Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film.

The tailcoat is custom made for renowned stage actor Paul Orman, who seeks to rekindle a romance with former flame Ethel, who is receptive.

However, Diane's friend Ellen, who is divorcing her husband for infidelity, dares her to examine the contents of Harry's topcoat.

When one man cannot find his wallet, the group hold a mock trial, with Larry as the defendant and Williams as the prosecutor.

The topcoat ends up in a second-hand shop, has an adventure with a tale featuring W. C. Fields, Phil Silvers and Margaret Dumont [see below]; where it is stolen by a thief.

A conman (Fields) buys the jacket from the second-hand store that acquired it from the rescue mission of the fourth tale, thinking that it is stuffed with money from its former owner, who, according to the crooked shop salesman (Silvers), was "a millionaire".

The sequence was written primarily by Bert Lawrence, Anne Wigton, William Morrow and Edmund Beloin, with director Mal St. Clair "advising (Duvivier) on gags and comedy routines for Fields and other comics."

Some sources indicate the "running time" was a convenient excuse; others among the cast were unhappy about the Fields sequence taking attention away from the rest of the film.

It was used in Kevin Burns' Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults, a 1997 television documentary spotlighting cut sequences from the studio's films.

Tales of Manhattan was Robeson's final attempt to work within Hollywood, after making only 12 movies and refusing lucrative film offers for over three years.

He initially thought that he and his associates could use the depiction of the plight of the rural Black poor—shown in the film as investing the bulk of their windfall in communal land and tools—to demonstrate a share-and-share-alike way of life.

Following its release, he held a press conference announcing that he would no longer act in Hollywood films because of the demeaning roles available to Black actors.

[3] Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times that "Tales of Manhattan is one of those rare films—a tricky departure from the norm, which, in spite of its five-ring-circus nature, achieves an impressive effect.

Neither profound nor very searching, it nevertheless manages to convey a gentle, detached comprehension of the irony and pity of life, and it constantly graples [sic] one's interest with its run of assorted incidents.