Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Man I Love Blu-ray Movie Review

Long Beach in the house.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 10, 2024

Raoul Walsh's underrated music-tinted melodrama The Man I Love may be best known as the primary inspiration for Martin Scorsese's New York, New York three decades later, but it's almost inarguably a tighter and more effective film from start to finish. Nonetheless, The Man I Love still hits a few forgivable snags during its otherwise brisk 96-minute run time which, thanks to Warner Bros.' new Blu-ray, includes roughly six minutes of footage not seen by the public since its theatrical run. (This wasn't due to censorship, just WB being cheap with music licensing rights.)

I'll be right up front and say that "musical" and "melodrama" are two genres that rarely light my fire, but The Man I Love is a rare exception where mood and atmosphere almost fully overtake the things that don't work in its favor. Our story concerns NY lounge singer Petey Brown (Ida Lupino), who surprises her sister Sally (Andrea King) in Long Beach with a holiday visit; also living in Sally's cramped apartment are her teenage sister Ginny (Martha Vickers), brother Joe (Warren Douglas), and son Buddy (Patrick Griffin). All three adults end up working for -- or at least associating with -- walking catalyst Nicky Toresca (Robert Alda), a womanizing nightclub owner who soon falls head over heels for Petey. Unsurprisingly, their professional and personal lives soon suffer for similar yet totally different reasons.

They aren't the only ones; also dragged into the mess are Sally's next door neighbor Johnny O'Connor (Don McGuire) and his immature wife Gloria (Dolores Moran), parents to infant twins whose already turbulent relationship is likewise irreparably affected by Nicky and his scheming ways. Sally's absentee husband Roy (John Ridgely) is a decorated war veteran presumably suffering from PTSD in an Army hospital. Yet no character affects the plot as much as San Thomas (Bruce Bennett), a divorced jazz pianist who Petey immediately becomes taken by after his altercation with Joey. Torn between her feelings for the piano man, devotion to her family, and love for singing, Petey's whirlwind holiday trip from New York to Los Angeles may only last a few weeks... but will clearly change the course of her life forever.

I tried to do what I could with the above synopsis of The Man I Love, which is admittedly a bit crowded in both its number of characters and the ways that their lives haphazardly intertwine due to convenient coincidences. (Another element that's usually a pretty big turnoff for me.) So what's with the four-star rating? The mood and manner in which The Man I Love tells its story are absolutely intoxicating; somehow it manages to flow almost perfectly well in spite of itself, tinged with a few film noir curveballs and loaded with memorable music including the unforgettable title song by George and Ira Gershwin. As experienced on Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray, this now-complete version of The Man I Love (see below) is one clear example of a finished film being better than the sum of its parts.

As for that missing footage, it concerns the on-screen performance of the 1927 song "Bill", which was first heard in Kern and Hammerstein's original musical production of Show Boat. Though I admittedly don't have a "cut" version to compare it against, the two most notable instances where this song is featured during The Main I Love are right around the 45-minute mark (San plays it for Petey in her apartment immediately after the scene above) and again less than 10 minutes later, where Petey gives an emotional "live" vocal performance -- which, like all the other songs, was actually overdubbed by Peg LaCentra -- in Nicky Toresca's nightclub. Given their placement in the film and assuming both were absent from previous releases and TV broadcasts, I almost can't imagine The Man I Love without them.

The Man I Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's new 1080p transfer of the now-complete The Man I Love sports a mostly sparkling new restoration that occasionally wavers during scenes taken from lesser elements. I'm fairly certain that large portions of its original negative were used, as seen by the crisp and unprocessed appearance of fine details on foreground objects including skin and clothing textures, include Petey's fashionable dresses. Black levels and contrast largely hold steady and, as usual, the picture is extremely clean yet still retains large portions of its original film grain. Only spare moments, such as the presumed cut footage (screenshot #5, seen below) as well as stray scenes shot in the back hallways of Nicky's nightclub (screenshot #13), show a noticeable dip in fine detail and overall clarity; these are also a bit darker due to lighting conditions, which also may exacerbate any native source issues. Even so, these moments are relatively few and far between, with only occasional touches of macro blocking spotted during extremely foggy scenes (screenshot #19) that give off the notion of clumpy and compressed noise. All told, this is still very good work for what's essentially a reconstruction of sorts and the end result almost certainly far outshines earlier home video presentations.

The Man I Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio is also largely pleasing, as this DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix accurately conveys its one-channel source material in a split two-channel container. The biggest benefit to this new restoration is certainly the music, with several standout "live" performances enjoying newfound clarity and even a surprising amount of low end for the upright bass, percussion, and other instruments. Peg LaCentra's dubbed vocals likewise feel rich and smoky, even if they're rarely a convincing match for Ida Lupino's speaking voice. On that note, dialogue occasionally sounds a bit gauzy and muffled, although it may have been left untouched due to the fear of compromising overall dynamic range. All things considered, I'm happy with what we get here and I'm certain than long-time fans of the film will agree whole-heartedly.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, not the extras listed below.

The Man I Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover art and no inserts. Extras are minimal and only include the original trailer and a pair of restored Looney Tunes shorts, which are always a treat. Oddly enough, the shorts listed on the packaging and press release (Roughly Squeaking and Slick Hare) are not the ones we get.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:16) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

• Rabbit Transit (8:05) - This 1947 Friz Freleng-directed short is a personal favorite and the third and final race between Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle, who's got a few new tricks up his shell. It even features a (possibly first) "painted tunnel" gag pre-dating Chuck Jones' "Road Runner" shorts by roughly two full years.

• Crowing Pains (6:50) - Another 1947 short, this one directed by Robert McKimson, "Crowing Pains" is a rare double-bill with Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn (both in just their second Looney Tunes appearance) flanked by Henery Hawk. It's good stuff but obviously these characters have yet to be fully polished.

The Man I Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Raoul Walsh's The Man I Love, based on the then-recent novel "Night Shift" by Maritta Wolff, is a decently unique hybrid of music, noir, and melodrama. Its mood and atmosphere are palpable and overshadow some of the film's easy-to-spot lesser elements, which include a few superfluous supporting characters and narrative detours. Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray will be of great interest to die-hard fans, as it includes roughly six minutes of footage not seen by the public since the 1950s due to licensing issues, although the disc's other merits -- and of course the strength of the main feature itself -- make this a fairly dependable blind buy for newcomers too. Firmly Recommended.