Child of Manhattan (1933) - A weirdly sweet Pre-Code mess

You should probably watch this if you have a soft spot for 1930s movies where rich guys fall for 'tough' girls with hearts of gold. It’s a weird one, though. If you hate stories where people just... don't talk to each other about their feelings, you’re going to be yelling at the screen.

I can’t get over the name Vanderkill. It sounds like he should be hunting people for sport on a private island, but he's actually just a nice guy with too much money. John Boles plays him with this very stiff, polite energy that makes the romance feel a bit lopsided.

Nancy Carroll is the real reason to sit through this. She plays Madeleine, a 'dime-a-dance' girl with this thick, put-on accent that is supposed to be 'proletarian' but just sounds like she’s having a lot of fun with her vowels.

The dance hall scenes are the best part. It feels smoky and crowded in a way that’s actually kind of cozy. You can almost smell the cheap perfume and floor wax. It’s much better than the stuffy mansion scenes later on.

There is a scene where Paul visits the hall just to 'inspect' it for his aunt. He looks so out of place in his fancy clothes. It’s like watching a penguin try to blend in at a roller disco.

The plot takes a really dark turn pretty fast. They get married because she gets pregnant, but then the baby doesn't make it. It’s handled with that weirdly fast 1930s pacing where one minute they are crying and the next she’s packing for Mexico. It’s jarring.

Madeleine thinks he only married her for the kid. So she runs off to get a divorce. Classic movie logic. If they just had one five-minute conversation, the movie would be twenty minutes long.

In Mexico, we meet this guy called Panama Canal Kelly. Yes, that is his actual name in the movie. He owns a silver mine and wears a big hat. He’s like a character from a completely different film, maybe something like The Canyon of Light or a western.

The ending feels a bit rushed, like they realized they were running out of film. Vanderkill just shows up in Mexico to win her back.

Things I Noticed:

• The way the aunt looks at Madeleine like she’s a bug on a windshield.
• The dresses are actually pretty incredible.
• There is a lot of talk about money, like, a lot.
• The 'silver mine' set looks like it was built in about twenty minutes.

It’s funny to see Betty Grable in a tiny role here. You blink and you’ll miss her. It reminds me of how some of these older movies like The Honeymoon Express have these faces that became huge later on.

The writing has some bite to it, though. That makes sense because Preston Sturges worked on it. You can hear his voice in some of the faster dialogue, even if the whole thing is a bit of a melodrama.

One reaction shot of Madeleine in the dance hall lingers for a few seconds too long. She just looks tired. It’s one of the few moments that feels completely real.

I liked it more than I thought I would. It isn't a masterpiece like The Age of Innocence, but it has a soul. It feels like a movie made by people who were still figuring out how to talk about sad things on camera.

The whole 'secret marriage' thing is such a trope. But here, it feels less like a trick and more like two people who are just genuinely scared of what their families will think. Rich people problems, I guess.

If you’re looking for something light but with a bit of a punch to the gut in the middle, give it a look. Just don't expect the plot to make total sense. 🍹

Also, the music in the dance hall is catchy. I’ve had that one piano tune stuck in my head for two days now. It’s driving me a little crazy.

Is it a great movie? Not really. Is it a good way to spend an hour and a bit? Definitely.