable during this period of time in the 1930's. Margaret O'Brien plays the role as Flavia Mills a little girl about the age of eight years old and is a very happy little girl who lives in a world of her own and is a great joy to all the people in the neighborhood. Angela Lansbury, (Susan Bratten) is Flavia's aunt and she plans to get married to Steve Abbutt, (George Murphy). However, Steve has been away in prison for eighteen months and has kept it a secret from Flavia, who believes he went around the world. Flavia's make believe world starts crumbing as she gets older and she becomes very disillusion about what her family tells her. Margaret O'Brien gave an outstanding performance and her great acting abilities will make you reach for a box of tissues. This is another Christmas story which was great entertainment in 1948 and is a great film you don't want to miss.