Review of San Francisco (1936) by Jessicaann D — 08 Jul 2007

For all the faults in the plot and characters of this film, in the end it is a massive undertaking of an epic that takes chances and introduces new ideas of special effects into mainstream Hollywood.

To be honest, the first hour and forty minutes or so is pretty dull. It is the story of Blackie (Clark Gable) a bar owner and community leader who discovers a young new singer in Mary (Jeanette Macdonald) and eventually falls in love with her. However she is courted by another man and he is pressured by his best friend, Father Mullin (Spencer Tracy), to leave her be. For the majority of the film, Macdonald grates on your nerves and her singing rings in your eyes, not in a good way. Gable has that same old charm, but you never really get why he would like such a dull and prissy young woman. The best character in the film is Tracy's, he is a complex man who grew up on the rough streets but took an entirely different path than Blackie yet still understands both sides of life. Tracy was nominated for an Oscar for this role and you can easily see why, he commands the screen.

The last fifteen minutes or so of this film are remarkable. The earthquake of 1906 destroys the city and leaves our characters in disarray. The scenes capturing the earthquake are entirely believable and the special effects are eerily real (with the exception of one shot of Gable walking away from a large fire which was obviously filmed in front of a large projected image). The sound effects are groundbreaking and these final moments will shake you to the core.

All in all, a film with one hell of an ending and that's about it.