Hollywood Career
Manners was serendipitously "discovered" by the film director James Whale at a Hollywood party, and within a few years, he was a popular leading man, playing opposite such up and coming actresses as Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Stuart, Myrna Loy, Loretta Young, and Ann Dvorak, and he was paired several times with Helen Chandler.
His very first film, directed by Whale, was unfortunately destroyed before having been released, but with his second movie, Journey's End (1930), The New York Times and Variety officially bestowed their imprimatur upon the fledgling film actor. His subsequent film appearances in movies made at RKO Radio Pictures and Warner Brothers were critically praised (again including The New York Times, an early and prescient adherent of his acting abilities), and he was contracted by the latter studio.
In late 1930, he filmed his most famous role, as the hero John Harker (in the 1897 novel Dracula, the character's first name is Jonathan) opposite Bela Lugosi, in Universal's 1931 horror classic, Dracula. Until the end of his life, Manners continued to receive fan mail from fans of the movie even though he claimed to have never seen it.
Numerous films followed. In only his tenth movie, he co-starred with one of the "grand dames of the silver screen," Barbara Stanwyck, in Frank Capra's critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful The Miracle Woman (1931), and the movie's failure to attract an audience disappointed Capra tremendously. But The New York Times, again lauding Manners, featured this tribute, "Manners does exceptionally well with this sympathetic assignment."
During his brief tenure at Warners, which loaned him out to other studios quite frequently, Manners progressed from callow featured actor and leading man to finally attaining star stature with the lead in Crooner (1932). Shortly thereafter, he began to freelance with much success.
One of the final films he made before the termination of his Warner Bros. contract, was RKO's A Bill of Divorcement. His co-star Katharine Hepburn commented that, "David was a big star. I was so nervous working with him... He was... just a dear to work with and a totally professional and talented actor."
One ingenue commented, "David wasn't in the one scene I did in Roman Scandals, but he watched every scene shot. He was tremendously enthusiastic, and he...invited me to supper. ... He was mobbed everywhere. All the time he kept telling me I had style and personality. He said if I persevered I'd get somewhere in Hollywood. Not once did he ever hint that he'd like to take me home to his boudoir. ... He was so utterly charming." That ingenue was Lucille Ball.
Many studios vied for his talent and services besides RKO and Warner Brothers, including Columbia, Universal, Paramount, Fox Film Corporation, Tiffany Pictures, and United Artists.
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