I'm not sure how long it’s been since I first stumbled upon It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947), but I was ridiculously in love from the moment tonight’s favorite fictional character waddled down 5th Ave in New York City, whistling “It’s a Wonderful, Wonderful Feeling,” all while carrying his dog Sammy as he gets ready to break into the mansion of the second-richest man in the world to hibernate the winter away.
You see, Aloysius T. McKeever is a vagrant, a vagabond—a hobo, if you will—and he has this migratory routine he follows every year. As the weather turns cold, he heads to New York City and winters away in the block-long mansion of one Michael J. O’Connor, wizard of industry, as the O’Connor family moves south for the season. In the summer, Aloysius and the O’Connors switch places… though only one side of that arrangement has any clue what’s going on. Well, at least they didn’t until this particular winter.
Aloysius, played by Victor Moore, is a sort of street philosopher whose outlook on life might be a bit skewed given his circumstances, but whose heart is always in the right place. I think it’s fair to say McKeever isn’t just confident in what he believes—especially when he’s pontificating a wee bit—but genuinely thinks he has the life experience to back it up. He’s a character I would absolutely love to spend the winter with, even if only because I know he has some phenomenal stories to tell.
The movie is available on a few streaming apps, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed you’ll let Mr. McKeever and the rest of his new companions entertain you for a few hours this holiday season. I double–pinky swear promise you won’t regret it.
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