utgard14 Anthology film that centers around a formal tailcoat and the different people who come into possession of it. The first story is about an actor (Charles Boyer) in love with a married woman (Rita Hayworth). Her husband (Thomas Mitchell) doesn't like it one bit. Boyer and Mitchell are fine but Hayworth overacts big time. The story is thin but, as with the rest of the picture, director Julien Duvivier and cinematographer Joseph Walker make it look beautiful. The second story is also about a love triangle, although lighter in tone than the previous tale. This one's about a woman (Ginger Rogers) who suspects her fiancé (Cesar Romero) is cheating after finding a love letter in the pocket of his coat (same coat from before), which leads to her taking a second look at his best man (Henry Fonda). This is probably the weakest story in the movie. Just not as amusing or cute as it wants to be. Also Ginger Rogers sports one of the ugliest hairstyles I've ever seen.The third story has a struggling composer (Charles Laughton) getting his big chance to conduct his own composition in front of a large audience. But the tailcoat he's wearing (yup, same one) is too small and rips in front of everyone. What happens next I won't spoil but I thought it was pretty neat. This is my favorite part of the movie, albeit for sentimental reasons. The fourth story is the most widely-praised one, judging by the reviews I've read. It's a great story about a down-on-his-luck former lawyer (Edward G. Robinson) who borrows the tailcoat to attend his college reunion. Again, I don't want to spoil too much because of how good this one is, but it's another one that pulls at the heartstrings.Next is an interesting story in that it was originally cut to reduce the running time but has since been restored to the film, despite apparently missing a part at the end that connects it to the next segment. It's a funny story about a man (W.C. Fields) giving a lecture on the dangers of alcohol at the home of a wealthy woman (Margaret Dumont). But it turns out the woman's husband has spiked the milk they're all drinking with booze so everybody at the anti-alcohol meeting gets drunk. Simple story but fun. Fields is a hoot as usual. The final story has a crook (J. Carrol Naish) stealing the coat to help him commit a robbery at a casino. As he escapes via plane, he dumps the coat and it lands in a field where a poor black Southern couple (Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters) find it. The coat has the money from the casino heist in it, which pleases the couple at first as they believe it is a gift from God. But it dawns on them God would want them to use the money to help others, not themselves. It's a nice story, if a little patronizing. Paul Robeson, a devout communist who liked the story's 'community before the individual' philosophy, was so disappointed by the finished product and its stereotypical depictions of poor blacks that he would never make another Hollywood movie.In addition to the stars I've listed already, the cast includes many wonderful supporting actors like George Sanders, Victor Francen, Eugene Palette, Roland Young, Elsa Lanchester, Harry Davenport, James Gleason, Phil Silvers, Gail Patrick, and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. Julien Duvivier would do another anthology film for Universal the following year called Flesh and Fantasy. Boyer, Robinson, and Mitchell would also appear in that film. Dynamite cast and fine direction make this one something that I think most classic film fans will enjoy. The stories aren't all home runs but they're all interesting in different ways.

nomoons11 I expected an early 40's cheer me up type of film but got a really entertaining look into how a Tops and Tails coat effects the lives of everyone it comes into contact with.I could go into each of the 6 stories but it would take too long. A coat is designed by a tailor and his best sewer decides to quit and throws a curse on the coat. After this, we get 6 really interesting stories on how the coat will effect each one. With loads of star power from Charles Boyer to Edward G. Robinson and Ginger Rogers. There are just bags full of great actors in this and they all do a very good job for each of their stories. Some are funny and some are uplifting. If I were to pick one of the bunch that I really liked it would be the one with Edward G. Robinson. Watch a master at work. He's just a superb actor and in his section of this fine film, he shows you why he's so well regarded.Not a lot to say about a film with so much to see. Just trust me. Give it a watch and see a lot of familiar faces give you 2 hours of entertainment you won't forget.

jbviolin Excellent film in the genre. I agree with the previous comments with one addition. One cannot ignore the historical significance of the final scene. The last scene features the great bass singer Paul Robeson, celebrated singer-turned-actress Ethel Waters, and the memorable Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. The scene also has the music of Hall Johnson and the Hall Johnson singers. With this stellar cast of talent the film finishes by showcasing some of the finest black talent ever in the business. Finding good recordings of the arrangements of Hall Johnson by his singers on film is very difficult to do. Here we have it included in a very entertaining film.

Bob Taylor We think of Jean Renoir's, Rene Clair's and Julien Duvivier's sojourns in Hollywood during the war as difficult times for these creators, and certainly Renoir's experience with the studio system was not a happy one. But I find Tales of Manhattan to be a light frolic that betrays little of the cultural confusion that these transplanted Frenchmen must have felt.It's by no means a delight from beginning to end: the W. C. Fields episode is not funny at all, and the finale with Paul Robeson and Ethel Waters as sharecroppers drowns in bathos. There is enough fun from Henry Fonda and Ginger Rogers as tentative lovers to compensate, and Edward G. Robinson as the disgraced lawyer is worth the effort to find this film.NOTE: How did Charles Laughton get so shapely? He can't be called slender here, but he is far from the obese hulk that we remember from his later years.