GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

utgard14 Anthology film that centers around a formal tailcoat and the different people who come into possession of it. The first story is about an actor (Charles Boyer) in love with a married woman (Rita Hayworth). Her husband (Thomas Mitchell) doesn't like it one bit. Boyer and Mitchell are fine but Hayworth overacts big time. The story is thin but, as with the rest of the picture, director Julien Duvivier and cinematographer Joseph Walker make it look beautiful. The second story is also about a love triangle, although lighter in tone than the previous tale. This one's about a woman (Ginger Rogers) who suspects her fiancé (Cesar Romero) is cheating after finding a love letter in the pocket of his coat (same coat from before), which leads to her taking a second look at his best man (Henry Fonda). This is probably the weakest story in the movie. Just not as amusing or cute as it wants to be. Also Ginger Rogers sports one of the ugliest hairstyles I've ever seen.The third story has a struggling composer (Charles Laughton) getting his big chance to conduct his own composition in front of a large audience. But the tailcoat he's wearing (yup, same one) is too small and rips in front of everyone. What happens next I won't spoil but I thought it was pretty neat. This is my favorite part of the movie, albeit for sentimental reasons. The fourth story is the most widely-praised one, judging by the reviews I've read. It's a great story about a down-on-his-luck former lawyer (Edward G. Robinson) who borrows the tailcoat to attend his college reunion. Again, I don't want to spoil too much because of how good this one is, but it's another one that pulls at the heartstrings.Next is an interesting story in that it was originally cut to reduce the running time but has since been restored to the film, despite apparently missing a part at the end that connects it to the next segment. It's a funny story about a man (W.C. Fields) giving a lecture on the dangers of alcohol at the home of a wealthy woman (Margaret Dumont). But it turns out the woman's husband has spiked the milk they're all drinking with booze so everybody at the anti-alcohol meeting gets drunk. Simple story but fun. Fields is a hoot as usual. The final story has a crook (J. Carrol Naish) stealing the coat to help him commit a robbery at a casino. As he escapes via plane, he dumps the coat and it lands in a field where a poor black Southern couple (Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters) find it. The coat has the money from the casino heist in it, which pleases the couple at first as they believe it is a gift from God. But it dawns on them God would want them to use the money to help others, not themselves. It's a nice story, if a little patronizing. Paul Robeson, a devout communist who liked the story's 'community before the individual' philosophy, was so disappointed by the finished product and its stereotypical depictions of poor blacks that he would never make another Hollywood movie.In addition to the stars I've listed already, the cast includes many wonderful supporting actors like George Sanders, Victor Francen, Eugene Palette, Roland Young, Elsa Lanchester, Harry Davenport, James Gleason, Phil Silvers, Gail Patrick, and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. Julien Duvivier would do another anthology film for Universal the following year called Flesh and Fantasy. Boyer, Robinson, and Mitchell would also appear in that film. Dynamite cast and fine direction make this one something that I think most classic film fans will enjoy. The stories aren't all home runs but they're all interesting in different ways.

lmbelt Over the past thirty years, I had compiled an extensive collection of film on VHS (mostly)and DVD. Over the past three months, I have been converting select movies from VHS to DVDR. Picture quality, film worthiness, rarity, and replacement cost issues have lead me to relegate many movies to the recycle bin. I am still struggling with many "borderline cases," "Tales of Manhattan" being one such film. Yesterday, I deemed it worthy of transfer. Boy am I glad I did! If you're a collector, you'll identify with the phenomenon of having many more movies in your collection than viewed. Thus was the case with "Tales ... " until last night. What a gem! Not only is the cast remarkable, but the stories easily hold ones interest. But for the final tale which seems to evoke a locale far south of the others, each story trumps its predecessor. But for the last, each tale ties to New York City in a meaningful way.As I often do with films of this era, I purposely chose to concentrate on the piece as social studies and film history lesson. Frankly, the stories and acting were too good to allow this. I was caught up in the characters and their dilemmas,and in the tasteful reflections on the various social classes represented. I found the fabric (sorry for the lame pun) that connects the otherwise unrelated tales intriguing in a slightly cornball way.I strongly recommend this film for many reasons, most notably its cast which includes Elsa Lanchester, George Sanders, Thomas Mitchell, Rochester ... They represent some of the supporting cast! "Tales of Manhattan" left me pondering why such acting greats as Edward G. Robinson and Charles Laughton are not usually placed with Brando, Olivier, March and Stewart in the pantheon of great film actors.

browser-4 Okay, 10/10 is supposed to be excellent but I reserve my 9s & 10s for really exceptional movies that far excel "great" movies.I have no problems with most of the other reviewers and agree with MOST of their opinions.The movie has a stellar cast and all seem to handle their roles with ease and aplomb. The fact that the jacket fits so many different frames is the point that requires a tiny bit of suspension of belief but that is for nit-pickers to point out. If the jacket has, indeed, some magical properties that should be considered.What is interesting is that the movie now being shown includes a W.C. Fields that was deleted in the theatrical release.In short, watch and enjoy a large cast of Hollywood notables giving great performances ..... maybe I should give it a 9, but I'll stick with an 8.

jbviolin Excellent film in the genre. I agree with the previous comments with one addition. One cannot ignore the historical significance of the final scene. The last scene features the great bass singer Paul Robeson, celebrated singer-turned-actress Ethel Waters, and the memorable Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. The scene also has the music of Hall Johnson and the Hall Johnson singers. With this stellar cast of talent the film finishes by showcasing some of the finest black talent ever in the business. Finding good recordings of the arrangements of Hall Johnson by his singers on film is very difficult to do. Here we have it included in a very entertaining film.