Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

marcslope Provocative little Warners B that seems to enjoy playing with sexual mores, and presenting an unusually strong leading-lady character. That's Kay Francis, stalking around in high fashion and playing a driven magazine-editor lady, much like Liza Elliott in "Lady in the Dark." She hires a lowly but ambitious (and Harvard grad) David Manners as secretary, cueing the male-secretary jokes, and he's too much of a gentleman to admit to her or himself that he's falling in love with her. Which is a disaster, because, with plot knots that could never survive the Production Code, she's married to rich-but-worthless Kenneth Thomson, and he's engaged to demanding-and-annoying Una Merkel. The script merrily untangles the knots by making little to no judgment on Thomson's philandering, and suggesting that out-of-wedlock relations are just fine, as long as they result in divorce and marriage to the right partner. Manners is, as always, gentlemanly and photogenic (and Gregg Toland's photography makes the most of both the leading players), and the story has a nice feminist bent to it--it never castigates Francis for wandering far afield of expected feminine subservience, though it does eventually suggest that she and Manners will exist as equals, not dominating-woman-passive-man. It's pleasant, swift-moving pre-Code, capably directed by William Dieterle and very nice to look at.

claudecat I love 1930's movies, and I like many of the actors in this cast, but this film just isn't worth the time it takes to watch it, in my opinion. I'm a little annoyed with myself that I didn't just turn it off. Other reviewers described most of the objections I had to the storyline, such as the poor treatment of secretaries and fiancées; they really interfered with my enjoyment. The film seems to be trying to justify the typical exploitation of workers practiced by many big movie studios (I'm not sure about Warner Bros' record with that, but it seems like the type of thing MGM would endorse). The idea of "The Office" is glorified in a way that's ridiculous. And since the film was made in the Depression, I couldn't help but wonder about the studio's purpose behind all this "if you don't work all night you're a parasite" stuff. (Possible spoiler ahead) And the characters all turn on one person in the last scene, when she's really the one who was wronged. The film does have a few good moments, and some nice outfits and Art Deco sets, but it mostly seems to be a waste of good performers, like Claire Dodd. (I thought David Manners' performance was weak, however--just smooth talk and popping eyes.) It was nice that some respect was given to the idea of a serious woman editor, but the actual scenes showing Kay Francis working didn't convince me that she was actually that good at her job. She keeps people waiting while playing around with her husband in the office, approves some perfectly mediocre sketches, demands endless overtime of her workers, and is unable to write out her own letters if a secretary has to leave. There just isn't enough plot to get the thing going, so the character played by David Manners has to treat someone badly just to provide some juice, and the audience is supposed to approve of this pointless behavior. Kay Francis manages to inject some believable emotion into her scenes, but her motivations are confused--(possible spoiler) it's hard to believe she could be very serious about the David Manners character, when so much of the film is given over to her relationship with her husband.If you want to see a much snappier film about a 1930's office, I recommend "Counsellor at Law," with John Barrymore (1933). It has some of the same plot themes as this one, but does them all much better.

Michael_Elliott Man Wanted (1932) ** (out of 4) Workaholic editor Lois Ames (Kay Francis) grows tired of women secretaries complaining so she hires an ambitious young man (David Manners). Soon the two are working long hours together and they start to fall for one another but the only problem is that she's married and he has a fiancé (Una Merkel). MAN WANTED is yet another "B" programmer from Warner that certainly has a few pre-code elements but in the end the product just seems rushed and nothing really comes together. I think the biggest problem is that the screenplay just doesn't have enough fre sh or original ideas to carry out even the short 62-minute running time. With such a short time you really shouldn't be looking at your clock at the half hour mark and it's even worse when the next thirty-minutes just drag along. The film has a pretty simple set-up because you know Francis' husband is going to be a no-good party animal and of course she's going to be attracted to Manners because he's hard working like she is. That's fine. What doesn't work is that we have to sit through forty-minutes worth of back and forth where neither character knows what they want yet it's obvious to the viewer. I think Francis was always good at playing these strong women and that continues here. She's certainly believable in the part and when she's going overboard trying to keep her busy schedule going it makes you feel she's being real. Manners is also pretty good in his part, although the screenplay certainly doesn't make it a very glamorous part. Merkel is quite annoying with a high-pitched voice but that's what the character called for. Andy Devine plays that type of character that only he could. Universal horror fans will be happy to see Edward Van Sloan in a quick scene and yes he gets to appear with Manners. MAN WANTED has a couple good ideas but in the end there's just not enough here worth watching so this is clearly just for fans of the actors.

MartinHafer This is a very interesting film and it's worth a look even though the main characters are mostly selfish and unlikable! Had they been more decent in how they treated others, I probably would have liked this film a lot more.This film was made during the so-called "Pre-Code" era--when Hollywood pretty much ignored the Hays Office and films featured a lot of very adult topics. Some of this was great, as films were allowed to have topics discussed that probably would have been ignored once the new Production Code was enacted in 1934. Some of this freedom was not so great, as adultery was often encouraged and nudity pervaded even supposedly "family films" (such as BEN HUR (1927) and TARZAN AND HIS MATE). MAN WANTED does not have some of the cursing or nudity of some of these films, but it does seem to glorify or excuse away infidelity--providing a false image that there are no victims in these situations, as couples just cordially agree to part when they find better partners.Kay Francis, a favorite of the more sensationalistic Pre-Code films, plays a hard-driving and seemingly asexual woman who runs a magazine that's been in her family for generations. Typical of the silly stereotype of the day, she is a woman who can't mix work and her personal life and her husband is basically a party animal who is half-intoxicated through most of the film. Into this lovely marriage comes a new secretary for Francis (David Manners). How she uses and abuses her secretaries actually bothered me a lot more than her contempt for her marriage. That's because her last secretary was fired with no notice or severance because the secretary objected to working 20 hour days again and again for Francis. Manners, it seems, has no life nor self-esteem and is more than willing to let Francis walk all over him. He is well paid for this, so Francis seems to take no notice for Manners' needs--even though it's becoming obvious that he's falling in love with her.Now here we have two problems. First, considering that Francis is a cold and selfish career woman, how could Manners fall so hard for her? Sure, he might fantasize about her sexually (she was considered quite a looker in 1932--something viewers today will probably find hard to believe), but to marry such a person?! Second, while Manners isn't married in the film, he does have a fiancée (Una Merkel) and he treats her horribly--stringing her along even though it's obvious he doesn't love her. Merkel isn't exactly a huge prize, but she's decent--as was Manners' friend played by Andy Devine. In fact, this was one of Devine's best supporting performances--coming off as less comical and goofy than usual and more just a nice and sweet person.All this ends exactly the way you'd expect--all according to formula. So there are both no likable characters and few surprises. So how does the movie STILL get a 6?! Well, the acting, directing and all were still very competent and the film is interesting to watch--keeping me focused throughout. Not a great film but a decent time-passer--just so long as you don't internalize the message that the film seems to be trying to make--that adultery ain't so bad after all!