Barbary Coast (1935)

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 San Francisco in the 1850s. She... See full summary »

Directors:

Howard Hawks, William Wyler (uncredited)

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screen play), Charles MacArthur (screen play)

Stars:

Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel McCrea

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Miriam Hopkins	...	Mary 'Swan' Rutledge
Edward G. Robinson	...	Luis Chamalis
Joel McCrea	...	Jim Carmichael
Walter Brennan	...	Old Atrocity
Frank Craven	...	Col. Marcus Aurelius Cobb
Brian Donlevy	...	Knuckles Jacoby
Clyde Cook	...	Oakie
Harry Carey	...	Jed Slocum
Matt McHugh	...	Broncho
Donald Meek	...	Sawbuck McTavish
Rollo Lloyd	...	Wigham
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Judge Harper
Roger Gray	...	Sandy Ferguson

Storyline

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 San Francisco in the 1850s. She falls in love with miner Carmichael and takes his gold dust at the wheel. She goes after him, Louis goes after her with intent to harm Carmichael.

---

Plot Keywords:

begins with historical notes | man wearing an eye patch | sailing in fog | foghorn | signal light | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 1935 (France)

Also Known As:

Port of Wickedness

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$778,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel McCrea's role was initially intended for Gary Cooper.

---

Quotes

Jim Carmichael: No complaints. Wisdom was never bought at so cheap a price.

---

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 Spisok korabley (2008)

---

Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

How did this one make it past the censors?

Even though Barbary Coast came out after the restrictive Hays Code, it is one nasty movie! Imagine what they could have filmed if the censors hadn't been in play!

Miriam Hopkins arrives in San Francisco in the 1850s. She thinks she'll get married and start a respectable new life. Instead, her fiancé is dead, and her only option to survive is to accept casino owner Edward G. Robinson's offer. She becomes his mistress and works in the casino to help drum up business. Joel McCrea is honest, kind, and a hard worker-everything Eddy G isn't-and it isn't long before Miriam falls in love with him. Will Eddy G let her go without a fight?

The film feels like a pre-code movie, since the entire setting is in an unsavory part of town. There are drunks, gamblers, prostitutes, and criminals. There's violence, sex, and murder, and it's a very exciting ride! Many movies that take place in the mid-1800s are Wild West films, but in this different setting, it's interesting to see the still-rowdy behavior.

The famous trivia to come out of this film is that it was one of David Niven's first movies. He plays a drunken sailor, but apparently you'll have to watch the movie a few times to catch him. I knew the trivia and still didn't spot him on the first go-around. If you like a little naughtiness in your classics, you won't mind watching this one over and over to try and see him!