The Barbary Coast

Director: Howard Hawks Howard Hawks

Overview

It's the wild and woolly waterfront world of San Francisco in the late 1800s in this rambling tale of an outrageous nightclub owner (Edward G. Robinson) and his efforts at wooing lovely Mary Rutledge (Miriam Hopkins), a lovely Eastern lass left to her own devices in the rowdy port city. The innocent babe loses that innocence when she becomes a kept lady, running the roulette wheel in Robinson's nightclub. The plot matures when Mary falls in love with an honest and upright gold miner. When the lovers are discovered during a fateful tryst, they flee the evil Robinson, hoping to escape as stowaways aboard a departing ship. Robinson is magnificent in this ruffian role. This action-filled adventure is suitable for the whole family.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/14/2015
UPC:	0888574144654
Original Release:	1935
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	6,977

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Edward G. Robinson	Luis Chamalis
Miriam Hopkins	Mary 'Swan' Rutledge
Joel McCrea	Jim Carmichael
Walter Brennan	Old Atrocity
Frank Craven	Col. Marcus Aurelius Cobb
Brian Donlevy	Knuckles
Clyde Cook	Oakie
Harry Carey	Slocum
Matt McHugh	Broncho
Otto Hoffman	Peebles
Rollo Lloyd	Wigham
J.M. Kerrigan	Judge Harper
Donald Meek	McTavish
Roger Gray	Sandy Ferguson
Wong Chung	Ah Wing
Russ Powell	Sheriff,Sheriff
Fredrik Vogeding	Ship's Captain
Dave Wengren	1st Mate
Anders Van Haden	McCready, 2nd Mate
Jules Cowles	Pilot
Cyril Thornton	Steward
Clarence Wertz	Drunk
Harry Semels	Lookout
Bert Sprotte	Passenger
Claude Payton	Passenger
Frank Benson	Passenger
Bob Stevenson	Passenger
David Niven	Sailor Thrown Out of Saloon
Constantine Romanoff	Bouncer
Victor Potel	Wilkins
Patricia Farley	Dance Hall Girl
Hank Mann	Waiter
Doc Wilson	Waiter
Harry Holman	Mayor
Ethel Wales	Mayor's Wife
Herman Bing	Fish Peddler
Kit Guard	Kibitzer
Jim Thorpe	Indian
Tom London	Ringsider

Technical Credits

Samuel Goldwyn	Producer
Howard Hawks	Director

Editorial Reviews

The Barbary Coast is not a great movie, but it's one with a lot of energy and snap in it, and that may be enough for many viewers to overlook its flaws. Ascribe to writers Ben Hecht and Chales MacArthur many of its delights as well as many of its flaws. Coast abounds with the one-two punch dialogue that is the scriptwriting team's hallmark. It's got a spice to it, and a flair, and even if it doesn't necessarily sound right for the period, it's awfully hard to resist. Certainly, the actors seem to savor it, wrapping their tongues around the dialogue and spitting it out with gusto and relish. And a lot of that dialogue accompanies an interesting story about a woman who arrives in a corrupt town only to discover that her fiancé is dead and she has to decide how corrupt she will allow herself to be to survive. Unfortunately, it also has another story to tell, that of this same woman falling for a decent, poetic man -- and here it runs aground. Director Howard Hawks works as much of his magic as he can on the piece, but it's clear his sympathies lie with the more raucous, lively, raffish half of the picture. And with Edward G. Robinson on hand to lead that part of the story, who can blame him? As the bastion of the "good" side of the story, Joel McCrea is fine, but no competition for Robinson. Straddling both halves, Miriam Hopkins is delightful. Not a total winner, Coast is still worth catching.