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San Francisco (1936)
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Reviews Counted: 8
Fresh: 8
Rotten:0
Average Rating: 7.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: SAN FRANCISCO was one of the most successful picture of the 1930s, and the sources of its popularity are readily apparent to this day. Both Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy are excellent, with Gable... SAN FRANCISCO was one of the most successful picture of the 1930s, and the sources of its popularity are readily apparent to this day. Both Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy are excellent, with Gable playing Blackie Norton, a dashing, brawling, gambler with a big heart, and Tracy playing Nob Hill snob Jack Talbot, who vies with Blackie for the attentions of beauty Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald). MacDonald's voice is as good as gold as she sings the title song, arias, popular music, and religious tunes. MGM built genuine reproductions of preearthquake San Francisco for the sets, including landmarks that were destroyed in the 1906 natural disaster. The special effects are accomplished with an aplomb equal to anything produced previous to the digital era, re-creating the quake with alarming and frightening realism. And, unlike many subsequent disaster films, SAN FRANCISCO's plot is sufficiently engaging to make the film worthwhile even without the climactic catastrophe. With it, W.S. Van Dyke's SAN FRANCISCO becomes a fabulous melodrama that should not be missed. [More]
Starring: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt
Starring: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross, Al Shean
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Producer: John Emerson, Bernard Hyman
Screenwriter: Anita Loos, Erich Von Stroheim
Composer: Edward Ward
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Reviews for San Francisco
A huge blockbuster, this MGM melodrama is mostly known for its ten-minute recreation of the 1906 Earthquake, but it also has an emotionally engaging story and is extremely well-acted by Gable, Tracy, and Jeanette MacDonald, who sings the famous song.
..a big, brawling, boisterous, sentimental, touching, inspiring, thoroughly entertaining motion picture.
Gable, Tracy, McDonald singing — and an earthquake. Who could ask for anything more? A typical MGM extravaganza.
The most interesting thing about this film was its phenomenal re-enactment of the San Francisco earthquake.
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