...it is pretty much a remake of 1932's "Tiger Shark", with the same star - Edward G. Robinson - playing the exact same part as the well-meaning but naive cuckold in this tragic love triangle. If this was the story's first time out I'd probably give it an 8.This one is worth watching because the story is fleshed out better and is a better overall movie than the original, which is unusual for a production code era remake of a precode film. The other stars will certainly be better known to most people than the original. Hank (Robinson) and Johnny (George Raft) are workers on the power lines. One night while working on the high wires, Hank saves Johnny's life, but becomes lame in one leg as a result. The power company rewards Hank by promoting him to supervisor. Meanwhile, fellow power line repairman"Pop" Duval is letting his recently paroled daughter Fay (Marlene Dietrich) stay at his house while she gets back on her feet. Fay uses those feet to walk to the nearest clip joint and get a job as a house girl - someone who flirts with bar patrons and encourages them to run up big tabs. It is implied that the girls give the guests other services as well, but in the production code era this as far as the insinuation goes.Meanwhile, Hank gets out of the hospital and is instantly smitten by Fay. When her own father is killed in a job-related accident, Hank takes it upon himself to take care of her. He gives her gifts and asks her to marry him. Fay figures that even though she doesn't love Hank that maybe this is her one shot at going straight. Meanwhile, Johnny sees right through Fay and doesn't like the view. He doesn't want to see Hank get hurt, and is always on Fay's case, before and after the marriage. However, during this eagle eye vigil, Johnny and Fay accidentally fall in love, Hank walks in on their first embrace and believes it to be one of many and "sparks fly" if you'll forgive the expression.In this story you get to see the relationships develop and build between the main characters since the movie is 30 minutes longer than 1932's "Tiger Shark", plus the production values are better and also you now have those wonderful Warner supporting players fleshing things out - Alan Hale and Frank McHugh - that weren't around in 1932. Recommended even if you've already seen "Tiger Shark".

**SPOILERS** 1941 "Buddy Buddy" movie that has best of friends linemen Hank McHenry, Edward G, Robinson, and Johnny Marshall, George Raft, end up on he outs over a woman the sexy and cold as an iceberg Fay Duval, Marlene Dietrich, who by a series of unexpected circumstances came between them.It all started so innocently with Fay's father lineman Antoine "Pops" Duval, Egon Brecher, having Johnny, who seemed to have an in with the local parole board, getting his troublesome daughter Fay sprung from prison while serving time on a pickpocket conviction. Meeting Fay outside the prison walls Johnny knew her racket, using men to get her way, but the love-sick and very impressionable Hank, Johnny's foreman at the State Bureau Power and Light, fell heads over heels for her. That's when Johhny and Hank told Fay the sad news that her father -Pops Duval- got electrocuted on the job by a fallen power line. The first thing that struck Johnny about Fay was how unfeeling she was when she heard of her fathers tragic death. As for Hank he was completely captivated by her cool and sexy personality.Even with Fay working as a bar-girl and singer at Smiley Quinn's, Burton MacLane, clip-joint-The Midnight Club- didn't deter Hank from proposing marriage to her. Things seemed to go all right for the happily married couple until Johnny suffered a fall, while on the job, that laid him up in a hospital bed for months. It's then at Hank's insistence that Johnny was reluctantly made to stay at the McHenry house, for a few weeks convalescence, that things started going sour for everyone, Hank Johnny & Fay, involved!Despite Fay having the hots for him Johnny couldn't betray his good friend Hank by having an affair with her. It's when Fay planned to leave Hank and go back to work as a bar-girl that Johnny finally put his foot down. As well as flooring Fay with a couple of well placed smacks! This all happened when Fay was arrested-in a police raid- at Smiley's joint-The Midnight Club-where she came back to look for work. Johnny attempt to keep Fay's arrest, as well as her walking out on him, from Hank soon backfires when Fay herself told her shocked and startled husband, who always thought she was in love with him, the truth about how she felt about him!***SPOILER ALERT*** The tragic ending to the film "Manpower" had a deeply hurt Hank try to finish off his good friend Johnny at the top of a power grid in a driving rain-pour. Not being able to keep his balance, due to an on the job injury, Hank's attempt to do in Johnny fell apart together with himself. All this wasn't Johnny's fault but he still felt bad about what happened and the end of the movie he showed it. Which was by him not leaving his job, that Johnny planned to do, and take off with Fay. But instead go on living, and working, as if all of this had never happened!

Edward G. Robinson and George Raft are a couple of linemen. Robinson is the foreman of the crew and a bit of a lug when it comes to the opposite sex. Raft however is a smooth operator. They both meet Marlene Dietrich at a clip joint, the Code euphemism for a bordello. Robinson falls for her and Dietrich's looking for a way out of the working life. They marry, but she starts getting a yen for Raft and that brings on trouble.Manpower has a place in film history having nothing to do with the content or the quality of the movie. While visiting his good buddy George Raft on the set, one Benjamin Siegel was introduced to Virginia Hill as depicted in the film Bugsy. There's a scene where Raft gets into a brawl with Barton MacLane that is depicted in Bugsy. And if that wasn't enough, Raft and Robinson got into a real brawl over Marlene just like in the film. It seems as though Dietrich was involved with Raft during the production. But Raft was not the most educated of men. Edward G. Robinson came from a slum background like Raft, but he'd educated himself and in fact was a well known art collector. Dietrich was no dummy herself and she and Eddie got friendly on the set, talking about stuff that Raft didn't have a clue about. Of course this got George jealous and they had a knock down drag out over her. You couldn't buy that kind of publicity. Lucky for Robinson Raft didn't call on Ben Siegel for his services.So Manpower entered its place in Hollywood lore. Too bad the film wasn't any great masterpiece. It's entertaining enough though with a good cast of Warner Brothers regulars supporting Ms. Dietrich and her gentlemen friends. It seems though just about every film Warners made back then had either Alan Hale or Frank McHugh in it, in this case both. They're always entertaining. Add to that Eve Arden in her usual role as the wisecracking best friend of the heroine.Not the greatest film ever made, but a historic one and not bad on the entertainment scale.

A very interesting movie directed by Raoul Walsh. Filmed in black and white is a plus especially for the scenes in the rain. Stormy atmosphere sets the mood for this story of competition, lust and love. Edward G. Robinson and George Raft work on a road crew for the power company. When they aren't trying to repair downed lines, they are vying for the attention of Marlene Dietrich. Robinson and Raft put their acting skills to the test. There is a very strong supporting cast that includes: Ward Bond, Frank McHugh and Alan Hale.Note: During the filming of MANPOWER, Robinson and Raft had to be pulled apart several times scuffling over Dietrich.