Very well executed

One of my all time favorites.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Films that are relatively unique deserve extra credit. And how many films do you see about power line repair men? This film also gets some extra credit for having a surprisingly strong cast: Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft star. Supporting actors include Alan Hale, Sr., Frank McHugh, Eve Arden, Barton MacLane, and Ward Bond.It also caught my attention because I had a cousin who did electrical work for Kodak, was electrocuted, and although he lived and was eventually sort of okay, at the time his head swelled up to almost double its normal size.I've always liked Edward G. Robinson, especially when he's not in a gangster flick. And he's very good here as a sort of common guy who is a power line worker who doesn't know how to charm women.I never cared much for George Raft, but more recently I've been reexamining him, and he was pretty good in certain types of films. And, he's very good here. They say he gave Robinson a hard time while making this film, but it doesn't show at all on screen. There's a great scene where Raft slaps Dietrich across the face...twice! It's extremely rare that I have enjoyed Marlene Dietrich in a film, but here I admit she does rather nicely, and acts like a real person.Alan Hale, Sr. is a pretty dependable character actor, but I don't feel that he shined here. And, in fact. his performance points to the biggest problem I have with this film. The electrical work crew (most of the supporting actors) act far too goofy. I can't really blame the actors, but I sure will blame the screen writers and director.When I was a kid I remember liking Frank McHugh. The older I get, however, the less impressed I have become, and he seems very limited to me.Eve Arden is here as a saloon gal, but the role is inconsequential. Barton MacLane plays the bad guy here, but his same old limited performance. Ward Bond, one of my favorite character actors, is here, too, but it's not a role with much depth.The ending of this film surprised me, and I'm surprised it was approved.

And when Mr. Robinson finds out that his bombshell wife Ms. Dietrich has a thing for best pal Mr. Raft, he's determined to give him the chair! But up until then, Eddie is all smiles, beers and laughs, having recovered from an electrical shock that almost ended his career but got him promoted instead. See, Robinson & Raft work for the electric company, and are the men who go out there every time the power goes out. So when an electrical line is down, they are there playing Mr. Fix-It. Off duty, they drink & go dame hunting together, and when Robinson falls for Dietrich, the daughter of a pal killed on the job, Raft is instantly suspicious of her, and warns her that he is watching. But Dietrich, once one of the girls at a shady nightclub, gets instantly bored, and prepares to leave when Raft turns down her advances. He comes to her rescue when she is arrested after being found once again at the club, and that is where the troubles start.This is a remake of an earlier Robinson film, "Tiger Shark", in which he played a fisherman. It was also remade in 1938 with Pat O'Brien and Henry Fonda as "Slim", and only three years later, Robinson returned again into the same story in which he is still the unwitting husband. This is also the film utilized in the mob movie "Bugsy" where Annette Benning, playing Virginia Hill, one of the actresses in the nightclub scene, tells Beatty to "Go Jerk Yourself a Soda", which is a line Raft uses here to a nosy greasy spoon counter man. Barton MacLane is the rather nasty nightclub manager, while Warner Brothers perennials Alan Hale Sr. and Frank McHugh are pals of Robinson's and Rafts, and the delightful Eve Arden is one of Dietrich's pals.Everything goes fine in this masculine alternative to a women's film until the denunciation where Robinson switches his characterization from cheery to vindictive. It happens so quickly that it never rings true, although the action of the finale is rather excitingly filmed. Sequences of power towers collapsing, men at risk of being electrocuted and the every day dangers of their job give an insight to a profession rarely (if at all) shown on screen. Dietrich is sultry as usual (if a bit sleazy), and sings a Frank Loesser song. Robinson and Raft, two of the screen's great gangsters, do good jobs, and the production is raw and gritty. The ending just switches gears too fast to retain its credibility as a film where the friendship between the men is more memorable than any romantic entanglements with Dietrich.

Manpower (1941) *** (out of 4) Power company workers Hank (Edward G. Robinson) and Johnny (George Raft) end up falling in love with the same woman (Marlene Dietrich) who not only tears their friendship apart but also threatens a lot more. This Warner B-picture shares a lot in common with TIGER SHARK as well as its remake SLIM so those familiar with either of those films won't find anything too original here but to be honest even if you're not familiar with either of them, you'll probably still find this not too original. With that said, the cast is so good that you really can't blame the film for its short comings and instead you will get caught up in the drama and find yourself having a pretty good time. As with many Walsh pictures, this one here takes the simple story and the director pumps it up with all sorts of loud action including various storms with the men trying to work on power lines and of course one thing after another goes wrong. We also get countless scenes with Robinson and Raft in bars, drinking, smoking and just acting tough like not too many can. Fans of the two stars will certainly want to check this film out even though neither men give one of their greatest performances. Robinson manages to come off very tough but also can handle the softer moments with Dietrich as she begins to rip his heart up. Raft has always been fun even when playing the sidekick and that's true here. Apparently he and Robinson had a few angry moments with each other while filming this and you can tell in a few scenes. Dietrich is pretty good but the screenplay really doesn't do her any favors. Both Robinson and Raft at least had well written characters but the same can't be said for Dietrich. Alan Hale and Frank McHugh add nice support. The screenplay follows all the clichés you'd expect it to and this of course leads up to a very silly ending that really doesn't work too well. With that said, as silly as the film is it's still fun for the cast.

Edward G. Robinson and George Raft are a couple of linemen. Robinson is the foreman of the crew and a bit of a lug when it comes to the opposite sex. Raft however is a smooth operator. They both meet Marlene Dietrich at a clip joint, the Code euphemism for a bordello. Robinson falls for her and Dietrich's looking for a way out of the working life. They marry, but she starts getting a yen for Raft and that brings on trouble.Manpower has a place in film history having nothing to do with the content or the quality of the movie. While visiting his good buddy George Raft on the set, one Benjamin Siegel was introduced to Virginia Hill as depicted in the film Bugsy. There's a scene where Raft gets into a brawl with Barton MacLane that is depicted in Bugsy. And if that wasn't enough, Raft and Robinson got into a real brawl over Marlene just like in the film. It seems as though Dietrich was involved with Raft during the production. But Raft was not the most educated of men. Edward G. Robinson came from a slum background like Raft, but he'd educated himself and in fact was a well known art collector. Dietrich was no dummy herself and she and Eddie got friendly on the set, talking about stuff that Raft didn't have a clue about. Of course this got George jealous and they had a knock down drag out over her. You couldn't buy that kind of publicity. Lucky for Robinson Raft didn't call on Ben Siegel for his services.So Manpower entered its place in Hollywood lore. Too bad the film wasn't any great masterpiece. It's entertaining enough though with a good cast of Warner Brothers regulars supporting Ms. Dietrich and her gentlemen friends. It seems though just about every film Warners made back then had either Alan Hale or Frank McHugh in it, in this case both. They're always entertaining. Add to that Eve Arden in her usual role as the wisecracking best friend of the heroine.Not the greatest film ever made, but a historic one and not bad on the entertainment scale.