HUDSON RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM
  • Visit
    • About
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Guided Tours
    • Events Calendar
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Docking
    • Visiting Vessels
  • Learn
    • Lecture Series
    • Youth Programs
    • School Programs
    • Exhibits on View >
      • Working Waterfronts
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
    • Online Exhibits
    • Speaking Engagements
  • Solaris Cruises
    • Cruise Schedule
    • Meet Our Boat
    • Book A Charter
  • Wooden Boat School
    • Boat School
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Boat Building Classes
    • Boats For Sale
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • Sea Scouts
  • Join & Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Ways to Give
    • Our Supporters

History Blog

Media Monday: Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and the General Slocum Disaster

6/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Yellow movie post for
In 1934, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released the film "Manhattan Melodrama." Made in the pre-code era, the film follows the story of two young boys - Blackie Gallagher (Played by Clark Gable as an adult and Mickey Rooney as a child) and Jim Wade (played by William Powell) - who are orphaned by the sinking of the General Slocum in 1904.

Their paths diverge over the years. Blackie becomes a gambler and a crook who runs an illegal casino. Jim becomes a lawyer. They both fall in love with the same woman (played by Myrna Loy) and struggle to maintain their friendship as Blackie slides deeper into the crime world and Jim runs for attorney general and then governor of New York. In the end, honor wins out, even though not everyone survives the movie. You can rent the film on Amazon Prime, or read the full plot synopsis on Wikipedia.

​Watch the original film trailer below:
Today, we're sharing the opening scene of the film - a dramatization of the sinking of the General Slocum, one of the worst maritime disasters in American history. Warning to sensitive viewers that this clip contains depictions of crowd panic, fire, and drownings. 
"Manhattan Melodrama" gained notoriety in the press not only for its fine acting, but also because famous gangster and bank robber John Dillinger attended the Chicago premiere and as he was leaving the theater was approached by federal agents, ran, and was shot and killed. 

The General Slocum disaster was one of the worst in American maritime history. Filled mostly with German-Americans from the Lower East Side of Manhattan on a church outing, the ship caught fire and its poor safety standards - rotted fire hoses, wired on lifeboats, untrained crew, etc. - combined with the fact that most of the passengers could not swim and the swift currents near Hell Gate in New York Harbor (where the fire had broken out) meant that the vast majority of the passengers were drowned or killed by the fire. Of particular horror were the fact that the crumbling cork lifejackets had been filled with iron bars to bring them up to standard weight. Children hastily bundled into lifejackets and tossed overboard by parents drowned instantly. Bodies washed up on shore for days afterward.
Picture
The General Slocum disaster clearly left an imprint on American and New York minds, judging by its feature in "Manhattan Melodrama" and other films and books, including James Joyce's Ulysses. The disaster had the highest civilian deaths in American history (over 1,200) until September 11, 2001. 

If you'd like to learn more about the General Slocum disaster, join us this Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 7:00 PM EST for a virtual lecture by Edward T. O'Donnell, author of the book Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum​. 

You can also learn more from the New York Public Library's article, "​The General Slocum Disaster of June 15, 1904."


​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​
Donate Now
Join Today
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    This blog is written by Hudson River Maritime Museum staff, volunteers and guest contributors.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All
    Agriculture
    Amusement Parks
    Barges
    Black History
    Bridges
    Canals
    Captain William O. Benson Articles
    Catskill Mountains
    Environmental History
    Featured Artifact
    Ferries
    Fireboats
    George W. Murdock Articles
    Halloween
    House Boats
    Hudson River Commercial Fishing
    Iceboats
    Ice Harvesting
    Immigration
    Indian Point
    Indigenous Peoples
    Labor
    Lighthouses
    Marine Art
    Military
    Muddy Paddle Series
    Photo Contest
    Railroad
    RMS Titanic
    Rowing
    Sail
    Sail Freight
    Schooners
    Shipbuilding
    Shipyard
    Sloops
    Sports
    Steamboats
    Towboats And Tugboats
    Whaling
    Winter
    Women's History
    Wrecks And Mishaps

    RSS Feed

GET IN TOUCH
Hudson River Maritime Museum
50 Rondout Landing
Kingston, NY 12401

​845-338-0071
[email protected]


Contact Us

GET INVOLVED

Join & Support
​​Donate
Membership
Volunteer

Work with Us
​
RESEARCH
History Blog
Collections
Research Resources

stay connected

Join Our Email List
ABOUT
News
Publications
​Docking
Museum Store
Facility Rentals
Board
​
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Visit
    • About
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Guided Tours
    • Events Calendar
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Docking
    • Visiting Vessels
  • Learn
    • Lecture Series
    • Youth Programs
    • School Programs
    • Exhibits on View >
      • Working Waterfronts
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
    • Online Exhibits
    • Speaking Engagements
  • Solaris Cruises
    • Cruise Schedule
    • Meet Our Boat
    • Book A Charter
  • Wooden Boat School
    • Boat School
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Boat Building Classes
    • Boats For Sale
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • Sea Scouts
  • Join & Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Ways to Give
    • Our Supporters