Actors Edward G. Robinson and George Raft and director Raoul Walsh stand high on the list among those most associated with 1930s/1940s gangster movies. However, their partnership for 1941’s Manpower avoids the crime genre.

After a leg injury hobbles him, LA power line worker Hank McHenry (Robinson) takes a gig as foreman. His crew includes his pal Johnny Marshall (Raft) and Antoine “Pop” Duval (Egon Brecher).

When Pop dies on the job, they get to know his daughter Fay (Marlene Dietrich). She marries Hank for money and stability but falls for Johnny and thus creates a tense love triangle.

It feels perverse to unite Raft and Robinson for the first of only two joint efforts and avoid their bread and butter genre, especially with White Heat director Walsh behind the camera. The second Raft/Robinson flick – 1955’s A Bullet for Joey - plopped them in the film noir domain, so at least that one seemed like a better fit for those two.

Potentially, that is, since I never saw Joey. Despite the casting of Raft and Robinson outside of the mobster realm, I still hoped Manpower would work, especially given the involvement of Walsh and Dietrich.

Although those three actors become a big attraction in theory, in reality they prove detrimental. This feels especially true because all seem far too old for their roles.

During the shoot, Raft and Dietrich were 39 and Robinson was 47. Their characters come across as though they should be at least a decade younger.

This goes for the supporting cast, as we get similarly “aged” actors in parts that just feel off from that point of view. Their antics seem more logical for considerably younger people than this middle-aged crew.

Even without this issue, Manpower becomes a less than coherent tale. It tries to mix romance, comedy and thrills but it can’t connect these in a sensible manner.

The flick flips from one domain to another without clarity. Better-made movies could meld tones well but that doesn’t become the case here.

Indeed, our three leads often feel like they exist in different movies. Raft continues with his usual tough guy demeanor, and Dietrich sticks with the tired – so tired! – vibe delightfully spoofed in 1974’s Blazing Saddles.

Robinson manages to go against type with the ebullient Hank. He turns into the only role with actual dimensionality and Robinson makes him a likable character.

The fine supporting cast adds to the experience too. We find good folks like Alan Hale Sr., Eve Arden and Ward Bond, all of whom add some charge to the proceedings.

Along with miscast leads, though, the scattered nature of the story and the inconsistent sense of tone negate the smattering of positives, though. Even with a lot of talent involved, Manpower never clicks.

Manpower appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a generally appealing presentation.

Sharpness usually appeared good. The film only suffered from a few slightly ill-defined shots, as the majority of the flick demonstrated nice delineation.

I saw no problems with jagged edges or shimmering, and the movie lacked edge haloes. Grain seemed appropriate and I witnessed no print flaws.

Blacks appeared deep and rich, while low-light shots demonstrated nice definition and clarity. The flick could come across as a bit too bright at times, though. Even with some anomalies, this remained a pretty good image.

Although the DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Manpower didn’t demonstrate anything special, it worked fine for its era and genre. Speech seemed slightly thin but was good for its age, as lines remained intelligible and clear.

Music demonstrated reasonable range. The score didn’t impress – and it seemed shrill during the opening credits - but it appeared acceptably bright.

Effects came across as reasonably accurate. Though they had little heft, they were clean and didn’t suffer from distortion or other concerns. The audio appeared positive for its era.

The disc comes with two animated shorts. We locate Snowtime for Comedy (7:15) and Joe Glow the Firefly (6:49).

With Snowtime, we see the antics of two dogs who romp in a frigid climate. It leans less cutesy than this implies, so while it never becomes a classic, it shows some clever beats.

In Glow, an insect explores the giant-to-him human world. This one definitely goes own a cutesy path and that makes it a bit cloying, though it still comes with a few laughs.

Despite a lot of talent in front of and behind the camera, Manpower seems too muddled to succeed. It fails in its attempts to meld genres and a cast of actors too old for their roles doesn’t help. The Blu-ray brings largely positive picture and audio along with minor supplements. I went into Manpower with high hopes but found disappointment.