Barbary Coast (film)
| Barbary Coast | |
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1935 Theatrical Poster
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Written by |
Ben Hecht Charles MacArthur |
| Starring |
Miriam Hopkins Edward G. Robinson Joel McCrea Frank Craven |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Ray June |
| Edited by | Edward Curtiss |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million |
Barbary Coast is a 1935 American historical drama film directed by Howard Hawks. Shot in black-and-white and set in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era, the film combines elements of crime, Western, melodrama and adventure genres, features a wide range of actors, from good-guy Joel McCrea to bad-boy Edward G. Robinson, and stars Miriam Hopkins in the leading role as Mary 'Swan' Rutledge. In an early, uncredited appearance, David Niven can be spotted playing a drunken sailor being thrown out of a bar.
On a foggy night in 1850, Mary Rutledge (Miriam Hopkins), accompanied by retired Colonel Marcus Aurelius Cobb (Frank Craven), arrives in San Francisco Bay aboard the Flying Cloud. A , she has come to wed the wealthy owner of a local saloon. The men at the wharf reluctantly inform her that her fiancé is dead, murdered most likely by Louis Chamalis (Edward G. Robinson), the powerful owner of the Bella Donna restaurant and gambling house. Mary is upset, but quickly pulls herself together and asks the way to the Bella Donna.
Mary meets Chamalis and agrees to be his companion, not only for economic reasons (as an attraction, she helps draw in customers), but for personal pleasure as well. Chamalis gives her the name 'Swan' and she becomes his female escort. She accompanies him on promenades in town and he showers her with extravagant gifts. Their relationship sours quickly, however, as Swan is angered by Chamalis's destructive power-mongering. She does not, however, mind running a crooked roulette wheel and cheating the miners out of their gold.
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