Barbary Coast

1935
Approved
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

Edward G. Robinson, Miriam Hopkins, and Joel McCrea in Barbary Coast (1935)

Honest Plush Brannon is a con-man thrown out of the Barbary Coast in San Francisco in the 1880s and headed for the gold rush region of Nevada. He discovers a real mine which lead to several complications.

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Adventure Drama Romance Western

Mary Rutledge arrives from the East, finds her fiance dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Louis Charnalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in 1850s San Francisco.Mary Rutledge arrives from the East, finds her fiance dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Louis Charnalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in 1850s San Francisco.Mary Rutledge arrives from the East, finds her fiance dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Louis Charnalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in 1850s San Francisco.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
The famous uncredited early David Niven appearance can require several viewings to spot. It is about twelve minutes into the film, as Mary is led along the street and Old Atrocity (Walter Brennan) says "Make way for a lady!". Niven, wearing a peaked cap with a coat over his left arm, says in his best Cockney accent: "Oright- oright!" and "this is worse than the Barbary Coast in Africa" as he leaves the saloon with the main group in front of him.

Quotes
Mary 'Swan' Rutledge: I see a lot of fog and a few lights. I like when life's hidden. Gives you a chance to imagine nice things. Nicer than they are.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue: Gold

Out of California in 1849 came the cry that lured the adventurous from the four corners of the earth.

Over the Rockies in covered wagons they came, and around the Horn in square-rigged ships.

Connections
Edited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)

Soundtracks
Oh, Susanna
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster

User reviews39

Review

Featured review

7/10

Barbary Coast review

When a woman arrives in San Francisco during the height of the Klondike gold rush to find her mail-order fiancé dead she takes up with a shady - and jealous - casino owner before falling for an honest prospector. Although he sports an ear-ring and walks around like he's waiting for the rest of his pirate fancy-dress costume to turn up, Edward G. Robinson pretty much just does his usual gangster routine in Barbary Coast. Not that there's anything wrong with that: his controlling mob boss Louis Chamalis, is actually given a pleasingly sly sense of humour and depth of character, and is also given the opportunity to go out with some class when he meets his inevitable fate. Director Howard Hawks creates a wonderfully evocative portrait of a muddy, fog-bound San Francisco filled with morally compromised larger-than-life characters. Recommended.