A vehicle for child star Margaret O’Brien, Tenth Avenue Angel, is an overly sentimental picture that failed with both critics and audiences.
Grade: C
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Set in 1936, at the height of thje Depression, it chronicles the life of Flavia Mills (Margaret O’Brien), a girl of eight, living in a New York tenement with mother Helen and father Joe, who’s broke and needs a job.
Her aunt Susan, who’s engaged to Steve, lives with them, too. The little girl is unaware that Steve has been in jail for associating with a gangster.
Everybody’s desperate for money. Helen’s pregnant and faces physical complications. Steve, unable to get his old job, is driving a taxi. The gangster offers him a payday for stealing a truck, but Steve’s conscience bothers him.
Predictably, in the end, all the wrongs turn right.
The shoot took place in spring of 1946, with retakes in April 1947. However, the troubled film was not released until February 20, 1948.
Cast
Margaret O’Brien as Flavia Mills
Angela Lansbury as Susan Bratten
George Murphy as Steve Abbott
Phyllis Thaxter as Helen Mills
Warner Anderson as Joseph Mills
Rhys Williams as Blind Mac
Barry Nelson as Al Parker
Connie Gilchrist as Mrs. Murphy
Tom Trout as Daniel Oliver Madison
Dickie Tyler as Jimmy Madison
Henry Blair as Rad Ardley
Charles Cane as Parole Officer
Richard Lane as Street Vendor
The film was an expensive failure at the box office, earning only $725,000 in the U.S. and $75,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $1,227,000.
Credits
Directed by Roy Rowland
Screenplay by Harry Ruskin, Eleanore Griffin; story by Angna Enters, based on “Miracle at Midnight” by Craig Rice
Produced by Ralph Wheelwright
Cinematography Robert L. Surtees
Edited by George Boemler, Ralph E. Winters
Music by Rudolph G. Kopp
Distributed by MGM
Release date: Feb 20, 1948
Running time: 75 minutes
Budget: $1,791,000
Box office: $900,000
