Manhattan Melodrama by W.S. Van Dyke (1934)
28 July 2008The first time that Myrna Loy and William Powell were on screen together, and with W.S. Van Dyke who would later direct the first 4 Thin Man films, is a very enjoyable and a bit depressing drama about 2 childhood friends that end up on either side of the law, and both love the same woman. And it isn’t so muhc a WIlliam Powell and Myrna Loy film as a film about Clark Gable and William Powell, two great actors in perfect roles fro them. Quite an enjoyable film, and available in the Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection is a really great film. I highly recommend it, especially for fans of the Thin Man films.
Two children are with their parents out on a river boat in New York Harbor, but a fire starts, and while they make it, being rescued by a Father Joe (Leo Carillo), the children’s parents are killed. A man they call Papa Rosen take them in because his children died in the fire, but in a few years he is killed in a riot against Russian agitators. So Blackie Gallagher (Clark Gable) grows up gambling and conning, but Jim Wade (William Powell) grows up to be a big time attorney. Blackie runs gambling clubs, and never loses, and has a lovely girlfriend named Eleanor (Myrna Loy). Jim meanwhile has become the District Attorney, and Blackie worships his friend who is so good, and works so hard. On Jim’s election night he is supposed to meet Blackie to celebrate, but he can’t show so he sends along Eleanor to go have a good time, and they have a really lovely night, with Jim treating her how women should be treated. Eleanor is so impressed she asks Blackie if he will marry her and settle down, but he won’t, so she leaves him. A month later she runs into Jim at a party, and goes with him, and they end up engaged, and Blackie does nothing about it because he likes his friend so much. Then Blackie kills a gambler named Manny Arnold (Noel Madison) who owed him tons of money, but his muscle a guy named Spud (Nat Pendleton) leaves Jim’s coat at the scene, and suspicion goes to Manny, but Spud had had a duplicate made, and they give it to him, and he is convinced of Manny’s innocence.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Jim then runs for governor, and it seems he is a shoe in, but his assistant Richard Snow (Thomas Jackson) says he will smear his name, using Blackie especially. Jim is upset, but fires the guy, and hopes for the best. Eleanor is worried and mentions it to Blackie, telling him not to do anything.
Blackie goes and murders Snow in a men’s room at the race tracks, not realizing that the blind man outside was faking blindness. And in the run up Jim’s Gubernatorial campaign he must try Blackie for murder, though he never knows the motive. Jim manages to convict Blackie who goes to jail awaiting execution, and is still proud of his friend.
Jim makes Governor and many want him to pardon Blackie, but he refuses. And Elenaor is even going to leave him, because she doesn’t think he holds himself to the same high standard as he holds others up to.
Jim goes to the prison the night Blackie is to be killed, and finally breaks down and is going to pardon Blackie because he is his friend, but Blackie doesn’t allow it, and is killed.
Jim comes back the next day and address the state congress and resigns, because he was going to do something that would pervert justice. He leaves, and Eleanor comes out and goes with him, because he did do the right thing.
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This is a pretty heavy duty movie, and very good, with some great performances. A great film all the way around.
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