The Man I Love–which later inspired Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York–made its way onto Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection in June. The 96-minute movie is presented in a 1.37:1 aspect ratio with side mattes and a DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono audio track.

A song by George and Ira Gershwin is not only the title of the film but the film features it throughout the movie. Interestingly, the Warner Bros. initially acquired Maritta Wolff’s 1942 novel with plans for a film starring Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart. I can see this, seeing as how both actors were directed by Raoul Walsh in They Drive by Night. Suffice it to say, their casting in the film eventually fell through. As the film arrived on Blu-ray last summer, it restored a 6-minute sequence featuring the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II tune, “Bill.” The only reason why it’s been missing from The Man I Love for so many years is licensing costs.

Synopsis

Torch singer Petey Brown is beautiful and smart. The beautiful gets her in trouble. She’ll need all of the smarts to get out of it in this bluesy, boozy noir salute to tough dames in tough times. On a holiday visit to her family in the waning days of World War II, Petey expects a merry Christmas. Instead she gets a tangled web of mobsters, cheating wives, war-traumatized vets and the kind of love that grabs hold fast and goes wrong faster. Ida Lupino portrays Petey, scoring a triumph under the direction of Raoul Walsh, who helped put her on the road to stardom in the Bogart classic High Sierra. The Man I Love is also notable for its songbook of sophisticated standards and as one of the inspirations for Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York. This new Blu-ray presentation restores 6 minutes cut from the film and unseen for nearly seven decades. Newly remastered, the film can finally be experienced as first shown in its original theatrical release.

Bonus Features

• Classic WB cartoons
  • Roughly Squeaking
  • Slick Hare
• Original Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: Raoul Walsh
SCREENWRITER: Catherine Turney
CAST: Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King, with Martha Vickers, Bruce Bennett, Alan Hale, Dolores Moran, John Ridgely, Don McGuire, Warren Douglas, Craig Stevens, Tony Romano

Warner Bros. released The Man I Love in theaters on January 11, 1947.

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