| Manhattan Melodrama | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | W. S. Van Dyke George Cukor (uncredited) |
| Screenplay by | Oliver H. P. Garrett Joseph L. Mankiewicz David Ogden Stewart (uncredited) |
| Story by | Arthur Caesar |
| Produced by | David O. Selznick |
| Starring | Clark Gable William Powell Myrna Loy |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Edited by | Ben Lewis |
| Music by | William Axt |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $355,000[1] |
| Box office | $1.2 million[1] |
Manhattan Melodrama is a 1934 American pre-Code crime drama film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and starring Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. The movie also provided one of Mickey Rooney's earliest film roles. (Rooney played Gable's character as a child.) The film is based on a story by Arthur Caesar, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Story. It was also the first of Myrna Loy and William Powell's fourteen screen pairings.
Notorious criminal John Dillinger attended a showing of the film at Chicago's Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934. After leaving the theater, he was shot to death by federal agents.[2] Myrna Loy was among those who expressed distaste at the studio's willingness to exploit this event for the financial benefit of the film. Scenes from Manhattan Melodrama, in addition to Dillinger's death, are depicted in the 2009 film Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp as Dillinger.
- ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles, California: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
- ^ May and Marilyn Bardsley. John Dillinger at TruTV Archived March 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine