Memorable, crazy movie

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Tenth Avenue Angel might remind you somewhat of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn - the apartment seemed similar, the mother becomes pregnant, there's a family member who has to overcome a stigma,an economically challenged household, the coming-of-age of the daughter. However, all of it is without emotional resonance, to say the least. And although I'm usually not fans of these kinds of films I DID love "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".So what's missing? Despite the evocative lower Manhattan sets, the genuinely warm and believable performance of Phyllis Thaxter as the mother, Rhys Williams as a blind newspaper vendor and (occasionally) Margaret O'Brien (when she's ruling the roost of her neighborhood in a precociously cynical way; not when she's required to do The Crying and saying lines like "How do cows know it's Christmas?") the movie doesn't work for me at all. This is one of those "we-don't-know-what-to-do-with-her" parts for the supremely talented Angela Lansbury, here completely wasted as O'Brien's young aunt, in love with the equally miscast George Murphy (he does his best, though the script just sinks him). Rhys Wiliiams was so much better served in How Green Was My Valley in much the same type of character (albeit more pugilistic).Margaret gives a patriotic speech at a Fourth of July block party which it's safe to surmise (since the film was made in 1946, only one year after FDR died though released in 1948) is a double tribute to him and his principles (they even show his picture); convenient dovetailing as the story takes place in Depression era 1936.Apparently mice are so common in their household that the one O'Brien sees doesn't phase the family one bit; nobody bats an eyelash. Also, when pregnant women fall down stairs, they are not taken to the hospital.Also, bovine miracles will astound you. I was underwhelmed throughout.I'd say it's a take it or leave it proposition, probably a 4.5, but I'll be kind given the season and round up to five.

Of course, times have changed. And this felt very 1930-ish (the story takes place in the late 1930s)...which of course, it was supposed to. Today, it's a little too sweet for my palate.And Margaret O'Brien. There's no question that she was an exceptional child actress, but I always felt that a little Margaret O'Brien went a long ways. Okay for a child's role in an adult-oriented picture, but a bit too much for me in terms of being the star of the film. Nevertheless, she does well here.It's interesting to see Angela Lansbury here. I found it an oddly minor role considering her performance in "State Of The Union" (with Tracy and Hepburn) the same year, though this was filmed after that classic. George Murphy. I must admit, I've never understood the attraction to George Murphy as a movie star. But, he's pleasant enough, if a bit bland. Phyllis Thaxter is fine as the mother of O'Brien. Interesting to note that Thaxter became a polio victim four years after this film was made. A supporting actor that is notable here is Rhys Williams as a blind news stand owner. And, a very young Barry Nelson is here, as well.As to the plot, it's fairly decent, with a couple of reservations. The biggest being that for such a long period of time it could be kept from O'Brien that Murphy had been in prison. A smaller point -- just how many different kids knew of the secret hiding place...guess it wasn't much of a secret. And third, just how naive was O'Brien's character, considering how otherwise worldly she seemed to be? And finally, the ending is just too sickeningly sweet -- let's see, a new baby, a kneeling cow for Christmas, Murphy goes straight, and Murphy gets engaged. I'm feeling queasy.I have two suggestions for O'Brien's spoiled attitude toward the end of the picture. 1.) Slap her! (Only kidding). 2.) She desperately needs some counseling! (Not kidding).I sat through it once and it was "okay", but never again.

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.

This is definitely not the sort of film they make any more. Margaret O'Brien plays an amazingly cute and sweet kid--the sort of role she was known for but that today seems a bit cloying...at times. Here she lives in a Hollywood version of poverty in New York City--one that, despite being told they're dirt-poor, just looks like a safe and clean place. Despite the poverty, she is a very chipper and optimistic girl. She sees the world as a magical and wonderful place and doesn't see the realities of life--such as what's really happened to her friend (George Murphy). There's more to the story than all this--including a plot involving her mother and some mice (don't ask--you just have to see it to understand).Overall, it's a decent film but not at all my cup of tea. While I loved O'Brien in "Journey for Margaret" and "Meet Me in St. Louis", here the plot seems fair at best. If you do see the film, look for an uncredited Elinor Donahue who plays O'Brien's friend about mid-way through the movie. However, apart from that, this one is pretty easy to skip.