Barbary Coast

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Barbary Coast

1935,

1h 30m,

Adventure

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92%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Forced to remain in San Francisco after the murder of her fiancé, Mary Rutledge (Miriam Hopkins) takes a job in the saloon of powerful Louis Chamalis (Edward G. Robinson), the man responsible for the death of her intended. One afternoon while riding, Mary meets Easterner Jim Carmichael (Joel McCrea) and, attracted to him, pretends that she is a lady. Later at the saloon, Jim learns otherwise -- and despite losing all his money gambling, he remains at the saloon to pursue Mary.

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Andre Sennwald

New York Times

Mar 25, 2006

4/5

Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur hammer out a bouncing melodrama of San Francisco's sin and salad days in Barbary Coast.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Jan 1, 2000

A wide-open San Francisco, circa 1890, is the background for one of Howard Hawks's intelligent love triangles.

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Ann Ross

Maclean's Magazine

Jul 22, 2019

With Miriam Hopkins as a gold digger of '49. Edward Robinson as the Boss of San Francisco, and both worth watching.

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Helen Brown Norden

Vanity Fair

May 31, 2019

With a subject like the Barbary Coast, we should have been given a lot more color and sin, and I, for one, feed grossly cheated.

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Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Nov 21, 2017

Engaging tale mixes romance, historical film, and anti-dictator, pro-Freedom of the Press points of view.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Jul 12, 2008

B

It's an entertaining but lesser Hawks film, too conventional in its storytelling to kick up any dust.

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Finn G

Jan 6, 2017

Gold Rush western with a gritty love interest and a good turn for Edward G Robinson.

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Howard Hawks

Director

Miriam Hopkins

Mary "Swan" Rutledge

Edward G. Robinson

Luis Chamalis

Joel McCrea

Jim Carmichael

Walter Brennan

Old Atrocity

Frank Craven

Col. Marcus Aurelius Cobb

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Synopsis

Forced to remain in San Francisco after the murder of her fiancé, Mary Rutledge (Miriam Hopkins) takes a job in the saloon of powerful Louis Chamalis (Edward G. Robinson), the man responsible for the death of her intended. One afternoon while riding, Mary meets Easterner Jim Carmichael (Joel McCrea) and, attracted to him, pretends that she is a lady. Later at the saloon, Jim learns otherwise -- and despite losing all his money gambling, he remains at the saloon to pursue Mary.

Director: Howard Hawks
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn
Screenwriter: Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht
Production Co: Samuel Goldwyn Company, The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Genre: Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 13, 1935, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 14, 2020
Runtime: 1h 30m

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