MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (1934)

With so much talent behind the camera (W.S. Van Dyke, Joseph L. Mankiewicz and George Cukor) and on the screen (Myrna Loy, Clark Gable, William Powell, Nat Pendleton, Mickey Rooney, etc.) I was really expecting more out of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA, but unfortunately the entire thing is too melodramatic to be taken seriously.

The story is your basic Cain and Abel hokum with two orphans growing up as brothers. One goes the straight and narrow to become a prominent political figure and the other the local kingpin of illegal gambling. Throw in the fact that they are both in love with the same woman and you got…well, nothing really. You would expect for there to be fireworks, but the script plays it safe from beginning to end and there’s never any tension or surprise moments.

Worth watching for fans of classic Hollywood, but everybody else would probably be bored.

Interesting trivia: John Dillinger was leaving the Biograph Theater in Chicago, Ill. when he was confronted by federal agents and then shot in the back. Here is a picture of the Biograph Theater with MANHATTAN MELODRAMA on the billboard:

SHADOW OF THE LAW (1930)

In yet another lesson to mind your own business: William Powell lives in an apartment and he hears his downstairs neighbor's boyfriend beating the crap out of her.  Like a moron he goes to investigate, but when he opens his front door the woman comes barreling down the stairs and right into his open door with the boyfriend right on her tail.  A fight breaks out and in the confusion the boyfriend falls out the window to his death.  The chick splits and the coppers arrest Powell for murder!  Without any witnesses to prove his innocence Powell is convicted and sentenced to life in prison.  Three years later Powell stages a daring escape and now he must prove his innocence before the law catch up to him.

At only 69 minutes, SHADOW OF THE LAW doesn't mess around.  The pace is quick, the acting is pretty good and that scene with the machinery!  Holy shit!  I actually said "Holy shit!" out loud.  But just because I enjoyed it doesn't mean that you should watch it.  I'm a professional and I have a much higher tolerance to movie induced pain and boredom than you do.  Average humans would probably be bored to tears by SOTL, but I liked it and enjoyed seeing Powell one the run 11 years before he was on the run in the comedic LOVE CRAZY.

Worth watching for Powell fans.

THE GREENE MURDER CASE (1929)

Detective Philo Vance's next case after THE CANARY MURDER CASE finds William Powell once again taking on a murder mystery that the police appear to be stumped on.  The scene of the crime is a mansion full of Greene family members and their servants.  During the night, two of the family members were shot, one fatally.  The police believe it's just a robbery gone bad, but Powell thinks there's more to it than meets the eye.

Although TGMC was made the same year as TCMC everything about it is an improvement.  The acting is better, the sets look nice, the pace is quick, the mystery is pretty light-weight, but still enjoyable enough.

I can't imagine that modern day audiences would have any interest whatsoever in something like THE GREENE MURDER CASE, but if you do then it's worth checking out if only to see an early talkie of William Powell, Jean Arthur and Eugene Pallette.