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 |
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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 |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Claudette Colbert | ... |
Ann Vaughn
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Norman Foster | ... |
Toby McLean
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| Ginger Rogers | ... |
Puff Randolph
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| Charles Ruggles | ... |
Shorty Ross
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Leslie Austin | ... |
Dwight Knowles
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Lorraine Aalbu | ... |
One of the Sherman Sisters
(as Aalbu Sisters)
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Aileene Aalbu | ... |
One of the Sherman Sisters
(as Aalbu Sisters)
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Fern Aalbu | ... |
One of the Sherman Sisters
(as Aalbu Sisters)
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Harriet Aalbu | ... |
One of the Sherman Sisters
(as Aalbu Sisters)
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H. Dudley Hawley | ... |
Doctor
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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. Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
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.