''Manhattan Love Song'' is a 1934 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic

comedy drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

directed by Leonard Fields and starring

Robert Armstrong Robert Armstrong may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Robert Armstrong (actor) (1890–1973), film actor *Robert Armstrong (cartoonist) (born 1950), American underground comics artist and musician, coined the term "couch potato" Fictional charac ...

Dixie Lee Dixie Lee (born Wilma Winifred Wyatt; November 4, 1909 – November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby. Biography Lee was born Wilma Winifred Wyatt in Harriman, Tennessee, on No ...

and

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Inter ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

. It is based on the 1932 novel of the same title by

Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich the ...

.Goble p.510

Plot summary

Although sisters Geraldine and Carol Stewart live luxuriously in a

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

apartment in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, their money has run out due to some bad business investments. Their servants, Williams and Annette, expect to be leaving, but the sisters invite them to remain in exchange for their unpaid back wages. They agree, then surprise the haughty sisters by expecting them to share in performing the household chores. Geraldine looks for work, but receives no offers except for a

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

act in a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

show. Williams is mistaken for a taxi driver by a wealthy

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

, "Pancake Annie" Jones from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, who has come with her son Phineas to seek an entry into

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

. Carol elopes with a rich acquaintance, Garrett Wetherby, which leaves Geraldine on her own, needing money. She accepts the job doing a striptease, but is arrested when the club is raided. Williams decides to accept Pancake Annie's offer to go West in her employment. Geraldine realizes she loves Williams and asks to go along.

Cast

as Tom Williams *

as Geraldine Stewart *

Nydia Westman Nydia Eileen Westman (February 19, 1902 – May 23, 1970) was an American character actress and singer of stage, screen, and television. Early years Westman's parents, Theodore and Lily (Wren) Westman were active in vaudeville in her na ...

as Annette *

as Garrett Wetherby *

Cecil Cunningham Edna Cecil Cunningham (August 2, 1888 – April 17, 1959) was an American film and stage actress, singer, and comedienne. Early years A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Cunningham was one of at least six children born to Sarah Hunter and Patric ...

as Pancake Annie Jones *Harold Waldridge as Phineas Jones *

Helen Flint Helen Flint (June 14, 1898Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 247. – September 9, 1967) was an American actress. Early life and caree ...

as Carol Stewart *

Herman Bing Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor. He acted in more than 120 films and many of his parts were uncredited. Biography Bing was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bing began his career ...

as Gustave * George Irving as Kenbrook *

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

as Doctor *

Harrison Greene Harrison Greene (January 18, 1884 – September 28, 1945) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1931 and 1945. The son of a jeweler, Greene was born in Portland, Oregon, but grew up in California. He was a d ...

as Joe Thomas * Eddie Dean as Sam *Nick Copeland as Al Kingston *

Tom Ricketts Thomas B. Ricketts (15 January 1853 – 19 January 1939) was an English-born American stage actor, stage and motion picture, film actor and film director, director who was a pioneer in the film industry. He portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the fi ...

as Rich Man * Edward Peil Sr. as Employment Agent *

Hal Price Harry Franklin "Hal" Price (June 24, 1886 – April 15, 1964) was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1930 and 1952. He is the father of character actress and comedian Lu Leonard. On stage, Price ...

as Gil, Taxicab Driver * Frances Morris as Chorus Girl

Soundtrack

*Dixie Lee - "A Little Shack on Fifth Avenue" (Music by Edward Ward and Bernie Grossman, words by David Silverstein) *"Daisy" (uncredited player) - "Hang Up Your Hat" (Music by Edward Ward and Bernie Grossman, words by David Silverstein)

References

Bibliography

* Bradley, Edwin M. ''Unsung Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Era: 50 Overlooked Films and Their Stars, 1929-1939''. McFarland, 2016. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1934 films 1930s romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels American romantic comedy-drama films 1934 comedy films 1934 drama films Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) Films directed by Leonard Fields 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Monogram Pictures films Films set in New York City Films based on works by Cornell Woolrich English-language romantic comedy-drama films {{1930s-romantic-comedy-film-stub