Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Howard Hawks
Starring: Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Frank Craven
From: United Artists
As I know some people will appreciate me viewing my first 30’s full-length feature film in a few months, this guided my decision to visit the Criterion Channel and I picked this out as it’s part of their current Howard Hawks collection. The plot and the cast intrigued.
Miriam Hopkins starred as Mary Rutledge, a dame who sailed to 1850’s San Francisco to meet her husband… who was murdered before she was arrived. She admits to being a gold-digger-Mary is a flawed character but that is a key plot point. She soon works at the Bella Donna, a seedy gambling joint in the titular Barbary Coast, the red-light district area of San Francisco at the time. That is run by Edward G. Robinson, dressed like a pirate! He wears frilly shirts and an earring in his left ear… of course, a love triangle forms with Joel McCrea’s character as she runs a rigged roulette wheel.
Whether in the day or foggy nights, there’s great ambiance brought to life in that wild city full of knaves & ruffians. The indoor sets were nice as well. The colorful characters amused me, especially Walter Brennan as OLD ATROCITY, a dude w/ an eyepatch who over-inflates his past exploits. A more minor character but an even funnier name is Donald Meek as SAWBUCK MCTAVISH.
More seriously, the highlights were Hopkins as a lady who was still sympathetic despite her flaws and despite his manner of appearance, Robinson was a real heel who bullies everyone around (even the mayor) to get his way as if he’s a 19th century version of Ken McElroy. Barbary Coast was a fun yarn which still had some decent melodrama in an uncommon setting. While not S-tier Hawks-to speak like the kids do now-the movie is still worthy of a shot if the premise sounds intriguing.
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