AllMovie

Sometimes a film can be remembered for one thing. In the case of Young Man of Manhattan, it's not because of Ginger Rogers' feature debut (although that is certainly noteworthy). It's for Rogers' unforgettable line, "Cigarette me, big boy," which became one of the most copied catch phrases of the era. While it's not an especially witty piece of dialogue, if the rest of Young Man's script had at least been at that level, it might have been a good movie. As it is, it's an adequate and fairly forgettable film, distinguished only by the very early presences of Rogers and star Claudette Colbert. Neither one gives a world-beating performance, but it's fun to see Rogers in her nascent wisecracking, flapper role and Colbert using her charm to carry her through some rough patches that she doesn't yet know how to navigate. Monta Bell's direction is sluggish and perfunctory, but he does take advantage of the sports setting of the film to include a number of interesting "action" shots.