I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply Perfect

A Masterpiece!

OUTSTANDING FILM FARE from beginning to end, MANHATAN MELODRSMA represents the very zenith of the motion picture of its day. The mounting, the sets, the large cast and the story line all mesh very well into a collectively made work of art.AS SWE HAVE alluded to in the summary, this is chock full of what we may consider as being clichéd situations and plot twists. In that sense, it also may well be highly predictable. This is only true because it was introducing story lines that would be fed through the Hollywood Xerox machines for the next 20 years or so. After all, nothing succeeds like success and those in Tinsel Town never minded copying, borrowing or stealing from one another. In this manner, many types or genres were established.THE STORY SHOWCASES big city life among the working poor, the "blue collar" folks, the polyglot of ethnicities that were blended into what we know as Americans Growing up is demonstrated in two diverging paths, one straight the other the criminal. As is the case all too often n real life, the two paths may well move in very different directions; yet they begin perilously close together. IN ADDITION TOM the outstanding cast of Mr. Gable, Mr. Powell and Miss Loy, the bolstering of their performances by a large and very capable supporting cast and the previously mentioned origination of the genre, the polish that is evident is largely due to its being directed by W.S. Van Dyke. THE FILM HAS also had an everlasting mystique shrouding it because of the event of July 22, 1931. It seems that notorious bank robber, John Dillinger, wanted to see it very badly and went to see it with two others in Chicago that night at the Biograph Theatre. It was following the showing that Dillinger met his maker in a shoot out with the FBI and local Chicago cops. Because of this, the Biograph, with its "Cooled by Refrigeration" sign, remains open today as a tourist attraction on north Lincoln Avenue.WE WONDER JUST what sort of review Mr. Dillinger would have given the movie ?

Directed by W. S. Van Dyke and George Cukor (uncredited), with a screenplay co-written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this film is reported to be the one that "Myrna Loy fan" John Dillinger went to see at a Chicago theater, after which he was gunned down by the FBI. Arthur Caesar's Original Story won an Oscar. It also contains the song "The Bad in Every Man" which later became "Blue Moon". It was remade, with several modifications, as Northwest Rangers (1942).Boyhood pals Jim and Blackie (Mickey Rooney) lose their parents tragically and are adopted by a nice man they know. Jim is nice "straight as an arrow" type of kid; Blackie is always shooting dice and/or trying to scam the other kids out of their money. Fast forward 16 years, Jim (William Powell) has earned a law degree; Blackie (Clark Gable) runs an illegal gambling establishment. Blackie's girlfriend Eleanor (Myrna Loy) is tired of all the gambling, wanting Blackie to leave it all, marry her, and settle down.Jim and Blackie, with Eleanor in tow, run into one another at a prize fight & promise to catch up with each other sometime soon. When they try, Eleanor is left waiting with Jim while Blackie's business concerns delay him. After Blackie fails to show in a reasonable amount of time, Eleanor and Jim get acquainted, she being somewhat wistful of his clean life. When Jim takes Eleanor home in the wee hours, he accidentally leaves his overcoat at her place. Blackie finally returns to Eleanor's and finds Jim's coat, which he likes enough to ask his flunkie Spud (Nat Pendleton) to have duplicated before he returns the original to Jim.Some time later, Jim, who is now District Attorney, runs into Eleanor, who is no longer Blackie's girl, and they begin seeing each other. Meanwhile, Blackie and Spud, who've been unable to collect a gambling debt from Manny Arnold, arrive at his hotel room to settle up. When Manny still can't pay, Blackie shoots & kills him, but Spud inadvertently leaves behind Blackie's overcoat. While investigating Arnold's murder, Jim recognizes the coat, thinking it's his own, and assumes Blackie had gotten it from Eleanor. Not knowing about the duplicate, he calls Blackie into his office. But since Spud had forgotten & never returned Jim's original to him, Blackie is able to have Spud bring it into Jim's office to clear himself. However, Jim warns Blackie that he better keep his nose clean, that he won't hesitate to throw the book at him if he doesn't. To which Blackie replies, he'd be disappointed in Jim if he didn't.Jim and Eleanor marry and he decides to run for governor. But the Assistant DA, who has his own reasons for being upset with Jim, decides to try and tarnish Jim's name by accusing him of letting Blackie off easy in the Arnold murder case, because of their friendship. When Eleanor sees Blackie and mentions that she's worried about the Assistant DA's actions, Blackie kills him in a washroom. However, his act was witnessed and Blackie is arrested. Eleanor visits Blackie in prison, but he tells her to keep his motive secret from Jim. Blackie is convicted, and Jim is responsible for getting him the death penalty. This helps Jim get elected governor. Eleanor is distraught and "spills the beans", pleading with Jim to commute Blackie's sentence. But "straight as an arrow" Jim won't do it, so Eleanor says she's leaving him.A priest (Leo Carrillo), the men have known since they were boys, visits Blackie on death row. Jim, who has agonized over the situations of Blackie and Eleanor, rushes to the prison at the 11th hour, telling Blackie that he's changed his mind and will commute his sentence. But Blackie won't let him and faces his fate. Later, in front of all his colleagues in the State House, Jim resigns as governor. Waiting for him outside is Eleanor, and they reconcile as the film ends.

Two boyhood friends end up being on opposite sides of the law as adults. At least the film can't be accused of false advertising. This is definitely melodrama, which can be fun if done right; here, however, it starts off as merely uninteresting and ends up as being rather corny. Unfortunately, the star power of Gable, Powell, and Loy can't overcome the lackluster script. The film is mainly of interest for historical reasons. It was the first teaming of Powell and Loy, made just before "The Thin Man," also directed by Van Dyke. More notoriously, this was the film Dillinger went to see at the Biograph Theater in Chicago and was killed by the FBI upon emerging from the theater.

I cannot believe anyone who is a gangster film fan, or a fan of Powell, Loy or Gable cannot love this film. First off, this film cannot be compared to a Warners Gangster Film, because those gangsters are much more hard core, and are unwilling to sacrifice anything to anybody (Except Johnny Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) in "Brother Orchid", and Patsy Gargan (Janes Cagney) in "Mayor From Hell"). It is actually very similar to "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" Where Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) sacrifices everything for the greater good. Blackie is not Rico Bandello, Tom Powers, or Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart in "The Petrified Forest"), totally evil characters, instead he is willing to sacrifice anything for his friend Jim (Totally evil people don't do that), and that includes (Spoilers): his chance for a relationship with Eleanor, when he essentially hands her over to Jim (The cab scene), kills for Jim, and is willing to die in the chair, and talks Jim out of commuting his sentence to life imprisonment, because he knew Jim was a decent man, with the potential for greatness. Powell is the real star of this movie. He is a real hero, who is unwilling to do the easy thing: (Spoilers Ahead) (Which likely would have led to the White House). Instead he resigns, because he got in office because of a murder, and thus knows it is the right thing to do (Unlike Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) in "Liberty Valance", who became Vice-President). What is interesting is how Eleanor reacts to him at the very end, and how it compares to Hallie Stoddard (Vera Miles). Eleanor is perhaps the most complex character in the film. She is one of a number of morally ambiguous characters Loy has played in her career: Evelyn Prentice, "Coco" ("Topaz"), Gertie Waxted ("Penthouse") to name a few. It helps to be familiar with Loy to totally understand her character. This is the middle phase of her career, where she gets what she wants, but has to compromise in order to get it. In the beginning, she has played some of the nastiest women in Motion Picture History such as Ursula Georgi ("Thirteen Women") or Fah Lo See ("The Mask Of Fu Manchu"), and paid the price at the end, before eventually moving on to Nora Charles, Connie Allenbury ("Libeled Lady") & Ann Barton ("Test Pilot"), all characters who get what they want (Particularly Connie), without giving an inch. This film is on my short list of the best gangster films ever made. Easy 10 of 10.