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

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

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.

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.

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.

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.