Manhattan Melodrama (1934) ( Manhattan Melo drama )

Manhattan Melodrama (1934) (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Manhattan Melo drama
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Oscar Academy Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/NTSC/Region 0 )

Running Time:
91 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Posters
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Black & White
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1934 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
W.S. Van Dyke

Written By:
Arthur Caesar
Oliver H.P. Garrett

Actors:
Clark Gable ..... Edward J. 'Blackie' Gallagher
William Powell ..... Jim Wade
Myrna Loy ..... Eleanor Packer
Leo Carrillo ..... Father Joe
Nat Pendleton ..... Spud
George Sidney ..... Poppa Rosen
Isabel Jewell ..... Annabelle
Muriel Evans ..... Tootsie Malone
Thomas E. Jackson ..... Asst. Dist. Atty. Richard Snow
Isabelle Keith ..... Miss Adams
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

Synopsis:

Notorious as the movie that gangster John Dillinger attended on the night he was killed, Manhattan Melodrama has weathered the years as one of MGM's finest examples of pure storytelling. The pageant-like story begins in 1904, when the excursion steamer 'General Slocum' blows up and burns in the East River. Two young boys are orphaned by the disaster. They are adopted by a kindly Jewish businessman (Harry Green) who has lost his own children. Years later, when he is killed during an anarchist rally, the boys are separated once more. They grow up to be straight-arrow attorney Jim Wade (William Powell) and big-time gambler Blackie Gallagher (Clark Gable). Though the two men still like and respect one another, they are now on opposite sides of the legal fence. The professional rivalry becomes personal when Jim marries Blackie's ex-mistress Eleanor (Myrna Loy). The typically stellar MGM supporting cast includes Nat Pendleton as Blackie's faithful stooge, Isabel Jewell as his addled girlfriend, Mickey Rooney as the younger Blackie (a marvelous piece of mimicry here), and blonde singer Shirley Ross, here appearing in blackface in a Harlem nightclub sequence, singing a new Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart tune that would later gain popularity (with different lyrics) as 'Blue Moon.'

Orphans Edward 'Blackie' Gallagher and Jim Wade are lifelong friends who take different paths in life. Blackie thrives on gambling and grows up to be a hard-nosed racketeer. Bookworm Wade becomes a D.A. vying for the Governorship. When Blackie's girlfriend Eleanor leaves him and marries the more down to earth Wade, Blackie harbors no resentment. In fact, their friendship is so strong that Blackie murders an attorney threatening to derail Wade's bid to become Governor. The morally straight Wade's last job as D.A. is to convict his friend of the murder, and send him to the electric chair. After he becomes Governor, Wade has the authority to commute Blackie's death sentence-- a decision that pits his high moral ethics against a lifelong friendship.

Story of the conflict between two boyhood friends, one who grows up to be a gambler, the other the District Attorney.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 11 May, 2021.

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