"On the Avenue" is a 1937 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film features actors Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye, George Barbier, and The Ritz Brothers. Many of the songs in the film were written by Irving Berlin. Some of the story elements, including a switch between male and female roles, were later used in the film "Let's Make Love." The movie was originally named "Out Front" before its release.

Plot

Gary Blake stars in a new show called On the Avenue with Mona Merrick. The show makes fun of Mimi Carraway, the richest girl in the world. Mimi and her father watch the show on opening night and feel insulted. Mimi goes backstage and asks Gary to remove the skit from the show. Gary refuses and calls her a "bad sport."

Shocked by his words, Mimi decides to go on a date with Gary. They spend the entire evening together and fall in love by morning. Gary agrees to revise the skit so it no longer harms the Carraways. However, Mona is in love with Gary and becomes angry when she learns about his date with Mimi. When the Carraways watch the revised sketch, Mona changes it without Gary's knowledge, making it worse than before. The Carraways decide to take legal action against Gary.

To harm Gary, Mimi buys the show from the producer and embarrasses him by hiring a paid audience to leave the show. News of this spreads to the press, making Gary a laughingstock in New York. He becomes angry and tears up his contract, refusing to work with Mimi. Soon, Mimi becomes engaged to Arctic explorer Frederick Sims. On her wedding day, Mona arrives and tells Mimi that she, not Gary, changed the skit. Mimi leaves the wedding and goes to city hall with Gary to get married.

The film includes songs from the play, such as Berlin's "He Ain't Got Rhythm" and "Let's Go Slumming On Park Avenue."

Cast

• Dick Powell as Gary Blake
• Madeleine Carroll as Mimi Caraway
• Alice Faye as Mona Merrick
• The Ritz Brothers as themselves
• George Barbier as Commodore Caraway
• Alan Mowbray as Frederick Sims
• Cora Witherspoon as Aunt Fritz
• Walter Catlett as J.J. Dibble
• Douglas Fowley as Eddie Eads
• Joan Davis as Miss Katz
• Stepin Fetchit as Herman "Step"
• Sig Ruman as Herr Hanfstangel (as Sig Rumann)
• Billy Gilbert as Joe Papaloupas

Partial soundtrack

• "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (1937) Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Sung by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in the show.
• "This Year's Kisses" (1937) Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Sung by Alice Faye with piano accompaniment during a rehearsal.
• "You're Laughing at Me" (1937) Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Sung by Dick Powell with the studio orchestra.
• "The Girl on the Police Gazette" (1937) Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Sung by Dick Powell with a barbershop quartet.
• "Cheek to Cheek" (1935) Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Partially sung by Harry Ritz in the "He Ain't Got Rhythm" number.
• "He Ain't Got Rhythm" (1937) Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Performed by Alice Faye, The Ritz Brothers, and chorus in the show.

Reception and accolades

In 1937, Graham Greene wrote a positive review of the film in Night and Day. He praised the film’s strong direction and briefly summarized it as "a good film with some charming songs." Greene’s main criticism was about the performance by Carroll, whom he described as showing "the unpleasant qualities of a young elephant," "her exaggerated flirtatiousness," and "her loud, nasal whispers." Greene stated that the audience prefers "lightness and fun" over "seriousness or accuracy" in a musical comedy.

The film was nominated for the American Film Institute’s 2006 list of AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals.