THE GIRL FROM TENTH AVENUE

US, 1935, 69 minutes, Black and white.
Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge.
Directed by Alfred E. Green.

The Girl from 10th Avenue is based on a play, a slight film, a vehicle for Ian Hunter who had come from South Africa and had appeared in many Warner Bros films in the 1930s and 40s – returning to England in the 1950s. It is a star vehicle for Bette Davis, the year after winning her first Oscar for Dangerous. Colin Clive, from the Frankenstein films, is in support.

The film focuses on a society wedding, the drunkenness of Ian Hunter as Geoffrey Sherwood who feels he has been jilted. He encounters a young working girl, Bette Davis, who takes pity on him, marries him while he is drunk, decides to spend her time helping him and rehabilitating him. In the meantime, like Pygmalion, she improves her social status, especially with the help of her landlady, played by comedienne Alison Skipworth. Eventually, the society marriage breaks up, the wife flirts once again with Geoffrey, he is tempted – but Bette Davis and Alison Skipworth go to a restaurant, have a confrontation with the wife, including her throwing a grapefruit. Bette Davis regains her dignity. However, Ian Hunter continued to collapse, finally confronting the wife, realising he loves Bette Davis – and returning to her for a happy ending.

The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, prolific director of silent films as well as films and television from the 30s to the 50s. His high point was directing The Jolson Story.

One of the many films of a similar kind coming from Warner Bros during the 1930s – supporting features yet providing opportunity for up-and-coming stars.