Telling the story of two young boys---life-long friends---who grow up on opposing sides of the law, the film begins in 1904, when a pleasure cruise turns deadly. (To learn about the real-life tragedy upon which this scenario is based go HERE.) Among the many people who lose their lives in the tragedy are the parents of Jim Wade and the mother of Blackie Gallagher. Already good friends with one another, the two boys are rescued by a priest and then taken into the home of a man whose young son also perished in the fire. Although that man soon dies and Jim and Blackie no longer live together as brothers, they remain very dear friends; as the years go by and the boys grow to manhood, Jim (William Powell) becomes a lawyer and vows to fight corruption as a prosecutor,
while Blackie (Clark Gable) travels with a rough crowd and runs a gambling establishment.
Despite their differences, though, the two men remain very close.
As 1920 rolls around, Blackie is having problems with his girlfriend, Elinor (Myrna Loy). Though she loves him,
she hates the hoodlums, gambling houses, and graft which fill his life, and she urges him to leave it all behind, which, of course, Blackie has no intention of doing.
One evening, Blackie asks Elinor to meet up with his old friend Jim while he attends to some other business. Although he promises Elinor he will catch up with her and Jim as soon as possible, Blackie never joins them, leaving Jim and Elinor all to themselves. Having enjoyed Jim's company, Elinor realizes she does want the kind of life that Blackie will never give her and so breaks off with him; eventually, with Blackie's blessing, she and Jim get married.
As Prosecutor, Jim's job is to clean up the city, and he vows to do so even if it means fighting Blackie and his crowd; therefore, when Blackie is connected to a murder, Jim vows to convict him and see that he gets the death penalty. Elinor, though, still having a friend's fondness for Blackie and believing that he is innocent, insists that her husband go easy on him. Will Jim go easy on Blackie? Will the love and affection he has for his lifelong friend cause him to turn the other cheek as far as the law goes? Will the ultimatum Elinor has given him cause Jim to go back on his promise to fight corruption? All these questions play out in the remainder of the film.
(There is alot more to the story, of course, including another murder, a left-behind overcoat, and a possible governorship for Jim; however, I don't want to give away too much by revealing anything more.)
Manhattan Melodrama is an interesting, exciting film, and it makes a great discussion piece. At one point Myrna Loy's character says to William Powell's, "Do you realize what you are sacrificing for the sake of some principles?" What a great thought to ponder on...doing right even when it is a sacrifice to do so.
The casting of this film is excellent, as all three stars have great chemistry with one another. While I have long thought William Powell and Myrna Loy were totally fabulous together, I think both of them have amazing chemistry with Clark Gable in this film. The three of them, meshing together so perfectly, are definitely what make the film work. All of them give superb performances; however, for me, the standout performance is Gable's. I think it's one of his very best. Finally, this film has a few touching moments (for me), and I find myself lightly misty-eyed a few times. (As an aside...a very young Mickey Rooney portrays Blackie as a boy.)
This must-see film, which I highly recommend, is out on DVD (as part of the William Powell/Myrna Loy Collection), so it should be fairly easy to track down. I hope you get a chance to see it.
Happy viewing!!