{"id":39745,"date":"2017-12-07T14:58:44","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T21:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39745"},"modified":"2020-12-02T12:34:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T19:34:59","slug":"barbary-coast-1935","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39745","title":{"rendered":"Barbary Coast (1935)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;San Francisco is no place for a bad loser &#8212; man or woman.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Poster-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-39746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Poster-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Poster-82x128.jpg 82w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAccompanied by a retired colonel (Frank Craven), a single woman (Miriam Hopkins) sails to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, hoping to marry a wealthy man sight unseen. After learning her fianc\u00e9 has been killed in a lawless dispute, the local crime-boss (Edward G. Robinson) offers Hopkins work in his corrupt saloon, hoping she&#8217;ll come to love him &#8212; but Hopkins instead loses her heart to a poetic goldminer (Joel McCrea).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brian Donlevy Films<\/li>\n<li>Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson Films<\/li>\n<li>Feminism and Women&#8217;s Issues<\/li>\n<li>Gold Diggers<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Howard Hawks Films<\/li>\n<li>Joel McCrea Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Mining Towns<\/li>\n<li>Miriam Hopkins Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<li>Westerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nHoward Hawks directed this <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Barbary_Coast\">cryptically titled<\/a> historical drama which manages to cover an enormous amount of dramatic territory &#8212; mistaken identities, unrequited love, gold-digging, goldmining, feminism, vigilante justice, corruption, and freedom of speech, to name just a few topics &#8212; in its 91 minute running time. Robinson is suitably cast as a power-hungry crime-lord who wants to possess the most beautiful creature to enter &#8220;his&#8221; town in recent years: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Robinson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Robinson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Robinson.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Robinson-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Robinson-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Robinson-357x270.png 357w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; speaking of which, there are some uncomfortably dated moments early in the film when much is made of Hopkins being an enormously desirable WHITE woman (after the camera has panned past attractive women with darker skin), as well as a scene openly mocking Chinese immigrants&#8217; presumed beliefs about wearing a braided queue to get into heaven (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/what-is-a-queue-195402\">see here<\/a> for a more accurate history of this hairstyle). With these caveats aside, the cinematography is atmospheric, and the story is reasonably engaging &#8212; particularly the critical subplot about Craven&#8217;s attempts to start an honest newspaper in a town that would rather keep its law and order tactics secret. (The more things change&#8230;) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39748\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography2-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Cinematography2-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Walter Brennan as Old Atrocity<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Brennan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Brennan.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"544\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Brennan.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Brennan-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Barbary-Coast-Brennan-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though Hawks fans will surely want to check it out. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0026097\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1935\/10\/14\/archives\/barbary-coast-a-thumping-melodrama-of-the-gold-rush-days-charlie.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/68110\/barbary-coast#articles-reviews?articleId=245785\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;San Francisco is no place for a bad loser &#8212; man or woman.&#8221; Synopsis: Accompanied by a retired colonel (Frank Craven), a single woman (Miriam Hopkins) sails to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, hoping to marry a wealthy man sight unseen. After learning her fianc\u00e9 has been killed in a lawless dispute, the local crime-boss (Edward G. Robinson) offers Hopkins work in his corrupt saloon, hoping she&#8217;ll come to love him &#8212; but Hopkins instead loses her heart to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39745\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39745"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55951,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39745\/revisions\/55951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}