User Reviews

"Man Wanted" struck me as a curious movie to have been made in 1932. I agree with most who didn't see it as a battle of the sexes film. But it carries a couple of messages that I don't think would appeal to people of the time. Those are about the wealthy and powerful living high on the hog and caring nothing for the everyman and woman – to the point of dumping on them. Kay Francis plays Lois Ames, the managing editor of some sort of magazine. We never know what type of magazine it is, but it seems to be a style, fashion, glamour or other sort of publication. Another reviewer noted that there probably never was such a lavish editorial office as shown in this picture.

In an opening scene, Lois fires her secretary, a faithful employee who has been with the firm for some time. But, she has worked overtime four straight nights and says she can't work again this night. So, she gets the boot. After we're introduced to Tom Sherman (played by David Manners) as a sporting goods salesman, we see him getting hired by Lois as her new secretary. From here on, the film is a reversal of the Hollywood fluff so common for decades. In those, the female secretaries often pursued their bosses. But, here we have a young male secretary who soon lusts for his gorgeous female employer. This happens while he is engaged to Ruth Holman, played by Una Merkel.

So little is believable about this that it makes for a very weak plot. Besides the lavish editorial offices, the Francis character doesn't seem real as a managing editor. Her scenes of dictation all have to do with business matters, not editorial content of the magazine. In real life, business managers handle the technical side of the business, and editors handle the product. But we don't see anything of Francis dealing with articles, photos, artwork and magazine design. Yet she is presented as a workaholic in this film. For an idea of how a real managing editor might work, see the 1941 movie, "Two-Faced Woman." In that film, Melvyn Douglas plays a managing editor who can't tear himself away from his job to spend time with his new wife, played by Greta Garbo. And, we see him going over feature articles, cover designs and layouts – the real stuff of a managing editor.

This movie was made during the heart of the Great Depression. Audiences going to see it in 1932 would hardly believe a magazine of any type flourishing as portrayed here. And, Lois doesn't have to work because she's married to a rich man, Fred Ames (played by Kenneth Thomson), who also doesn't seem to have been hurt any by the depression. The couple seem to have attitudes that support free love, so long as one is discreet about it – at least on the surface. They can be amorous with each other, or with someone else. Although Lois is not portrayed as playing around on her husband, we see glints of her interest in her young male secretary. Husband Freddie, on the other hand, clearly has the reputation of a carouser.

I suspect that this picture of a rich couple living such a lifestyle of infidelity and disregard for other people wasn't appealing to those who were living through the hard times of the depression. After condoning her husband's wandering for some time, Lois decides to divorce him. Tommy, is about to leave, dejected, when she tells him she is now free. We know what that means. So, Tommy jilts his fiancé for the boss. What a happy ending for depression-era audiences, huh? Now, another working everyman – in this case, woman, gets dumped.

I think Warner Brothers goofed promoting this movie as a comedy. I see nothing humorous in the film today. The five stars I give it are for very good performances by two actors. Manners played Tommy Sherman superbly, and Thomson was excellent as Freddie Ames.

One must keep in mind with any Kay Francis picture from 1932 that no attempt is being made at realism; whether "Man Wanted" or "Trouble in Paradise," the mise en scene is the collective product of the studio's imagination, and no New York editor ever worked in an office quite as plush as the one in which Miss Francis and David Manners as her secretary toil. Yet even if its the intent is merely to provide a glamorous escape from the dreariness of the Depression, "Man Wanted" also succeeds in delivering quite a feminist portrayal of a woman executive who is not the least embarrassed by her position nor inclined to disguise her sexuality with mannish suits (a la Rosalind Russell), masculine dialogue, or any show of weakness. In this respect among others, "Man Wanted" is far ahead even of present-day Hollywood portrayals of capable, powerful women. While our puritanical culture might not like to admit that a wife could view such indulgent bemusement the infidelities of a weak, alcoholic husband, there are plenty of prominent modern marriages whose persistence cannot be explained otherwise. One suspects, therefore, that the reaction of Lois Ames to her husband's philandering is as firmly grounded in realism as the more violent and hysterical reactions we've come to expect, not to mention her extraordinary sang froid when confronted by her secretary's accusatory fiancée (Una Merkel). Moreover this secretary, who finally wins his boss's hand, is hardly some male tower of strength; he can get up the gumption to face her only after undergoing a sloppy bender with his half-dressed roommate (Andy Devine) in their rather sordid apartment. This isn't subversive just for 1932; it's subversive for now, and includes some very nice dresses, props, and a scene at a polo grounds that suggests a bygone era before Los Angeles was fully encased in concrete.

Provocative little Warners B that seems to enjoy playing with sexual mores, and presenting an unusually strong leading-lady character. That's Kay Francis, stalking around in high fashion and playing a driven magazine-editor lady, much like Liza Elliott in "Lady in the Dark." She hires a lowly but ambitious (and Harvard grad) David Manners as secretary, cueing the male-secretary jokes, and he's too much of a gentleman to admit to her or himself that he's falling in love with her. Which is a disaster, because, with plot knots that could never survive the Production Code, she's married to rich-but-worthless Kenneth Thomson, and he's engaged to demanding-and-annoying Una Merkel. The script merrily untangles the knots by making little to no judgment on Thomson's philandering, and suggesting that out-of-wedlock relations are just fine, as long as they result in divorce and marriage to the right partner. Manners is, as always, gentlemanly and photogenic (and Gregg Toland's photography makes the most of both the leading players), and the story has a nice feminist bent to it--it never castigates Francis for wandering far afield of expected feminine subservience, though it does eventually suggest that she and Manners will exist as equals, not dominating-woman-passive-man. It's pleasant, swift-moving pre-Code, capably directed by William Dieterle and very nice to look at.

... and I say that with all due respect to Mr. Manners. I really enjoy his films. This film is just full of stuff you couldn't do or insinuate after the production code. Besides all of the precode naughtiness going on, you certainly couldn't have a woman rescuing a man from a life of dead end jobs and financial struggling. Tom (David Manners) is a man - a Harvard man at that - in a rut of a job selling athletic equipment at a retail store. He's reluctantly engaged to Ruth (Una Merkel) whose chatter seems to annoy him but not enough that he'll make a clean break of it. His big chance comes when high-powered magazine editor Lois Ames (Kate Francis) has her secretary quit late at night and Tom, who is there to demonstrate a rowing machine, offers to pitch in and help. By night's end Lois has offered the secretarial job to Tom. Tom's paychecks grow with his performance and his job responsibilities - steadily from 50 to 250 a week - big money in the Depression.

Unlike films from the late 30's on where the male boss is chasing the secretary around the desk, this one has the flirtation growing subtly with Lois initiating matters. At first it's little things such as Lois making sure their feet touch under the desk. Pretty soon though Tom is feeling the attraction too. The hitch here - Lois is married to Freddie, who apparently has his own money and doesn't need to work and therefore doesn't - he likes being an idler.

This movie is very modern and intelligent in how it handles the marriage. The beginning of the film has Lois and Freddie seemingly in love, going to lunch together, kissing and acting affectionate. They say it doesn't matter that they're so different, they love each other anyways. They seem to mean it when they say it too, but the marriage is a mistake and time and their attraction to other people more suitable to their individual habits - Freddie to a partying socialite (Claire Dodd) and Lois to hard working Tom gradually has the two drifting apart.

After the production code began to be enforced this film would probably end with Freddie seeing the error of his wanton ways and deciding that he wants to run the magazine, Lois deciding that she wants to have babies and Tom - the fallen somewhat kept man - slinking off into the sunset alone. Instead this film ends intelligently - I'll let you watch and see how. It says much about how people will choose unhappy stability over taking a chance and possibly winding up truly happy.

Recommended for fans of precode films and definitely for fans of the elegant Kay Francis whose appeal is timeless.

I love 1930's movies, and I like many of the actors in this cast, but this film just isn't worth the time it takes to watch it, in my opinion. I'm a little annoyed with myself that I didn't just turn it off. Other reviewers described most of the objections I had to the storyline, such as the poor treatment of secretaries and fiancées; they really interfered with my enjoyment. The film seems to be trying to justify the typical exploitation of workers practiced by many big movie studios (I'm not sure about Warner Bros' record with that, but it seems like the type of thing MGM would endorse). The idea of "The Office" is glorified in a way that's ridiculous. And since the film was made in the Depression, I couldn't help but wonder about the studio's purpose behind all this "if you don't work all night you're a parasite" stuff. (Possible spoiler ahead) And the characters all turn on one person in the last scene, when she's really the one who was wronged.

The film does have a few good moments, and some nice outfits and Art Deco sets, but it mostly seems to be a waste of good performers, like Claire Dodd. (I thought David Manners' performance was weak, however--just smooth talk and popping eyes.) It was nice that some respect was given to the idea of a serious woman editor, but the actual scenes showing Kay Francis working didn't convince me that she was actually that good at her job. She keeps people waiting while playing around with her husband in the office, approves some perfectly mediocre sketches, demands endless overtime of her workers, and is unable to write out her own letters if a secretary has to leave.

There just isn't enough plot to get the thing going, so the character played by David Manners has to treat someone badly just to provide some juice, and the audience is supposed to approve of this pointless behavior. Kay Francis manages to inject some believable emotion into her scenes, but her motivations are confused--(possible spoiler) it's hard to believe she could be very serious about the David Manners character, when so much of the film is given over to her relationship with her husband.

If you want to see a much snappier film about a 1930's office, I recommend "Counsellor at Law," with John Barrymore (1933). It has some of the same plot themes as this one, but does them all much better.

Whilst doing a marathon viewing of French films from 1932,I decided to read the chapter on the year in Mark A. Vieira's superb book Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood. With his version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame being one of my all-time favourite films,I was interested by the mentions of William Dieterle output from the year,which led to me putting a soft-focus on one of his titles.

View on the film:

The first of 6 (!) films he made in 1932,director William Dieterle fluidly blends the depth of field vision of cinematographer Gregg Toland, via delicate,ultra-stylised framed deep-focus close-ups on Ames and Sherman placing their heads side by side. Cracking open an atmosphere of Pre-Code Rom-Com glamour, Dieterle layers on dissolves of the couple changing into various eye-catching costume, and in a calculated, subtle motif, Dieterle & Toland use the framing of doors to shadow the friendship between Sherman and Ames,and to key into the final meet cute.

Taking the elements of the Rom-Com and twisting them, the screenplay by Charles Kenyon and Robert Lord wonderfully play against type in the Pre-Code era. Ames is sharply established as a newspaper editor who is good at her job, (which she does not leave for her love) and respected by her fellow workers,whilst Sherman dives in with the traditional woman role of being the one head over heels in love.

Not having a "Code" to face, the crisp dialogue keeps the Rom-Com sparks flying,while also being empathetic towards Ames attempting to save her marriage to a cheating husband, whilst she becomes charmed by Sherman. Joined by a terrific Andy Devine hitting Screwball targets as pal Doyle, David Manners gives a warm turn as Sherman,who Manners keeps steeping in time to still having feelings for his current fiancé,but dancing towards falling for his new boss. Her first film at WB, Kay Francis makes an entrance with a excellent performance as Ames, whose senior role at work is held by Francis with an enticing confidence,which is crossed with a breezy eye for romance,as Sherman becomes the man wanted.

Man Wanted is an arch, sophisticated romantic comedy that needed an Ernst Lubitsch to handle its racy moments and a Howard Hawks to handle its snappy dialogue. William Dieterle was a good director, but he was neither of those men, so the movie feels slow when it should be lively, choppy when it should be speedy. The premise is this: Lois (Kay Francis) is a high-powered career woman, the editor of a magazine, married to a wealthy playboy (Kenneth Thomson) who cares more about playing polo and chasing other women than he does about their marriage. So when Tom (David Manners), a salesman for exercise equipment, pays a sales call on Lois and reveals that he knows shorthand - from taking notes in his classes at Harvard - he gets hired to replace the secretary she has just fired. You can fill in the rest. Francis carries a lot of the film on charm, even when the situations feel over-familiar and the dialogue doesn't sparkle the way it should. Check out her work for Lubitsch in Trouble in Paradise, made the same year as this film, to see what might have been. Manners, best known today for his work in the horror movies Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931), The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932), and The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934), is a pleasantly forgettable leading man, and Andy Devine and Una Merkel are miscast as Tom's buddy and girlfriend, providing comic relief that doesn't quite relieve.

This isn't as blatantly sexist as 1933's "Female" in which Ruth Chatterton sexually harassed her male secretaries. This boss, Kay Francis, is much more subtle, hiring David Manners as her secretary after firing too busy to work overtime Elizabeth Patterson. It's not going to take her bookkeepers long to figure out what's going on, especially if they see him with his nagging gal pal Una Merkel, a dame whom Groucho Marx would describe as being vaccinated with a phonograph needle. Even though this was made before the production code came in, this is not as shocking or even as exciting as other pre-code films.

Francis is an able comedian, Manners a handsome but dull (perhaps uninterested?) romantic lead. It's basically a ploy between Francis and her married in name only hubby Kenneth Thomason to find out after living their own lives how they truly feel about each other. In fact, it is set up that they are more friends, so when she romances Manners on the sly, it is the medication for her to find out how she really feels about her husband.

Andy Devine offers lots of earthy comedy as Manner's pal, which gives Merkel a ploy at the end when it becomes clear that she and Manners have no future together. It is also extremely short, which gives it no real time to establish either character or a definitive plot. Without Francis and Devine, this would have been a total disappointment.

This 1932 film may be the oldest of its comedy kind marketed in a crisply remastered DVD with excellent sound best played back at the old 4:3 picture ratio. Kay Francis is featured as an adulteress society woman in a sham marriage to philanderer Kenneth Thompson. Horror film star David Manners is cast against type as an adulterer in a sham engagement to wealthy Una Merkel. Prior to censorship code the adultery aspect is played lightly for laughs when Manners seduces Francis first into hiring him and then into a closer personal relationship, Andy Devine plays the physical comic who is Manners' boarding house roommate. A gas and a hoot which can be hilarious should you accept the subject matter played lightly for laughs before censorship codes.