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.

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.

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.