Man Wanted

'Man Wanted' was another film that could have been a lot more. Have a lot of appreciation of pre-code films and am always amazed at how much many manage to get away with. Kay Francis was always watchable and have seen some great performances from her where she does light up the screen. William Dieterle to me was an inconsistent director, but he did make some great films (including one of the best versions of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame').

Despite all that promise, 'Man Wanted' disappointed. Or at least to me it did. And this is not being said with pleasure or malice, to me this did have potential to be good for all the above and also because the premise is not a bad one. Is 'Man Wanted' a bad film? Not to me, absolutely not. It is absolutely a watchable film and it takes a lot for me to say that something is unwatchable. Considering its potential though, to me 'Man Wanted' could have been a lot better.

There are definitely good things. The stunning photography being one. Very stylish and sumptuous, and at times almost expressionist. The art direction is also striking. Nice use of music, which is not constant or intrusive. There are some impressive moments in Dieterle's directing, especially visually. A lot of thought was put into the visual side of things and there is atmosphere.

Francis has a character that plays to her strengths and she has a lot of fun with it, without over-compensating. Andy Devine is suitably earthy and Una Merkel, despite having an annoying character, has some sparkling moments.

Sadly too much doesn't work. While there are some good moments to Dieterle's direction, there are some points where it is too routine and not as involving as it should be. The script does have some nice witty pre-code lines, but generally could have been sharper and more acid-tongued. Compared to a lot of pre-code films in the early-30s, the script didn't seem that daring or bold.

David Manners, who more often than not to me came over generally in his roles as competent but rarely wowed, seemed rather bland as a character near-impossible to feel anything for. The story needed a lot more spark than what was here, it took too long to get going, it was not always very eventful and it and the script just ran out of gas too early. There is not much new here at all and despite the running time being brief there just wasn't enough content to fill it, meaning that to me the film felt rather thin.

In conclusion, worth a one-time watch but underwhelming. 5/10

Kay Francis rose to sudden stardom playing a vamp opposite Walter Huston in a very early Paramount talkie called "Gentlemen of the Press"(Par, 1929). By 1930 she was one of that studio's top stars. In late 1931 her three-year contract was expiring and to much surprise she jumped ship to Warner Brothers that had promised her great scripts and a huge salary. The salary was forthcoming but the scripts varied wildly from the classic "One Way Passage"(1932) to the unbelievably bland "The White Angel"(1936) a disastrous William Dieterle directed biography on Florence Nightingale. Gorgeous and charismatic Kay's first vehicle for Warners and her first with Dieterle is this marvelous adult comedy about an emancipated woman who is the boss who needs a new "male" secretary. Running only about 70 minutes this film is a witty, wonderfully directed gem. Kay and Manners are so sexy and charming in their only film together. A must for Francis fans and forgotten classic movie lovers.

Fast-paced and well directed, Man Wanted is a compact entertainment that provides a window to early 1930s attitudes on several subjects but doesn't sermonize on any of them. Kay Francis and David Manners are sufficiently colorless to be easily molded by director Dieterle, who adds interesting pictorial touches throughout. Also of great interest is Gregg Toland's remarkable cinematography. The fact that the film is somewhat hard to categorize - is it a melodrama with comic touches or a satire with occasional pathos? - indicates the cleverness of Dieterle and writers Robert Lord and Charles Kenyon. The filmmakers are anything but heavy-handed in their commentary on gender roles, leaving the audience to reach its own conclusions about thorny workplace issues that persist in the 21st century. Adding to the general delight of the film are Andy Devine and Una Merkel in unexpected roles, with Elizabeth Patterson and Edward Van Sloan also glimpsed in very different parts than those for which they are most well known. This gem, seen occasionally on TCM, is well worth your time.

Though the story told in Man Wanted isn't terribly original--or of particular interest--the film is worth seeing for several reasons. Kay Francis is excellent as a business woman who has everything but love (naturally), and David Manners is an affable and pleasant leading man. But the real stars of the film are William Dieterle's expressionistic direction and Gregg Toland's stunning cinematography. Toland's work is exemplary, with shot after shot displaying depth and intelligent composition. And who knows if Dieterle or Toland was ultimately responsible for a fabulous shot of Francis looking through a lace curtain? This is a wonderful looking film only partly let down by a somewhat pedestrian screenplay.

The film shows up periodically, and without fanfare, on Turner Classic Movies every now and then when they run early a.m. fests of Kay Francis movies. Yes, it is old, and yes, some of it is outdated, but it also contains some very nice moments. Despite its antiquity, it does succeed in capturing the pain of a man who is deeply in love with a woman he knows he can never have nor even approach. That may sound silly to some readers today, since we now live in an age where men routinely proposition married women (both on and off screen), but frankly, it works. The film is clearly pre-Code---once the Code was installed, any man glancing at a married woman was depicted as a slimy villain. But real life isn't lived in such black and white absolutes, and that is why this undeservedly obscure little film holds up yet today.