Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

oneillrobyn I saw this movie this morning by accident. I love 30s movies for the clothes, the beauty of which hit me during the "first" mini era. I was a teenager and I had never seen such gorgeous clothes.The movie is predictable, but Nancy Carroll is adorable and I can see what her appeal was. With that pretty face and hair, she would have absolutely no chance of getting any job as an actress today, in this world of gaunt, giraffe-like women-men. Too bad we don't have any visual differences among the "leading actresses of today", all those interchangeable bland flat-haired blondes.Those clothes are wonderful. Too bad we'll never see their like again -- after all, how can anyone be attractive wearing anything other a mini or jeans?Hey, wasn't Buck Jones handsome! I won't contrast him with our "leading men" today. I leave that up to you.

MartinHafer This is an old fashioned Pre-Code film--the sort of movie that managed both to offend many in its day due to the sometimes racy subject matter yet also followed a very old and predictable formula. While all this makes it sound as if I didn't like the film, this certainly is not the case. It's just that many modern viewers may both be surprised at the candor of the film when it comes to topics like illegitimate births as well as how predictable and melodramatic it all became. This is true to the style of the day and for its time, this was a pretty good movie.A rich guy (John Boles) visits a dance hall at the request of his stuffy aunt. The family owns the property and wants the tenants thrown out because the place is evil. She thinks this might be a "den of iniquity" and Boles good naturedly agrees to check it out--though it's obvious he's just humoring her. Once there, he sees it's just a normal dance hall--no "hoochie koochie" girls or strippers. However, he is also surprised to find that he's very smitten with one of the ladies who works there. They begin dating and it's obvious they care about each other. However, in a scene that is mostly alluded to, he and the girl (Nancy Carroll) apparently have sex and she becomes pregnant (either that, or it's another virgin birth--it is a tad sketchy). They marry but she can't help but think that Boles only married her out of obligation. When the baby dies shortly after birth, Carroll imagines that it's for the best and runs off to Mexico to divorce Boles. She thinks she's not good enough for him and he'd be much happier in the long run with a rich society dame--especially since no one seems to know about their marriage.Where the film goes from there isn't all that surprising, but I'd rather not spoil it. Despite some predictability, I still liked the film and this style film was common in the day it was made--so it shouldn't be penalized for this. A good script, good acting and deft direction make this a very nice time-passer and is worth a look.

whpratt1 Enjoyed this story of a girl named Madeleine McGonegal, played by Nancy Carroll, who was a girl who worked in a dance hall where the purchase of a ticket allowed you to dance with a girl of your choosing. This dance hall is owned by a very wealthy man named Paul Vanderkill, (John Boles) who once a week visits his establishment to see that things are running according to his rules of conduct. Boles meets up with a dance hall girl named Madeleine McGonegal and is interested in her down to earth personality and her being so outspoken and honest about herself. Madeleine does not realize John Boles is her big boss and that he is very wealthy and gets worried when he starts buying all kinds of expensive gifts. As the story progresses, Madeleine expects a baby and that is when the entire story changes and the drama begins and takes a new change in their marriage. Great acting by Nancy Carroll and John Boles and you will see Betty Grable, (Lucy) giving a great supporting role. Enjoy

HarlowMGM CHILD OF MANHATTAN is a Columbia Studios precode starring Nancy Carroll and John Boles. When millionaire Boles' aunt Clara Blandick is horrified to learn one of the family properties is being leased to "a dance hall with naked girls" Boles promises to check the establishment out. There he discovers it's a low-class "dime a dance" hall but is immediately smitten with one of the girls employed there, earthy but sweet Carroll. Boles is charmed by her lack of pretensions and touched by her concern for him when she thinks he is unemployed. Nancy Carroll eventually learns Boles is "the" Paul Vanderkill, one of New York's richest men. They fall genuinely in love but nevertheless in a man and mistress relationship, in part because of Boles' concern for his (never seen) teen-aged daughter (presumably much as he admires Carroll, she is not the kind of woman he wants his young daughter to emulate). Carroll eventually finds herself expecting which leads to a secret marriage and, ultimately, tragedy. In true Hollywood tragedy fashion, there is a happy ending.CHILD OF MANHATTAN is a fast-moving low-key melodrama based on a play by the then unknown Preston Sturges (who surely is the source for the many delightful and at times quite racy comic quips that occasionally dot the screenplay). Nancy Carroll, still quite young but already with her major career behind her as a Paramount star and one of the biggest draws in the first years of "talkies", is quite good as the somewhat incredible bimbo with a heart of gold. John Boles is as dashing and romantic as always, his sideburns tinted white to suggest a man of middle-age (in his first scene he wears a quite contemporary haircut with thick hair at the top and very thin along the bottom) yet his character too is a bit unbelievable (although he projects a romantic charisma that could probably lead just about anyone down the primrose path). Cowboy star Buck Jones makes a rare appearance in a non-western as one of Carroll's less successful suitors and there are excellent cameos by character actresses Clara Blandick as Boles' aunt, Jane Darwell as Carroll's Irish mother, and most especially Jessie Ralph as the ladies room attendant at the dance hall who is a surrogate aunt to Carroll. Luis Alberni is fun as Carroll's Mexican divorce lawyer who is always murmuring my review title when meeting new people. 15-year-old Betty Grable has a bit (surprisingly billed) as Carroll's young sister in one brief scene. CHILD OF MANHATTAN is no classic but worth the 69 minutes if you are intrigued by precodes.