I like old movies but a few become outdated. So it is with Manhattan Melodrama. I didn't see it in 1934, I saw it last night; and the trouble is that almost anybody my age has seen 1938's San Francisco wherein Clark Gable once again played the semi-bad guy called Blackie, and the story was similar. The greatness of "San Francisco" now dwarfs this earlier one. The movie also suffers from having Clark Gable, Merna Loy and William Powell in a romantic triangle. Sorry, but none of the three has much magnetism -- however good their acting.<br /><br />Most likely you won't (like John Dillinger) be gunned-down while renting from the video shop, but just for luck why not play it safe and order this one on Netflix.