Manhattan Melodrama (DVD)

Manhattan Melodrama holds a special place in movie lore. It's the film notorious gangster John Dillinger saw with his mysterious "lady in red" before exiting the theater and walking right into an FBI ambush. Even without that momentous historical footnote, Manhattan Melodrama would be a film to reckon with. Because Clark Gable, William Powell and Myrna Loy -- three of the greatest stars ever to shine in the M-G-M heavens -- bring to memorable screen life this Oscar -winning* Best Original Story about boyhood pals who end up on opposite sides of the law...and who fall for the same woman. The film marked the only pairing of rugged Gable and urbane Powell, and it marked the first-ever teaming of frequent partners Powell and Loy. Director W. S. Van Dyke liked what he had seen of the Powell-Loy chemistry. Over the objections of Louis B. Mayer, he cast them next in his low-budget detective film, The Thin Man. The rest, as is much associated with this fine film, is history.