Two Men in Manhattan (1959)
Two Men in Manhattan (1959) is a French film noir written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. On the evening of December 23, Moreau, a reporter for Agence France-Presse (AFP), is tasked with uncovering the whereabouts of Fèvre-Berthier, the French delegate to the United Nations, who has mysteriously missed that day’s General Assembly meeting. Despite speaking with McKimmie, an information officer at the UN who has no knowledge on the matter, and Fèvre-Berthier’s family searching for him as well, Moreau hits a dead end. He then turns to his friend Delmas, an alcoholic tabloid photographer, who has captured photos of Fèvre-Berthier with multiple women other than his wife. With this lead in hand, Moreau and Delmas embark on a journey to determine if one of these women is the reason behind Fèvre-Berthier’s absence.
They visit various individuals: Judith Nelson, a stage actress at the Mercury Theater; Virginia Graham, a jazz singer at Capitol Records recording studio; Bessie Reed, a burlesque dancer at the Ridgewood Rathskeller; and even speak to Gloria, a high-end call girl ‘specializing in diplomats’, at a French-Chinese-themed brothel. However, their search for Fèvre-Berthier proves fruitless. Feeling defeated, they head to a diner where they hear on the radio that Judith has attempted suicide after their visit. Rushing to the hospital, Moreau and Delmas sneak into Judith’s room. She reveals that she tried to end her life because she was in love with Fèvre-Berthier, who has since passed away. When she becomes overwhelmed and refuses to say more, Delmas relentlessly presses for details about Fèvre-Berthier’s death until he learns that Judith discovered the diplomat deceased in her apartment from an apparent heart attack.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Jean-Pierre MelvilleMoreau |
Two Men in Manhattan (1959) is a French film noir written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. On the evening of December 23, Moreau, a reporter for Agence France-Presse (AFP), is tasked with uncovering the whereabouts of Fèvre-Berthier, the French delegate to the United Nations, who has mysteriously missed that day’s General Assembly meeting. Despite speaking with McKimmie, an information officer at the UN who has no knowledge on the matter, and Fèvre-Berthier’s family searching for him as well, Moreau hits a dead end. He then turns to his friend Delmas, an alcoholic tabloid photographer, who has captured photos of Fèvre-Berthier with multiple women other than his wife. With this lead in hand, Moreau and Delmas embark on a journey to determine if one of these women is the reason behind Fèvre-Berthier’s absence.
They visit various individuals: Judith Nelson, a stage actress at the Mercury Theater; Virginia Graham, a jazz singer at Capitol Records recording studio; Bessie Reed, a burlesque dancer at the Ridgewood Rathskeller; and even speak to Gloria, a high-end call girl ‘specializing in diplomats’, at a French-Chinese-themed brothel. However, their search for Fèvre-Berthier proves fruitless. Feeling defeated, they head to a diner where they hear on the radio that Judith has attempted suicide after their visit. Rushing to the hospital, Moreau and Delmas sneak into Judith’s room. She reveals that she tried to end her life because she was in love with Fèvre-Berthier, who has since passed away. When she becomes overwhelmed and refuses to say more, Delmas relentlessly presses for details about Fèvre-Berthier’s death until he learns that Judith discovered the diplomat deceased in her apartment from an apparent heart attack.
