Manpower (1941)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Crappy film

Absolutely the worst movie.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

. . . upon American Women, as the always prophetic Warner Bros. warn We Americans of (The Then) Far Future of the sort of HANDMAID'S TALE-like backlash doubtless in store for the female half of the U.S. Populace IF distaff dictators push their witch hunt PURGE of Real Life leaders such as Al, Roy, Charlie, Dustin, Richard, Woody, and Garrison any further. Everyone knows that women lived on a Real Life pedestal in the Early 1900s, when MANPOWER was made. Yet this flick begins with "Hank McHenry" manhandling his "taxi dancer," and the entire male cast is frequently shown "goosing" hospital nurses before "Johnnie Marshall" punches "Fay Duval" so hard in her face that she collapses in a heap! Though MANPOWER's contemporary audiences must have been stunned and totally perplexed by these then unheard-of events, Warner was primarily addressing the Ladies of Today's 2018 America. Warner advises these Modern Chicks that there's a Time and a Place for everything, and U.S. Men have NO intention of fading away quietly into the night (like the dudes who've gone AWOL on WONDER WOMAN's home island). Sociologists estimate that 80% of U.S. Men have copped some sort of feel during the past 10, 25, or 40 years (not to mention 96% of Women, when predator roles are reversed). None of these past hijinks will appear seemly under the glare of Today's Women-dominated media, Warner senses in MANPOWER. If the chick flick folks insist upon purging ALL of these guys, the resulting vacuum of Good Guys will invite a wave of New Founding Fathers whose rules will make Allred's life seem like a pleasant picnic by way of comparison, MANPOWER forecasts.

A movie directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich and George Raft. Robinson and Raft play electricans who work on power lines and Dietrich plays the daughter of an old electrician who just got out of jail. Raft doesn't think much of Dietrich but Robinson falls for her pretty fast and wants to marry her. Raft tries to talk him out of it and he won't listen. Dietrich doesn't love Robinson but he talks her into it. She quits her job at the nightclub and moves in with Robinson. This is probably the only movie which has guys working on power lines and this movie also stars Ward Bond and Alan Hale as fellow electricians.Robinson and Dietrich do a pretty good job and Raft was never a very good actor but he is OK here.

"Manpower", made for Warner Bros. in 1941, is one of the most exciting and pleasurable of all classic action adventures. It's great to see the positive reviews from fellow users; I have been looking forward to it for some time and I finally saw it. What a picture! I'm a huge Raoul Walsh fan and "Manpower" ranks with the director's greatest works - "Me and My Gal", "The Roaring Twenties", "Gentleman Jim", "The Strawberry Blonde", "Objective, Burma", "Pursued", et al. The film is extraordinary for a number of reasons, but the most obvious reason is a top notch cast: Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Ward Bond, Alan Hale, Eve Arden, and the lovable Frank McHugh, performing his hilarious shenanigans and slapstick.The film concerns a group of emergency power repairmen who work on a high voltage power lines during ferocious storms. Throughout "Manpower", Walsh emphasizes group camaraderie and the strong bond of working class Americans. It is also filled with Walsh's trademark boyish gusto and unsophisticated Irish ribaldry, but it somehow lacks the bittersweet nostalgia and wistfulness of "Strawberry Blonde" and "Gentleman Jim".The same way Walsh's "Strawberry Blonde" is a remake of a charming 1933 Gary Cooper vehicle called "One Sunday Afternoon", "Manpower" is a remake of Howard Hawks'1932 adventure "Tiger Shark", also starring Edward G. Robinson as a tuna fisherman. Here, Robinson plays power lineman who happens to be in love with an ex-con girl, sensitively played by Marlene Dietrich. Robinson's rival is George Raft and their climactic aerial duel amidst jolting electric wires are among the highlights of the film's stunning action scenes.

MINOR SPOILERSWarner Brothers celebrated the dedication and bravery of power line repair crews. In the U.S. of 1942 with prosperity emerging from the Depression, tough, brawling but brave civilian workers were a cinematic counterpart to the expanding roster of military action films.In "Manpower" a naive and essentially softhearted Edward G. Robinson is a line repairman promoted to gang foreman. His best friend on the crew is George Raft. Robinson falls head-over-heels in love with the getting-older-but still-sensuous Marlene Dietrich, soon to begin her own conquest of American forces in Europe. Raft, at first dismissive of clip joint Dietrich's marriage to Robinson, falls in love with her. No surprise here.With a good supporting cast including pre-"Wagon Train" Ward Bond and pre-"Our Miss Brooks" Eve Arden, the film has both humor and action. Can you imagine a film today highlighting, in a serious vein, a crew of utility workers?The best scene: Robinson's astonishment when he realizes he's been taken for a sucker at Dietrich's clip joint. How does he know? The bill is for $4.12!!!The story is predictable but it's one more movie showcasing some remarkable talent. And there is a good shot of Dietrich's legs.