pensman I'm usually a softhearted for these Christmas movies from the 40's and maybe if Frank Capra had had an opportunity to recast and have some significant rewriting done then maybe this film would have turned out better. A neglected film is Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, and Wendell Corey. Directed by Don Hartman it has a lighter and more comedic touch.The only member of the cast I like is Charles Ruggles. Everyone else is miscast and without sympathy which is not good for a film that's supposed to pull on your heartstrings. By now you know the plot, a hobo moves into a Fifth Avenue mansion while the owner winters in Tennessee. Victor Moore is the hobo and had a spotted film career. Moore's character, Aloysius T McKeever, ends up having a recently evicted soldier, Jim Bullock (Don DeFore) move in with him and then a slew of others show up. When the mansion's owner Michael J. O'Conner (Ruggles) shows up, his daughter Trudy (Gale Storm) is romantically interested in Bullock. When Trudy realizes her father is about to have everyone in the house arrested, she calls in her divorced mother Mary (Ann Harding) to help present a bulwark against her father.Of course, there is the requisite happy ending with O'Conner and his wife getting back together, Bullock and Trudy cementing their romance, a bunch of ex-servicemen pulling their money to buy housing, the usual. I am sure in the current climate (2017), the story might have appeal with the little people vs. the industrial giant; but the little people only win because Michael J. O'Conner lets them in a rather unbelievable end. It's not that I don't like the message, it's just the wrong movie for me.Oddly enough this movie was popular with audiences while Capra's directorial choice It's a Wonderful Life bombed. But with time the Capra film is now a Christmas classic; and It Happened on Fifth Avenue is just about completely forgotten.

mike48128 A shame that hardly anyone except Turner shows (or preserves) black and white movies anymore. I tripped across this one during the Christmas Holidays. It's right up there with "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Bishop's Wife". It was nominated for an Oscar in 1947 (for best Screenplay). "Miracle on 34th St." won that year. A great cast including Charles Ruggles, Ann Harding, Gale Storm, Don Defore and Alan Hale Jr. Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) "squats" in the mansion of Michael O'Connor (Charles Ruggles) during the wintertime and holidays. He's a vagrant with principles and charm and acts like he owns the place. In all, eleven people and a dog end up "squatting", mostly down-on-their-luck unemployed WWII vets, their wives and children. Don Defoe and Gale Storm (Jim and Trudy) fall in love at first sight. She is beautiful at age 25 and plays an 18-year old spoiled brat AWOL from finishing school. She and her mom and dad act like squatters too, but actually own the house. A mild Scrooge-like plot, as O'Connor is a lonely old real estate magnate and the 2nd richest man in the world who, at first, seems to only love money and success. He has been divorced for four years. The predictable and satisfying ending has everyone falling in love and the ex-GI's get to build their dream project of converting an old Army barracks into apartments, as O'Connor buys and transfers the property over to them. Wonderful to watch, with many funny scenes involving babies, mistaken identities, a "fruiting", and an ethnic used clothes merchant, that hates wool clothes because they attract "all the moths and their friends". Lots of cute little continuity errors: "Jim" calls "Trudy" "Margie" and a "silent" vacuum cleaner! Still available on WB-DVD as part of a collection or a single title. Almost filmed by Frank Capra, but he made "It's a Wonderful Life" instead. Worth your time and very charming. Just like "It's a Wonderful Life", no man is poor who has friends. How true!

jldeangelis This is one movie I often watch throughout the year. A movie when the weather is hot, you miss family, friends, you encounter strangers by chance, remembering fellow Veterans. Odd combination? Not so."It Happened on Fifth Avenue" has simple creativity and thought. It pulls together the Christmas spirit of family, friends, strangers, and Veterans along their journey. The bonus for the time it was filmed, in old-school black and white. This classic starts off with a simple poke and brings you home.The actors are real and genuine.It's a good old-fashion Christmas movie to watch year round.

moonspinner55 Genial homeless man in New York illegally moves into a millionaire's mansion while the rich businessman is away for the winter, eventually inviting other unfortunates to join him; naturally, the owner returns home unexpectedly--and is forced to play along under the guise of a destitute codger after his teenage daughter falls in love with one of the unemployed "idea men" now residing in the estate. Fanciful story from Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani, given a tightly-adjusted script from Everett Freeman (who manages not to be too treacly within this unlikely scenario). There are lots of funny visual jokes, and a nice turn from Charles Ruggles as the second wealthiest man in the world, yet the idea of strangers breaking into someone's house and making themselves to home is probably less 'adorable' now than it was in 1947. Still, director Roy Del Ruth keeps it light-hearted and whimsical, and the supporting cast is cheerful. **1/2 from ****