Greg And Ginger

When the RKO Astaire/Rogers series of musicals ended in 1939, Ginger went straight into a series of successful comedies and dramas on her own. Still in her twenties, she didn't need to dance or sing to show how talented she was.

Even before 1939, she'd shown what she could do in Stage Door and Vivacious Lady. But then came Bachelor Mother, Primrose Path, Kitty Foyle (for which she won an Oscar), Roxie Hart and The Major And The Minor.

Perhaps the oddest film she made around this time is 5th Avenue Girl. She was a favorite of director Gregory La Cava, and here he features her in a sort of female version of My Man Godfrey. Rich Walter Connolly hires beautiful young Ginger to move in and shake her family up. However, in Godfrey, the rich family was nutty and fun. This one is more annoying and a little bit depressed. Godfrey himself was charming--Ginger's character is more unsettling.

Also, the film is even more explicitly political, with the chauffeur spouting Marx. The other domestics mock him, but the rich daughter loves him. However, being rich, she can do nothing right. Finally, Ginger has to shake things up, going after him with a knife and threatening to cut him another mouth. That's not the kind of line you hear much in 1930s comedy.

The main set--the 5th Avenue domicile--is dominated by a massive, central staircase. I'm sure it looked impressive when they built it, but it seems to weigh down the action.

I could be wrong, but I think La Cava, at the height of his career, was trying to make a big statement, at least something bigger than the slight political background of Godfrey, and it lends a heaviness to the final product. This movie has a surpisingly dark tone for a comedy. It even leaves a sour taste--maybe after all the unhappiness, we don't buy the happy ending. (Allegedly the ending was reshot to make things a bit more positive.)