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Reviews
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
A very underrated holiday film
This is a very enjoyable holiday film that gets no press. I learned about it because it was included in a set of holiday films.
If you are familiar with and enjoyed the 18th century play, "She Stoops to Conquer," the same social commentary about relations between the upper and lower classes appears here with a Dreppression era - post World War II twist. It requires you to suspend your sense of logic, but if you can do that, you will have a lot of fun. It's a holiday film that you will enjoy viewing year after year.
The professional critics big knock on this film is that it is too long. That is valid criticism for the ending. A scene or two could have been cut or shortened without damaging the plot. That weakness is more that offset by a great many laughs and chuckles and honest warmth which make the first 90 minutes fly by.
Watch for Gail Storm as the run-away college student who was a very popular TV personality in the early 1950s and Alan Hale, Jr., as one of World War II veterans, who was the captain on "Gilligan's Island."
The Polar Express (2004)
This film has grown on me ...
When I first saw The Polar Express I thought it had some good music, but not up the best Disney standards. And I thought it was a bit long. Then I really got into the bell ringing thing, and it has become one of my Christmas "must sees." The CD is worth buying for The Polar Express Suite alone.
This film is on two levels. Is this only a Christmas eve dream, or is it reality? You can't be sure until the end. For those who no longer hear the bell, it is either a child's fantasy or silly fairy tale. For those who still hear it, it's a affirmation that there is something better out there than cold reality, which is especially hard to accept in these trying times with the pandemic.
Leonard Maltin found this film worthwhile only for children. He didn't like the animation (the characters look like they are wearing dentures.) and could not see the ultimate point of the film. I guess the bell no longer rings for Leonard. Generally I agree with his reviews, but in this case I think he missed the point.