Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City (1949) User Reviews

Classy travelogue from the 40's

[barryrd · 8/10 · 25 July 2008]

This entertaining travelogue from the late 1940's is a glimpse of Manhattan - the largest of the five boroughs of NYC. As a travelogue, it is a postcard-perfect view of Manhattan with the narrator gushing over the bright lights and skyscrapers. Nevertheless, like an old issue of Time or Life, it has to be looked at as a piece of social history. The film introduces New York's Mayor William O'Dwyer and takes us on a tour that includes an interesting sample of life in the Big Apple. We stop at the construction site of the United Nations which was taking place at the time. We visit Xavier Cugat, one of Manhattan's entertainment icons and see the great ocean liners along the piers of the Hudson River. We also get to see the Waldorff Astoria, considered one of the great hotels of the time. What is remarkable though is how many points of interest are still on the itinerary of a visitor to New York - Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, the Woolworth Building, the Statue of Liberty, the bridges spanning the East and Hudson Rivers, and of course Times Square. As a fan of New York, this 20-minute film was like a wonderful dessert after I viewed The Naked City on TCM. Highly recommended.

Manhattan gets the James A. FitzPatrick treatment...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 30 January 2009]

This is undoubtedly one of the best of the FitzPatrick Traveltalk series. It spotlights a lot of NYC landmarks, beginning quite appropriately with the Statue of Liberty--and proceeding to the famous bridges, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the 3rd Avenue El, the Bowery, Chinatown, the Flatiron building, the Empire State, Herald Square, the N.Y. Public Library, the U.N. project in early stage of development, the Central Park Zoo, the Museum of Natural History, and the Fifth Avenue area with Rockefeller Center and its main shopping districts.

The tour ends at the Waldorf-Astoria with an inside glimpse of folks enjoying a night at the Starlight Roof. Among the celebrities is Ann Miller. Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra get to play one of Cugie's own tunes while his lively band goes through its paces.

A nostalgic trip down memory lane for many of us able to remember these days. Most interesting of all for me were the theater marquees flashing signs that read "Easter Parade" or Walt Disney's "Melody Time" with views of the Strand and Loew's State marquees among others.

Noticed how well-dressed most New Yorkers appeared to be in the late '40s as opposed to today's rather sloppy looking apparel for men and women.

Interesting Time Capsule

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 23 December 2010]

I saw this on Turner Classic Movies, and I was fairly interested. It was not what you might typically think of a "classic" movie, but I thought it was important for historical value, if nothing else.

New York is probably the most-filmed city in the world, with Los Angeles and Vancouver not far behind. But even if you've never been to New York, you know the skyline. To see it here 60 years ago was a real treat, and I especially liked how it showed that the United Nations building was not built yet, and the hopes they had for its use. How that has fared is now open to debate.

For how short it is, I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in New York, history, or is planning to go to New York... a great way to get excited for the trip.

Nice Short

[Michael_Elliott · 29 December 2008]

Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City (1949)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

MGM's (not official) TravelTalk short takes a look at various landmarks in Manhattan including Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the streets of Chinatown. Once again the Technicolor is certainly the highlight of this film, which has the city jumping off the screen. Once again there have been many better documents of the city but I'm sure this thing served its purpose back when it was originally released when there wasn't an internet or even color television to see such things. The most interesting thing is that the United Nations building hadn't yet been completed and we get to see it in its early stages of construction.

Interesting (early) look at the Big Apple....

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 10 July 2015]

Certainly a competent job, another chapter in James Fitz's travelogues, in living color, this one from 1949. Fun look at the time when the Empire State Building was still "the tallest building in the world". Good, quick looks at the landmarks, ie Grand Central Station, Women and Children's Hospital, and of course, Central Park. My only complaint is that they spent SO much time describing in detail how trashy "the Bowery" was at the time; that time would have been so much better spent on giving us details on Central Park - there are SO many fun things to do in Central Park! Oh, and for those too young to know "the Bowery", some interesting info: watch the films called "The Bowery Boys". some fun stuff. And recently, the lower east side, which WAS the Bowery, is now going upscale, with luxury condos, and of course, a Whole Foods Market. Overall, this shortie that Turner Classic shows between films, is a good watch. Fun to look back and compare them to what's there now. Check out how Time's Square has changed since what they show in this film. Also some footage of Ann Miller and musician Xavier Cugat.

A Quick View Of Manhattan

[CitizenCaine · 6/10 · 10 May 2004]

This is a delightful city travelogue short of Manhattan, circa 1949, by MGM. Narrated by James A. Fitzpatrick, the film takes on an entertaining tour of the center of Manhattan. Several architectural features of the city are pointed out with accompanying interesting historical information. Some famous landmarks, such as the Statue Of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Chinatown, Times Square, the New York Public Library, the Central Park Zoo, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, are featured prominently. There are also a few references to some not so famous places within the city that are just as interesting. This is a brief, but enjoyable view of Manhattan from 1949. **1/2 of 4 stars.

A Cinematic Taste Of The Big Apple

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 26 March 2002]

An MGM Short Subject.

Beginning at the Statue of Liberty, this delightful little film conducts us on a rapid tour of MIGHTY MANHATTAN, NEW YORK'S WONDER CITY. After gazing at the famous bridges spanning the Hudson & East Rivers, we travel along Broadway, Fifth & Park Avenues, visit the Empire State Building & Rockefeller Center, linger a moment in Chinatown & Times Square, and take a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park - where we get to enjoy feeding time at the Zoo. We finish our filmed excursion with an evening at the Starlight Roof, enjoying the music of Xavier Cugat.

This is one of a large series of succinct travelogues turned out by MGM, beginning in the 1930's. They featured Technicolor views of beautiful & unusual sights around the globe, as well as vivid, concise commentary. These films were produced & narrated by James A. FitzPatrick.

Unlike here in Texas, MIGHTY MANHATTAN is a Real town, with lots of class . . .

[cricket30 · 8/10 · 20 March 2021]

. . . history, greenery and night life. This film documents many of the old churches, towering high-rises, interesting back stories, on-going construction projects (such as the United Nations complex)--there are even some celebrities of the day tossed into the mix. Not to be outdone by these long-forgotten starlets, mayors and society ladies, a generous time allotment is devoted to the local zoo's menagerie, including sea lions, polar bears and a hungry hippo. (Though the narrator claims that the polar bear keepers need to be armed with shooting irons, there are no Peacemakers in sight during this segment.) Anyway, MIGHTY MANHATTAN seems a much safer (and more interesting) place to visit than the moldy Indian locales, dusty European hovels and mildewed Far Eastern backwaters often featured in this series.

My Home Is Another Wonder City

[boblipton · 5/10 · 11 December 2019]

James A. Fitzpatrick sends the Technicolor camera under the direction of James H. Smith, with Paul Rogalli to run them, to New York. It's a portrait of a city seventy years ago, with the Third Avenue El still running, the tall buildings begrimed with the smuts of hundreds of years.. Even the New York Foundling Hospital, not far from where I write this, is filthy, as is the Flatiron Building, which I walk past three or four times a week.

It's a portrait of the city that captures it at a moment when, with the United Nations Building about to rise, it seemed as if New York would become the capital of the World. New York is a living city, always growing something new, always a hallowed institution about to vanish.

The copy of this Traveltalk that plays on TCM sparkles with chips of the film's emulsion. Still, it's a pleasure to look at this and see the city as it was a few years before I was born.... and which still can be spotted among the newer construction.