IMDb >
Virginia City (1940)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsVirginia City (1940) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 7 | slideshow) |
      |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Release Date:
23 March 1940 (USA)
more
Tagline:
Go West!...to Virginia City...for excitement, for adventure, for primitive romance!!!
Plot:
Union officer Kerry Bradford escapes from Confederate Prison and is set to Virginia City in Nevada....
more
| add synopsis
NewsDesk:
User Comments:
Plot-heavy Flynn western with badly cast Hopkins and Bogart...
more (21 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Errol Flynn | ... | Captain Kerry Bradford |
 | Miriam Hopkins | ... | Julia Hayne |
 | Randolph Scott | ... | Captain Vance Irby |
 | Humphrey Bogart | ... | John Murrell |
| Frank McHugh | ... | Mr. Upjohn |
| Alan Hale | ... | Olaf 'Moose' Swenson |
| Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams | ... | 'Marblehead' |
| John Litel | ... | Thomas Marshall |
| Douglass Dumbrille | ... | Major Drewery (as Douglas Dumbrille) |
| Moroni Olsen | ... | Dr. Robert Cameron |
| Russell Hicks | ... | John Armistead |
| Dickie Jones | ... | Cobby Gill |
| Frank Wilcox | ... | Union Outpost Soldier |
| Russell Simpson | ... | Frank Gaylord |
| Victor Kilian | ... | Abraham Lincoln |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
USA:121 min | West Germany:105 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Black and White (Sepiatone)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
First film written by Howard Koch, although he didn't get screen credit.
more
Goofs:
Factual errors: In one scene in Virginia City a speaker tells the crowd the current news. He mentions Vicksburg being captured at the same time Savannah was. Vicksburg was captured in 1863 while the battle of Gettysburg was fought.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
more
Soundtrack:
Can-Can Instrumental
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (21 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Virginia City (1940) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Adventures of Frank and Jesse James | The Phantom Rider | Nevada City | Custer's Last Stand | Ghost of Zorro |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Action section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
As if to signal that the plot of VIRGINIA CITY would be borrowing many elements from previous Warner westerns, this one begins with stock footage from other studio westerns before settling down to tell a story that goes off in several different directions but remains in desperate need of a cohesive plot.
The first plot involves the greed for gold that has a Mexican bandit (HUMPHREY BOGART) interfering with the plans of ERROL FLYNN and RANDOLPH SCOTT involving the shipment of gold from Virginia City to aid the losing Southern cause during the Civil War. The second, is a lame romantic trio wherein Flynn and Scott are vying for the affections of a dance hall girl who is really a Southern spy (MIRIAM HOPKINS). The third plot concerns subsidiary characters, including a little boy (DICKIE JONES) who is aiding the rebels and meets an untimely death--just like the little boy in DODGE CITY, Flynn's bigger and better western.
So many remarks here comment on Max Steiner's score, but most of it includes snippets of Southern folk tunes for the Confededracy and/or Northern tunes for the Union music and very little of the score is original background material. Only the main theme heard over the credits is the single original composition for the whole film. The score, in other words, has tough competition from the lusty music he wrote for DODGE CITY, a far more complex and memorable score.
But the film's main drawback, aside from a very busy plot that takes two hours to unravel, is the miscasting of Miss Hopkins as singer and dancer at a saloon wherein the stage looks suspiciously like the same one used for Ann Sheridan's saloon gal in DODGE CITY. Hopkins can barely carry a tune and is clearly a bit over-aged for this kind of role. The other unfortunate miscasting is Humphrey Bogart as a Mexican bandit giving accented orders to his henchmen in an accent that barely conceals his Brooklynesque speech. Bogie looks extremely uncomfortable in the role.
Flynn is fine, managing to disguise the fact that there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Hopkins, who eyes him with cold disdain for the climactic close-up of the two holding hands. What were they thinking? The usual Warner stable of contract players delivers their lines on cue with panache but it's really no use. It's all been done before and doesn't even have the benefit of Technicolor to make good use of those striking outdoor location sites.
Only die-hard fans of Flynn and Scott will worship this one.