Young Man of Manhattan (1930)

Two flappers (Claudette Colbert and Ginger Rogers) try to get their newspaper reporter boyfriends to pay attention to them.

Director:

Monta Bell

Writers:

Katharine Brush (novel), Robert Presnell Sr. (adaptation),

Stars:

Claudette Colbert, Norman Foster, Ginger Rogers

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudette Colbert	...	Ann Vaughn
Norman Foster	...	Toby McLean
Ginger Rogers	...	Puff Randolph
Charles Ruggles	...	Shorty Ross
Leslie Austin	...	Dwight Knowles
Lorraine Aalbu	...	One of the Sherman Sisters (as Aalbu Sisters)
Aileene Aalbu	...	One of the Sherman Sisters (as Aalbu Sisters)
Fern Aalbu	...	One of the Sherman Sisters (as Aalbu Sisters)
Harriet Aalbu	...	One of the Sherman Sisters (as Aalbu Sisters)
H. Dudley Hawley	...	Doctor

Storyline

Toby McLean, a reckless sports writer on a New York City newspaper, covers the Gene Tunney-Jack Dempsey heavyweight-championship fight in Philadelphia. There he meets Ann Vaughn, a feature writer for another newspaper, and they get married after a whirlwind romance. The romance begins to wane nearly as fast as it blossomed but, directly and indirectly, is salvaged by Toby's writer pal, "Shorty" Ross, and a ditsy socialite, "Puff" Randolph. Artchive footage provides shots of the Tunney-Dempsey fight, and other sports events of the era.

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | newspaper reporter | new york city | socialite | sports writer | 

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Taglines:

Two full-blooded young people, to whom life, love and pleasure came too easy, crash into the fast-shattering reality of their gilded lives---MARRIAGE---and lick it! (original poster)

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inconstância

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. However, because of legal complications, this particular title was not included in the original television package and may have never been televised.

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Quotes

Puff Randolph: Cigarette me, big boy.

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Soundtracks

"I've Got 'It' But 'It' Don't Do Me No Good"
(uncredited)
by Irving Kahal, Pierre Norman and Sammy Fain
Performed by Ginger Rogers

User Reviews

Fun Jazzy Romp

The "Young Man of Manhattan" of the film is a young sports writer, Toby McLean (Norman Foster). He falls in love instantly with Ann Vaughn (Claudette Colbert), a newspaperwoman and they get married. Unfortunately, numerous circumstances, such as a "16 year-old who thinks she's Greta Garbo" (Ginger Rogers), and jealousy threatens to kill their perfect marriage.

Having read and liked the book (A thoroughly forgotten fluffy bestseller of the 20's) of the same title, I was interested in how it would be made into a musical. It's not really a musical though, like the IMDb says; it's a drama with a few songs thrown in here and there. It wasn't a bad movie, actually a lot better than a lot of early talkies. Surprisingly, it's very faithful to the book. Claudette Colbert and the rest of the cast are solid; Ginger Rogers is fun and it was cool to see her so young and still red-headed. She performs an utterly charming song, "I Got It But It Don't Do Me No Good".Norman Foster is fine, but often comes across as whiny and a bit wooden. Still, Young Man of Manhattan is a great one for 1930, and worth seeking out for the stars.