The Heart of New York (film)

The Heart of New York
Directed by	Mervyn LeRoy
Written by	Arthur Caesar Houston Branch
Based on	play Mendel, Inc. by David Freedman
Starring	Joe Smith Charlie Dale George Sidney
Cinematography	James Van Trees
Edited by	Terry Morse
Music by	Leo F. Forbstein
Production company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros. The Vitaphone Corp.
Release date	March 26, 1932 (1932-03-26)
Running time	73-74 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$201,000[1]
Box office	$240,000[1]

The Heart of New York is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring the vaudeville team of Smith & Dale and George Sidney. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and based on the Broadway play Mendel, Inc. by David Freedman.

Plot

The plumber Mendel Marantz, a passionate inventor, hasn't much luck and a family that doesn't understand him. He finally strikes it rich with a dishwashing machine he invented. He finds an investor, Gassenheim, and begins to make his way up in the world. But Mendel's troubles are not over; his family doesn't share his dream to become the landlord of the house where they live on New York's Lower East Side. They prefer to move uptown to Park Avenue and adapt to how rich people live. Mendel's ideas for the house are not forgotten. The men he once told how he wished to transform the building take on the work of renovating it, with every detail he planned. Neighbours and visitors come to see the house and the new, beautiful penthouse. His wife and his children are still in Park Avenue and when Gassenheim stops paying royalties to Mrs. Marantz, she and the children come home, to find that Mendel is close to losing everything.

Cast

• Joe Smith as Sam Shtrudel
• Charles Dale as Bernard Schnaps
• George Sidney as Mendel Marantz
• Ruth Hall as Lillian Marantz
• Aline MacMahon as Bessie, the Neighbor
• Anna Appel as Mrs. Zelde Marantz
• Donald Cook as Milton
• Oscar Apfel as Otto Gassenheim
• Harold Waldridge as Jakie Marantz (as Harold Waldrige)
• Marion Byron as Mimi Marantz
• George MacFarlane as Mr. Marshall
• Ann Brody as Mrs. Nussbaum
• Charles Coleman as Mendel's Butler

Box office

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $198,000 in the U.S. and $42,000 elsewhere.^[1]

References

1. Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 13 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551

External links

• The Heart of New York at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Heart of New York at IMDb
• The Heart of New York at the TCM Movie Database
• "Mendel, Inc.", film review in The New York Times by Mordaunt Hall, March 2, 1932