Post by petrolino on Oct 20, 2017 21:26:35 GMT
The historical adventure 'Barbary Coast' tells the fortunes of gold-digger Mary 'Swan' Routledge (Miriam Hopkins) who takes a boat to San Francisco Bay to meet up with her fiance. Upon her arrival, Swan learns of her future husband's death so she sets out to investigate the matter accompanied by journalist Colonel Marcus Aurelius Cobb (Frank Craven).
'Barbary Coast' is set in 1850 during the California Gold Rush. News of the arrival of a white woman spreads as quickly as word of gold in 19th century San Francisco. Men wrestle each other to lay claim to Swan's hand in marriage but she already has one man in mind, Chinese swindler Louis Chamalis (Edward G. Robinson). It's a mutual appreciation as Louis admires Swan's ability to scam miners at the roulette wheel. Between them, they could ruin every man in the city.
'Barbary Coast' is inspired by the bestselling book 'The Barbary Coast' (1933) by Herbert Asbury, a ex-serviceman from Missouri whose book 'The Gangs Of New York : An Informal History Of The Underworld' (1928) was brought to the screen by Martin Scorsese in 2002. The screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur tackles a range of social issues and celebrates language and the written word. During one scene in which prejudice and corruption are exposed, Chamalis publicly humiliates a bigoted judge who's susceptible to bribery. The writers make strong, open statements about the importance of a free press, the role of crusading journalists and the need for equality before the law.
Miriam Hopkins mounts an uncomfortable display as sickening cheat Swan and Edward G. Robinson is deadly as the blinkered Chamalis who recognises just one way of survival for anyone who isn't top of the food chain. They're flanked by an excellent support cast led by Frank Craven as blunted journalist Auerlius Cobb, Brian Donlevy as bone-headed thug Knuckles Jacoby, Walter Brennan as slimy worm Old Atrocity, Donald Meek as captive idealist Sawbuck McTavish and Joel McCrea as sensitive poet Jim Carmichael in this handsome action melodrama from Howard Hawks.
"Newspaper men are either drunkards or idealists, Miss Rutledge. I'm afraid I'm both."
'Barbary Coast' is set in 1850 during the California Gold Rush. News of the arrival of a white woman spreads as quickly as word of gold in 19th century San Francisco. Men wrestle each other to lay claim to Swan's hand in marriage but she already has one man in mind, Chinese swindler Louis Chamalis (Edward G. Robinson). It's a mutual appreciation as Louis admires Swan's ability to scam miners at the roulette wheel. Between them, they could ruin every man in the city.
Edward G. Robinson
'Barbary Coast' is inspired by the bestselling book 'The Barbary Coast' (1933) by Herbert Asbury, a ex-serviceman from Missouri whose book 'The Gangs Of New York : An Informal History Of The Underworld' (1928) was brought to the screen by Martin Scorsese in 2002. The screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur tackles a range of social issues and celebrates language and the written word. During one scene in which prejudice and corruption are exposed, Chamalis publicly humiliates a bigoted judge who's susceptible to bribery. The writers make strong, open statements about the importance of a free press, the role of crusading journalists and the need for equality before the law.
"Miriam Hopkins, glitteringly lovely and massively moving, gives the performance of a lifetime as “Swan,” who beds with a dishonest man for security and loses her heart to an honest, poetically minded man in Barbary Coast, one of the most dazzling dramatic entertainments of the Great Depression. The film was written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and directed in the main by Howard Hawks, who replaced William Wyler."
- Dennis Grunes, 'A Short Chronology Of World Cinema'
- Dennis Grunes, 'A Short Chronology Of World Cinema'
Miriam Hopkins mounts an uncomfortable display as sickening cheat Swan and Edward G. Robinson is deadly as the blinkered Chamalis who recognises just one way of survival for anyone who isn't top of the food chain. They're flanked by an excellent support cast led by Frank Craven as blunted journalist Auerlius Cobb, Brian Donlevy as bone-headed thug Knuckles Jacoby, Walter Brennan as slimy worm Old Atrocity, Donald Meek as captive idealist Sawbuck McTavish and Joel McCrea as sensitive poet Jim Carmichael in this handsome action melodrama from Howard Hawks.
