Manhattan Melodrama (1934)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke
(more)

Writers:

Arthur Caesar (story)
Oliver H.P. Garrett (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 May 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

The friendship between two orphans endures even though they grow up on opposite sides of the law and fall in love with the same woman.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Governor | Orphan | Electric Chair | Mistress

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Edward J. 'Blackie' Gallagher
William Powell	...	James W. 'Jim' Wade
Myrna Loy	...	Eleanor Packer
Leo Carrillo	...	Father Joe
Nat Pendleton	...	Spud 'Spuddie'
George Sidney	...	Poppa Rosen
Isabel Jewell	...	Annabelle
Muriel Evans	...	Tootsie Malone
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Asst. Dist. Atty. Richard Snow (as Thomas Jackson)
Isabelle Keith	...	Miss Adams (Jim's secretary) (as Claudelle Kaye)
Frank Conroy	...	Blackie's defense attorney
Noel Madison	...	Manny Arnold
Jimmy Butler	...	Jim Wade as a boy
Mickey Rooney	...	Blackie as a boy
Shirley Ross	...	Singer in Cotton Club
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herman Bing	...	German proprietor (scenes deleted)
Garry Owen	...	Campaign manager (scenes deleted)
Henry Roquemore	...	Bandleader (scenes deleted)
Carl Stockdale	...	Policeman (scenes deleted)
Oscar Apfel	...	Speaker of Assembly (uncredited)
William Arnold	...	Blackjack dealer (uncredited)
William Augustin	...	Detective (uncredited)
William Bailey	...	Al Barnes (croupier) (uncredited)
Curtis Benton	...	Announcer (uncredited)
John Bleifer	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Detective in court (uncredited)
Wade Boteler	...	Prison guard (uncredited)
Don Brodie	...	Reporter (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins	...	Killer in prison (uncredited)
James Curtis	...	Party leader (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Otto (German dancer on steamship) (uncredited)
Charles Dunbar	...	Panhandler (uncredited)
James Eagles	...	Boy in prison (uncredited)
Jay Eaton	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Harrison Greene	...	Eleanor's dance partner (uncredited)
Donald Haines	...	Spud as a Boy (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Assistant District Attorney (uncredited)
Eddie Hart	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lew Harvey	...	Craps dealer (uncredited)
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Warden of Sing Sing (uncredited)
George Irving	...	Jim's campaign manager (uncredited)
William Irving	...	German note holder (uncredited)
Jimmy James	...	Chemin de Fer dealer (uncredited)
Cullen Johnson	...	Boy (uncredited)
Payne B. Johnson	...	Small boy on street (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Leonid Kinskey	...	Trotskyite slapping Poppa Rosen (uncredited)
Leo Lance	...	Leon Trotsky (uncredited)
Jack 'Tiny' Lipson	...	Uncle Angus (uncredited)
Dixie Lotten	...	Irish woman talking with Poppa Rosen (uncredited)
John Marston	...	Mr. Coates (gambler losing yacht) (uncredited)
Ralph McCullough	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel	...	Black prisoner on Death Row (uncredited)
Larry McGrath	...	One of Blackie's hoods (uncredited)
Tom McGuire	...	Policeman in court (uncredited)
Alex Melesh	...	Master of Ceremonies (uncredited)
King Mojave	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore	...	Black boy in speakeasy (uncredited)
Pat Moriarity	...	Trotsky heckler (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Leslie Preston	...	Jim's dance partner (uncredited)
Bert Russell	...	Blind beggar (uncredited)
Harry Seymour	...	Piano player in casino (uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Pepi Sinoff	...	Jewish woman (uncredited)
Pete Smith	...	Racetrack announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Bert Sprotte	...	German note holder (uncredited)
William Stack	...	Judge (uncredited)
Landers Stevens	...	Inspector of Police (uncredited)
Stanley Taylor	...	Police intern (uncredited)
Al Thompson	...	Street spectator (uncredited)
Edward Van Sloan	...	Yacht Capt. Swenson (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Boat Passenger (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Assistant District Attorney (uncredited)
W.R. Walsh	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Cotton Warburton	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
W.S. Van Dyke
George Cukor		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Arthur Caesar		(story)
Oliver H.P. Garrett		(screenplay) and
Joseph L. Mankiewicz		(screenplay)

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Ben Lewis

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lesley Selander	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director
Joseph C. Wright	....	associate art director (as Joseph Wright)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Slavko Vorkapich	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dolly Tree	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
William Axt	....	synchronization (as Dr. William Axt)
W. Donn Hayes	....	supervising editor: musical sequences (uncredited)

Music Department
William Axt	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Domenico Savino	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
G. Pat Collins	....	voice (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cosmopolitan Productions (for)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  package design (2007 release)
• Turner Entertainment  supplementary material (2007 release)

Runtime:

93 min | USA:90 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #3213-R, 16 March 1937 for re-release)

Company:

Cosmopolitan Productions

Trivia:

Lorenz Hart was asked to write more commercially appealing lyrics to "The Bad in Every Man" after this movie was released. The result was "Blue Moon," which was copyrighted under that title in December 1934.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Snow enters the men's room at Madison Square Garden, we see him enter the room and subsequently begin to close the door. In the next shot, showing him reflected in the mirrors above the basin, he is once again in the act of walking through the door.

Quotes:

James W. 'Jim' Wade: You know, I think those yes-men would go to bed with me if they had a chance.
Eleanor Packer: Don't worry, Darling, they won't have a chance.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Quite a movie

They didn't name this "Manhatten *Melodrama* for nothing - it's classic melodrama! If you can get past the first fifteen minutes or so, what saves this film is the three leads: William Powell, Clark Gable, and Myrna Loy. As a Myrna Loy/William Powell fan, I love the whole scene from their first meeting, as she flings herself into his taxi, and he thinks she is out to wreck his career by pretending he assaulted her! Clark Gable is great as the charming bad guy, too. Of course, in this story about unpunished crime vs. betraying a friend, nobody ever considers the third way, but then it wouldn't be a melodrama anymore, would it? Anyway, if you enjoy golden oldies or any of the three main actors, it's worth watching.