{"id":41373,"date":"2018-11-01T09:12:48","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T16:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41373"},"modified":"2021-01-24T18:29:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T01:29:42","slug":"manhattan-melodrama-1934","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41373","title":{"rendered":"Manhattan Melodrama (1934)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Die the way you lived &#8212; all of a sudden. That&#8217;s the way to go. Don&#8217;t drag it out.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-1934-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-1934-Poster-300x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"232\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-1934-Poster-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-1934-Poster-128x99.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-1934-Poster.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter their parents die in a tragic accident at sea, two boys &#8212; one rambunctious (Mickey Rooney), the other studious (Jimmy Butler) &#8212; become lifelong friends while taking radically different career paths. Blackie (Clark Gable) becomes a notorious racketeer with a loyal moll (Myrna Loy), while Jim (William Powell) becomes a lawyer with aspirations towards governorship. Will their friendship withstand Loy&#8217;s realization that she wants more out of life than a gangster&#8217;s existence?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clark Gable Films<\/li>\n<li>Friendship<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Mickey Rooney Films<\/li>\n<li>Myrna Loy Films<\/li>\n<li>Orphans<\/li>\n<li>William Powell Films<\/li>\n<li>W.S. Van Dyke Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nFriendship and loyalty trump all else in this <em>melodramatic<\/em> tale of boys united forever through tragedy, turned into men who consistently &#8220;do the right thing&#8221; even when it goes against what society or their heart might tell them to do. DVD Savant writes cynically that &#8220;<em>Manhattan Fairy Tale<\/em> would be a better title for this fantasy with its scrupulously honest politico, gloriously noble racketeer and the glamorous but virtuous sweetheart who loves them both.&#8221; To that end, all three characters are surprisingly sympathethic, if unrealistic: one could only hope for such forthright and noble acquaintances, lovers, and allies. James Wong Howe&#8217;s cinematography is typically atmospheric, and the story moves along at a reasonable clip. This one is not quite must-see viewing but worth a look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> This film is infamous for being the movie John Dillinger was watching before being gunned down by police outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>James Wong Howe&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Cinematography-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine lead performances (Peary nominates Loy as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Leads.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Leads.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-41376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Leads.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Leads-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Manhattan-Melodrama-Leads-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s worth a one-time look as Oscar-winner for Best Original Story. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0025464\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2366loy.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/3488\/manhattan-melodrama#articles-reviews?articleId=81425\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinematicthreads.com\/review.php?id=2797&#038;ltr=M\">Cinematic Threads Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1934\/05\/05\/archives\/the-lawyer-and-the-gambler.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Die the way you lived &#8212; all of a sudden. That&#8217;s the way to go. Don&#8217;t drag it out.&#8221; Synopsis: After their parents die in a tragic accident at sea, two boys &#8212; one rambunctious (Mickey Rooney), the other studious (Jimmy Butler) &#8212; become lifelong friends while taking radically different career paths. Blackie (Clark Gable) becomes a notorious racketeer with a loyal moll (Myrna Loy), while Jim (William Powell) becomes a lawyer with aspirations towards governorship. Will their friendship withstand&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41373\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41373"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65719,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41373\/revisions\/65719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}