Genre Guesstimation – Two Men in Manhattan (1959)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by Howard Casner of Ranting and Ravings and we will be reviewing our favorite French Film Noir.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Jul by sending them to noirhoward@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Howard!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of French Film Noir…..

“[sings] There’s a street in Manhattan / With a house that has no windowpanes / And the lamp that burned all night / Listen man, go away from me / I lived there so long ago / With a guy you wouldn’t care to know / God it’s cold here / Nothing good here / Go man / Not tonight ” – The Singer

Number of Times Seen – 1 (7 Jul 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A French report and a photographer are sent to find out what has happened to the French delegate to the UN who seems to have disappeared.

My Take on it – Anyone who knows me, knows that this month’s genre is not one that I usually am drawn to.

This made things a bit more difficult to find films to watch, but in my constant journey to expand my film knowledge into realms that I am less familiar and comfortable with, I was able to find some very interesting movies to watch for this series.

This is a film that I chose to watch due to the fact that it is a French film noir that takes place in America and that idea actually piqued my interest in it.

The premise is quite enjoyable to watch and they find a way to have it play out really well.

The story is a great mystery which is in effect a simple one, yet, is filled with some very high level suspense and thrills along the way.

The story goes in some very unexpected directions at certain points and that allows for the story to move along at a great and satisfying pace.

The twists and turns in the story are enhanced by a few other surprises that keep things fascinating to watch unfold.

The characters are presented in a very shallow way through most of the film, but once we start to get a clearer idea of who they each are, it helps make things even better to watch as they reveal their true natures.

Bottom Line – Intriguing premise that works quite well. They find a way to keep the suspense and thrills at a very high level even though the story is a simple mystery. The story plays out in some unexpected ways and the twists and turns along with the surprises along the way help keep things moving at a great pace. The characters are quite shallow throughout most of the story, but towards the end, things become clearer as to who each of these men truly are. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Many scenes were filmed in New York City at night, and in one scene can be a seen a theater marquee showing Separate Tables (1958) with Rita Hayworth, David Niven and Burt Lancaster, which was released in 1958. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Comes quite close. The story is thrilling and stays interesting from star to finish, but something is missing that would have elevated this to even greater heights.

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)