Critic Reviews

Manhattan Melodrama (1934) Rank 3 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Manhattan Melodrama (1934) a score of 2.9470 out of 4

based on (10) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(3)

Very Good

(5)

Good

(1)

Fair

(1)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

Chicago Reader

This 1934 feature was the last movie John Dillinger saw before being gunned down outside the Biograph, and he might have had better luck on both counts. "A time-killer," wrote Don Druker in his original Reader commentary. "Clark Gable, William Powell, ...read the complete Manhattan Melodrama movie review at Chicago Reader

Channel 4 Film

Known to some as the film John Dillinger saw prior to being gunned down outside the cinema. Gable and Powell star as lifelong friends who grow up on opposite sides of the law; one, Wade (Powell), becomes a respectable DA, the other, Blackie (Gable), a ...read the complete Manhattan Melodrama movie review at Channel 4 Film

Time Out (--)

The last movie John Dillinger ever saw (he was fingered by the lady in red and shot as he left the cinema), this is an archetypal gangster movie of the period, a product of the moral backlash instigated by Hoover and the Hays Office in response to the ...read the complete Manhattan Melodrama movie review at Time Out (--)

New York Times (--)

In the Capitol's screen offering, "Manhattan Melodrama," one finds a mechanical plot which is scarcely worthy of the cast, which includes Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy and Leo Carrillo. The story was written by Arthur Caesar, who is evidently a ...read the complete Manhattan Melodrama movie review at New York Times (--)

Classic Film Guide

Directed by W. S. Van Dyke (The Thin Man (1934) & San Francisco (1936)) & George Cukor (My Fair Lady (1964)), uncredited, with a screenplay co-written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve (1950)), this film is reported to be the one that Myrna Loy fan ...read the complete Manhattan Melodrama movie review at Classic Film Guide