Central Park Meets the “5th Avenue Girl”

Directed by Gregory LaCava, 5th Avenue Girl (1939) is a Depression-era screwball comedy starring Ginger Rogers alongside Walter Connolly, Verree Teasdale, Tim Holt, James Ellison, and Kathryn Adams. The story begins with wealthy industrialist Timothy Borden (Walter Connolly), who feels thoroughly neglected and unappreciated by his self-absorbed family. On his birthday, left entirely alone in his sprawling Fifth Avenue mansion, Timothy strolls into Central Park and strikes up a conversation with Mary Grey (Ginger Rogers), a pragmatic, down-on-her-luck young woman who is unemployed and hungry. To celebrate his birthday, Timothy takes her out for a lively evening at a high-end nightclub, where they unexpectedly cross paths with Timothy’s straying wife.

When Timothy realizes how much his sudden late-night outing scandalizes his snobbish, indifferent family, he hatches a clever scheme. He invites Mary to live at his estate and pay her to act as his mistress, aiming to shake up his household and teach his family a lesson. Mary’s grounded presence and sharp wit quickly turn the household upside down. As Timothy conspicuously ignores his business to go out on the town with Mary, his spoiled son, Tim Jr. (Tim Holt), is forced to take responsibility at the family pump factory, while his wife Martha (Verree Teasdale) begins staying home to protect her marriage.

Meanwhile, Mary acts as a catalyst for genuine change, helping Timothy’s daughter Katherine (Kathryn Adams) navigate a romance with the family's politically vocal chauffeur, Mike (James Ellison). Tim Jr. initially tries to bribe Mary to leave, but as he gets to know her, he falls in love with her instead. Ultimately, Timothy and Martha rediscover their bond after reminiscing over their humble origins, leading to a heartwarming resolution where the charade is exposed, relationships are mended, and Mary is welcomed as a true member of the family.

 

Gregory LaCava (1892 – 1952) was an American film director and writer who rose to prominence during Hollywood's Golden Age, best known for his sharp social satires and contributions to the screwball comedy genre. Beginning his career as an animator and silent film gag writer, he developed an instinctive sense of comedic timing and ensemble pacing. LaCava gained widespread critical acclaim in the 1930s with classics such as My Man Godfrey (1936) and Stage Door (1937), earning two Academy Award nominations for Best Director. Known for his collaborative set atmosphere and reliance on unscripted improvisation, he consistently brought out nuanced, human performances from his cast members.

Ginger Rogers (1911 – 1995) was an iconic American actress, dancer, and singer whose versatile career spanned vaudeville, Broadway, and decades of cinema. While worldwide fame came from her legendary screen partnership with Fred Astaire in RKO musical comedies, Rogers was equally lauded for her dramatic and comedic acting prowess. Her leading role in 5th Avenue Girl demonstrated her signature charm and comedic finesse, paving the way for her Oscar-winning dramatic performance in Kitty Foyle (1940). Across more than 70 films, Rogers remained one of the most bankable and enduring stars of classic Hollywood.

Walter Connolly (1887 – 1940) was a prominent American stage and character actor whose warm screen presence and expressive comedic timing made him a staple of 1930s cinema. After an extensive career on the Broadway stage, Connolly transitioned to Hollywood sound pictures, quickly becoming one of the industry’s premier character leads. He frequently portrayed exasperated, soft-hearted patriarchs and wealthy figures, most notably in Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934) and Twentieth Century (1934). His performance in 5th Avenue Girl served as one of his final feature film roles before his untimely passing.

James Ellison (1910 - 1993) was an American film actor who appeared in nearly 70 motion pictures throughout a career spanning three decades. Initially breaking into Hollywood as a handsome romantic lead, he achieved early prominence playing Buffalo Bill in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Plainsman (1936) and starring as Johnny Nelson alongside William Boyd in RKO’s popular Hopalong Cassidy Western series. Outside of Westerns, Ellison demonstrated strong versatility in romantic comedies and dramas, portraying the politically outspoken chauffeur Mike in 5th Avenue Girl (1939), as well as starring in notable features such as Jacques Tourneur’s horror classic I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and Busby Berkeley’s Technicolor musical The Gang's All Here (1943).

Tim Holt (1919 - 1973) was an American actor who became one of Hollywood’s most popular Western stars and an accomplished dramatic lead in several iconic films. Born into a theatrical family as the son of silent film actor Jack Holt, he made his screen debut as a child before establishing himself as a versatile leading man in the late 1930s. Beyond his prominent supporting role as the spoiled son Tim Jr. in 5th Avenue Girl, Holt earned critical acclaim for his standout performances in John Ford’s My Darling Clementine (1946), Orson Welles’s The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). A decorated combat veteran who served as a B-29 bombardier during World War II, Holt anchored dozens of top-grossing B-Westerns for RKO Radio Pictures throughout his four-decade career.

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Ginger Rogers and Tim Holt

5^th Avenue Girl trivia

• Director Gregory LaCava’s reunion with Ginger Rogers on this film came shortly after their success on Stage Door (1937), where LaCava famously joked to interviewers that the only way he could get Rogers to cry on set was to tell her that her house was on fire.
• Future legendary director Robert Wise worked on the film as a co-editor alongside William Hamilton early in his Hollywood career before moving on to direct classics like The Sound of Music.
• The screenplay, written by Allan Scott, features uncredited writing contributions from both director Gregory LaCava and famous Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Morrie Ryskind.
• Character actor Franklin Pangborn, renowned for playing flustered authority figures and pompous hotel managers throughout classic Hollywood, appears in the film as the estate’s stoic butler, Higgins.

Discussion Questions

1. How does 5th Avenue Girl reflect Great Depression-era attitudes toward wealth, privilege, and class distinctions in American society?
2. In what ways does Mary Grey serve as an agent of chaos and renewal within the Borden household dynamics?
3. How does Gregory LaCava use screwball comedy conventions to explore themes of marital disillusionment and family neglect?
4. How does Ginger Rogers’ comedic performance in this non-musical role compare to her performances in her famous musical collaborations with Fred Astaire?

Fans of Downton Abbey may enjoy this blog post, “ATale of Two Chauffeurs.” Did the creator of this popular series get plot ideas from 5th Avenue Girl?

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night”

It Happened One Night (1934) is an American romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. The supporting cast includes Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, and Alan Hale. The film was produced by Capra and Columbia Pictures studio head Harry Cohn. The script was written by Robert Riskin. The cinematography was by Joseph Walker (The Awful Truth, It’s a Wonderful Life, Born Yesterday).

Heiress Ellen “Ellie” Andrews (Colbert) has eloped with King Westley (Jameson Thomas), a fortune-hunting pilot, against her rich industrialist father Alexander Andrews’s (Walter Connolly) wishes. Ellie’s father wants to have the wedding annulled but Ellie has other plans. Ellie runs away from her father and takes a bus to New York City to reunite with Wesley. On the bus, Ellie meets Peter Warne (Gable), a newspaper reporter who just lost his job. When he realizes that he’s traveling with the runaway heiress, Warne makes a deal with Ellie that he will keep quiet and not expose her identity if she gives him an exclusive on her love story with Wesley. If she doesn’t, Peter will tell her father where she is.

As the two traveling companions evade her father and his detectives, they fall in love.

Will Peter and Ellie be able to sustain their love, or will Ellie’s father and King Wesley have something to say about it?

 

Frank Capra (1897 - 1991) was an American film director, producer, and writer. During the 1930s and 1940s, Capra’s films were among the most popular and awarded films. By 1938, Capra has won three Best Director Academy Awards. Born in Italy, Capra immigrated to the United States with his family when he was five years old. By sheer determination and his self-described cockiness, Capra talked his way into the movie business. He found a great home at “Poverty Row” studio, Columbia Pictures. At Columbia he had a major success with It Happened One Night (1934), which swept all the major categories at the Academy Awards that year. This helped turn Columbia Pictures from a Poverty Row studio into a major one. Other Capra successes include You Can’t Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

Clark Gable (1901 – 1960) was an American film actor. Gable was one of the most consistent box office stars in the history of movies. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the landmark romantic comedy It Happened One Night (1934) directed by Frank Capra. As “The King” of Hollywood, Gable starred alongside some of the biggest female stars of their day including Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer, and Ava Gardner. Gable received two additional Best Actor nominations for Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Gone With the Wind (1939), one of the biggest money-makers of all time. Gables third wife was the legendary Carole Lombard. Gable married Lombard in 1939 and ended with her tragic death in a plane crash in 1942. Other Gable films include San Francisco (1937), Test Pilot (1938), Boom Town (1940), Honky Tonk (1941), Command Decision (1948), Teacher’s Pet (1958), It Started in Naples (1960), and The Misfits (1961), his last film before his death at 59.

Claudette Colbert (1903 -1996) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Ellie Andrews in Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934). For her role in that film, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was nominated two other times in that category. Colbert got her start in the theater where she played a variety of ingenue roles. In 1928, she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures where she quickly made a succession of movies. Her breakout role came in 1932 in The Sign of the Cross (1932) starring Fredric March and Charles Laughton. In 1934, she made three films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: Imitation of Life, Cleopatra, and the eventual winner, It Happened One Night. No one had been able to match that record. Other popular films include I Met Him in Paris (1937), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Midnight (1939), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Since You Went Away (1944), and The Egg and I (1947).

 

It Happened One Night trivia

• Both Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert didn’t want to make the film. Gable was on loan to Columbia Pictures, which was considered a punishment by the star. Columbia was a minor studio, part of  “poverty row.” Colbert had worked with Frank Capra on a silent film, which wasn’t a pleasant or successful experience.
• At first, Colbert refused to show her leg in the hitchhiking scene. When she saw the body double’s leg, she changed her mind saying, “That’s not my leg!”
• It was the first film to win the top five Academy Award categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. The other films to win the Oscar “grand slam” are One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
• Constance Bennett and Myrna Loy turned down the script. Colbert only agreed to do the picture because Capra agreed to double her salary and not be required to work for more than four weeks. Bette Davis wanted the role of Ellie, but Warner Bros. wouldn’t loan her to Columbia. Miriam Hopkins, Margaret Sullivan, and Carole Lombard also turned down the role.
• Robert Montgomery and Fredric March both turned down the role of Peter Warne.                             

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Discussion questions

1. Some critics consider the film a screwball comedy. Would you put it in that category?
2. This film basically wrote the template for all romantic comedy films that came after it. Do you know any modern romantic comedies that owe a debt to It Happened One Night?
3. What did you think of the chemistry between Gable and Colbert? Was it believable?
4. Did you have a favorite scene or line of dialogue?
5. Considered one of the best films ever made, do you think its reputation is well deserved?

Frank Capra’s “Lady for a Day”

Lady for a Day (1933) is an American pre-Code comedy-drama directed by Frank Capra and starring Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks, Walter Connolly, Glenda Farrell, and Jean Parker. The screenplay was written by frequent Capra collaborator, Robert Riskin, based on Madame La Gimp by Damon Runyon. The cinematography was by Joseph Walker.

The plot centers on Apple Annie (Robson), an old woman who sells fruit in New York City. She has a daughter named Louise (Parker) who has been raised in a Spanish convent since she was a baby. Louise has been led to believe that her mother is a rich society matron by the name of Mrs. E. Worthington Manville who lives in the Hotel Marberry. Annie’s secret is about to be discovered when she learns that her daughter is sailing to New York with her fiancé Carlos (Barry Norton) and his father, Count Romero (Connolly).

One of Annie’s many customers, Dave the Dude (William), a gangster and gambler who believes her apples bring him good luck helps Annie keep up the charade. The Dude’s girlfriend and nightclub owner Missouri Martin (Farrell) even helps Annie turn from a dirty street peddler to an elegant society matron.

But will all this be enough to fool her daughter, her fiancé, and her fiancé’s father?

Warren William (1894 – 1948) was a star on Broadway and in Hollywood. The Village Voice dubbed him “The King of Pre-Code.” William was a popular leading man during the early 1930s. He starred in Three on a Match (1932), Golddiggers of 1933, and Cleopatra (1934) where he played Julius Caesar opposite Claudette Colbert in the title role. He would play her love interest that same year opposite Colbert again in the original version of Imitation of Life. William starred in several film series, including Perry Mason, The Lone Wolf, and Philo Vance. He starred opposite Mae West in Go West Young Man (1936) and The Wolf Man (1941).

May Robson (1858 – 1942) was an Australian-born American actress. She was a major stage actress during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. She is best remembered for the films she appeared in during the 1930s when she was in her 70s. Some of her movies from this period include, Dinner at Eight (1933), Dancing Lady (1933), Lady by Choice (1934), Anna Karenina (1935), A Star is Born (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), and Four Daughters (1938). She was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Lady for a Day (1933).

Jean Parker and May Robson

Lady for a Day trivia

• Capra employed a number of beggars from downtown Los Angeles in small roles.
• This was Capra’s first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
• The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
• Columbia Pictures had no stars under long-term contracts so most of the film’s players were on loan from Warner Brothers.
• Capra wanted Robert Montgomery to play Dave the Dude and Marie Dressler to play Apple Annie, but M-G-M wouldn’t loan them out. Capra tried to get James Cagney and William Powell too, but no luck.
• This was the first film released by Columbia Pictures to be nominated for Best Picture.

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Discussion questions

1. This film was made pre-Code, before the Production Code did you notice anything that caught your attention, something that you wouldn't see in a film during the Production Code?
2. What did you think of May Robson's performance? Was it worthy of an Academy Award nomination?
3. What about Warren William? Would the film have been better with Robert Montgomery, James Cagney, or William Powell as Dave the Dude?
4. Frank Capra remade this film as Pocket Full of Miracles (1961) starring Glenn Ford as Dave the Dude and Bette Davis as Apple Annie. If you saw the latter, which did you think was the better version?
5. The film is filled with great character actors; did you have a favorite?
6. This was an early Capra success. Does this film remind you of other Capra films?

Publicity photo featuring the major cast