Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Man of the World Blu-ray Movie Review

A classic romantic-comedy gem for Carole Lombard fans.

Man of the World is an excellent and entertaining pre-code romantic comedy with plenty of charm for audiences the world over. The film stars real-life husband and wife duo of William Powell and Carole Lombard: two iconic Hollywood legends of the silver screen. Powell and Lombard married shortly after Man of the World completed filming: the two hit it off and fell in love during the making of the production.

Michael Trevor (William Powell) and Irene Harper (Wynne Gibson) run a tabloid magazine and make their profit off of blackmailing wealthy Americans. Trouble ensues when Michael begins to fall madly in love with the beautiful Mary Kendall (Carole Lombard), the niece of one the wealthiest American aristocrats he is blackmailing. Yet former-lover Irene is determined to thwart their desired happiness – and wants to come between the romance of Michael and Mary before its too late for her to become re-acquainted with Michael. Who will emerge victorious?

Carole Lombard is a scene stealer in Man of the World. The actress is excellent in her part and gives the film plenty of her natural charisma and charm. The performance is enjoyable and the star radiates with beauty and style. The grace of Lombard is felt in every reel of the celluloid. The performance is worth checking out. Lombard also wears some stunning gowns by costume designer Eugene Joseff (Gone with the Wind, Lillian Russell).

A strong performance by Carole Lombard.

The music score composed by Herman Hand (Young Eagles) fits Man of the World well. The score is never too distracting from the experience – and never too under-the-radar either. The score simply manages to imbue the filmmaking with the right amount of charm to keep things entertaining.

The cinematography by Victor Milner (The Love Parade, Reap the Wild Wind) is one of the best elements of the film. The black-and-white cinematography is visually stunning and a joy throughout the filmmaking. The visuals are key to the film experience. Milner did a great job.

Featuring a story and screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane, It's a Wonderful World), Man of the World is an excellent showcase for the charms of the Citizen Kane screenwriting legend. The script is entertaining and has plenty of fun moments sprinkled throughout the piece. While much different in tone than some of the darker Mankiewicz scripts, the story is well- written and fans of the writer will find Man of the World well worth checking out.

Richard Wallace (Innocents of Paris, Captain Caution) aptly directs the feature-film with a keen sense of style. Man of the World is a marvel. The filmmaking soars with pitch-perfect direction (bringing the script by Mankiewicz to life). Wallace imbues the film with a lot of energy and the film never drags on like a chore. Man of the World is well worth checking out for fans of Carole Lombard.

Man of the World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, Man of the World is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 full frame. The presentation quality on the release is generally excellent throughout the feature-film. The picture-quality is sharp and crisp.

Experiencing the black and white cinematography is enormously satisfying. Though the print shows some occasional print wear and there are minor marks on the scan, the image looks exceptional overall. None of the minor drawbacks are too distracting from the experience.

Man of the World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio mono. The lossless audio presentation is generally quite excellent overall. Though the audio quality is not as crisp as a modern feature-film production, dialogue remains crisp and easy to understand throughout. There were no egregious issues to report regarding hiss, crackle, warps, pops, and clicks throughout the presentation. The lossless audio track sounds quite good and it never sounds muffled.

Optional English subtitles are provided.

Man of the World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan

Man of the World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Man of the World is an entertaining classic produced in the pre-code era of Hollywood. A charming romantic-comedy with plenty of unexpected delights, fans of Carole Lombard are especially going to want to experience this under-the-radar gem. The filmmaking is strong and benefits a great deal from a script by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane). Well worth checking out. Highly recommended.