Review of San Francisco (1936) by Rick R — 08 Jun 2009
San Francisco (1936).
It's the classic MGM bout between bad-boy Clark Gable and good boy Spencer Tracy. In this movie, they were childhood friends. This time Tracy plays Father Mullin and Gable plays Blacky Norton, the owner of a saloon on the Barbary Coast.
Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald) is a young innocent who needs a job as a singer, who has been classically trained, where Blacky wants to see if her legs can bring in the customers. I know that MGM wanted to give Jeanette MacDonald the work and show how classy a movie company they are, but frankly some of that opera singing was unnecessary, and the chemistry between Mary and Blacky looks totally fake too. Of course Blacky gets reformed with the help of the right woman.
The best part of this movie though, is the special effects showing the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed San Francisco and the resilient residence ready to build it back up.
This review of San Francisco (1936) was written by Rick R on 08 Jun 2009.
San Francisco has generally received positive reviews.
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