Manhattan melodrama

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Movie
German title Manhattan Melodrama /
Murder in Manhattan
Original title Manhattan melodrama
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1934
length 93 minutes
Rod
Director WS Van Dyke
script Oliver HP Garrett ,
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
production David O. Selznick
music William ax
camera James Wong Howe
cut Ben Lewis
occupation

Manhattan Melodrama is a 1934 American detective film directed by WS Van Dyke and starring Clark Gable , William Powell and Myrna Loy . The script is based on a story by Arthur Caesar and the misfortune of the paddle steamer General Slocum .

action

Blackie Gallagher and Jim Wade lose their parents in a shipping disaster in New York Harbor. Both boys are saved by Father Joe and placed in the care of Poppa Rosen, who lost his own son some time ago. The foster father dies a few years later when he is trampled to death by police horses during a demonstration against the Russian Marxist Leon Trotsky .

Blackie and Jim turn to different goals. Blackie spends his time gambling while Jim studies. In the 1920s, Blackie owned a gaming club while Jim became a district attorney. Even if they're on different sides of the law, Blackie worships Jim. Blackie's friend Eleanor is also impressed by Jim. She tries to get Blackie to give up gambling. But Blackie doesn't want to change his life and leaves her. Eleanor turns to Jim, they both marry soon after.

When the player Manny Arnold is shot dead, Blackie is suspected of murder. Spud, Blackie's and Jim's childhood friend, accidentally leaves Jim's coat on the scene. Blackie gets Spud to have a tailor make an exact duplicate of the coat and bring it to Jim. As a result, Jim is convinced that Blackie has nothing to do with the murder. Some time later, Jim ran for election to governor. But his assistant Richard Snow tries to put him under pressure by threatening to link his boss to the Arnold murder. Eleanor tells Blackie, who then kills Snow. However, there is a witness for the murder: an allegedly blind beggar who can see. He alerts the police.

Jim has to charge Blackie with murder. Blackie is impressed with Jim's honesty. He proudly follows the election that Jim wins. Eleanor asks Jim to spare Blackie the death penalty. When she tells him that Blackie killed Snow to help him, he refuses. Only when Eleanor leaves him does he change his mind. But Blackie would rather die in the electric chair than spend his life behind bars. After Blackie's execution, Jim resigns as governor and is reunited with Eleanor.

background

The premiere took place on May 2, 1934. The film has not yet been shown in Germany.

Cedric Gibbons , Edwin B. Willis and Joseph C. Wright provided the equipment . Douglas Shearer was the sound engineer . Lesley Selander worked as an assistant director .

This is the first of 14 films starring Myrna Loy and William Powell together. After this film, they began the successful "Thin Man" series, also directed by WS Van Dyke.

At a performance in the Biograph Cinema at 2433 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago on July 22, 1934, the wanted criminal John Dillinger was among the audience . While leaving the cinema, he was shot by the police. This incident, including scenes from this film in the background on a cinema screen, is also shown in Michael Mann's film Public Enemies (2009) .

Reviews

Variety emphasized that the story was full of powerful and crowd-pleasing ingredients. The fast, crisp and intelligent dialogues drive the enjoyment further. Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times , on the other hand, saw a mechanical story that was hardly worth playing by this cast.

Awards

In 1935 Arthur Caesar was awarded the Oscar in the category Best Original Story.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. See Manhattan Melodrama . In: Variety , 1934.
  2. ^ Mordaunt Hall : The Lawyer and the Gambler . In: The New York Times , May 5, 1934.