Main Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King, Martha Vickers, Bruce Bennett
Release Year: 1946
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
Ida "Don't mess with me" Lupino takes a job as a singer in Robert Alda's seedy Santa Monica nitery. Lupino ignores Alda's advances to cultivate a romance with pianist Bruce Bennett. Alda uses his connections with the Mob to break up the relationship--and also, hopefully, to break up Bennett into little pieces. Logic is not the film's strong suit, but it scores on atmosphere and tension. Man I Love served as the inspiration for Martin Scorcese's much-later New York, New York. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Although it has been cited as an inspiration for Martin Scorsese's New York, New York, The Man I Love has little in common with the latter film save for a basic situation involving a romance between musicians. Man is hardly a great film, but it's an enjoyable, if essentially sappy, little melodrama. The story is a Mulligan's stew with a little bit of this and a bit of that thrown in. There's plenty of music (including some nice "switch-singing" by Peg La Centra, standing in for Ida Lupino), lots of family troubles, a tough heroine who's really vulnerable when you dig far enough down, smoke-filled rooms, and a number of underworld types. It doesn't really add up to a satisfying whole, but Lupino's galvanizing central performance holds the film together. Whether hiding misty eyes or standing foursquare against the world, Lupino demands the viewer's attention and gives back plenty in return. Robert Alda is a bit weak, but Bruce Bennett has some good moments. The direction is uneven, and too prone to indulging the excesses of the screenplay, but it's generally okay, and there's an undeniable appeal to a lot of the nightclub scenes. Man has its flaws, but as long as Lupino is around, they don't matter too much. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Stanley Fleischer - Art Director, Milo Anderson - Costume Designer, John Maxwell - Director, Raoul Walsh - Director, Owen Marks - Editor, Jack L. Warner - Executive Producer, Jerome Kern - Composer (Music Score), Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, Perc Westmore - Makeup, Sidney Hickox - Cinematographer, Harry Barndollar - Special Effects, Edwin DuPar - Special Effects, David Forrest - Sound/Sound Designer, Dolph Thomas - Sound/Sound Designer, Jo Pagano - Screenwriter, Catherine Turney - Screenwriter, George Gershwin - Featured Music, Maritta Wolff - Book Author
Visiting her two sisters and brother, singer Petey Brown lands a job at small-time-hood Nicky Toresca's nightclub. While evading the sleazy Toresca's heavy-handed passes at her, she falls in love with down-and-out ex-jazz pianist Sand Thomas, who has never quite recovered from an old divorce. While solving the problems of her sisters, brother and their next-door neighbor, the no-nonsense Petey must wait as Sand decides whether to start a new life with her or sign on with a merchant steamer.
