San Francisco
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Movie Reviews of San Francisco
Movie Review: Romantic drama, great acting and some of the greatest action sequences in the history of cinema !!!
Summary: 5 Stars
San Francisco remains of MGM's finest movie to this day. The movie boasts an awesome cast with great cinematography and choreography. Just the earthquake scenes alone are more than worth the price of admission!
But I am getting ahead of myself when I mention the earthquake scenes. San Francisco tells the story of a woman named Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald) who arrives in San Francisco seeking fame and fortune as a singer. She wants to sing opera; but when work is hard to find she accepts a job offer from Blackie Norton (Clark Gable) to sing in his saloon and nightclub. Of course, this displeases Father Tim (Spencer Tracy) and the tug of war begins between Blackie versus Father Tim--and Jack Burley of The Tivoli Opera House for Mary's employment--and her heart.
Mary Blake's character complicates things by being rather ambivalent; she loves Blackie's looks and charisma much more than she cares to admit, even to herself. Then again, Mary always wanted to sing at a prestigious opera house like The Tivoli. The situation becomes even stickier when Mary's love is also torn between Jack Burley and Blackie.
There's more to the plot; but what I've given you should be more than enough to whet your appetite to see this classic movie. The actors work so hard; and you really believe they are the characters they play because their convincing acting shines brightly. Excellent!
Naturally, there are many questions and problems to be addressed and resolved. Will Mary choose between Jack Burley's love and The Tivoli Opera House or will she ultimately decide to live her life with Blackie and work at his nightclub called The Paradise? Just how rough will things between Jackie and Father Tim get before Mary makes up her own mind? What about Blackie's run for city supervisor which his adversaries are so eager to scuttle? In addition, what happens to them all when the great earthquake of 1906 shatters the city? Will they all survive the quake? No spoilers here folks--watch the film and find out for yourselves! SMILE I don't want to ruin it for you with spoilers.
The choreography and cinematography exceed my expectations for a film from 1936; but, then again, this is MGM in its heyday and so of course these scenes offer some of the greatest of special effects of the day. The acting remains very convincing throughout the movie and the plot moves along nicely so you never feel the slightest bit of boredom.
The DVD comes with several extras; and some are more relevant to the film than others. I especially liked the TNT documentary on Clark Gable's career and personal life; and the TravelTalk shorts entitled Cavalcade of San Francisco and Night Descends on Treasure Island are excellent. There's also a cartoon entitled Bottles, too.
My only complaint ( and this is very minor) is that we hear Jeanette MacDonald sing "San Francisco" a good six or seven times during this two hour picture. By the fourth or fifth time around I had heard it enough. Four and one half stars for this review! (Sorry!)
I highly recommend San Francisco for fans of the great MGM films and for people who enjoy movies starring the immortal Clark Gable. Although Jeanette MacDonald stars in this film I can't quite call it a true MGM musical; there are two or three arias that Jeannette sings that just don't have that infectiously catchy melody to them but again this is minor. In addition, this film will also please people who enjoy drama.
Enjoy!
Movie Review: One of the muscles of Clark Gable.
Summary: 5 Stars
Before there was a Las Vegas, there was San Francisco: "sin city," the most corrupt town in the U.S.A., according to Father Tim Mullin (Spencer Tracy). It was filled of illegal gambling dens, like the one run by Blackie Norton (Clark Gable), Mullin's boyhood friend whom he has been trying to reform for years. When Norton hires Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald) to sing in his club, she seeks the guidance of Father Mullin to help her survive this den of iniquity. The plot is a rather forthright formula story of a tug-of-war romance between bad boy Blackie Norton and mama's boy Jack Burley, scion of a well-to -do family for the affections of singer Mary Blake. It's also a story of good vs. evil, the good being Father Mullen and the bad obviously being Norton.
Romance don't come like this no more and out of all the films that I've seen with Gable, this is his other shining moment, along with "Gone With The Wind". McDonald is one beautiful lady and she sings frequently in the film in that soprano operetta vocal style that apparently was popular back then, and there is even an overlong sequence where she plays Marguerite in Gounod's "Faust" and brings Blackie rather incredibly to tears. In a thankless role. Tracy is a natural actor and symbolizes the film's heavy religious overtones resulting in a most unbelievable conversion at the end. There is the scene where Jeneatte McDonald is having a 1 on 1 conversation with her future mother in law. Mrs. Bailey tells her that the "aristocracy" of San Francisco is not what people think. "They are a wild and crazy bunch living a sinful life with party's that last for days! She says. So you see the film wanted us to feel how society viewed others in those days.
Interesting enough, the special effects showing San Francisco April 18, 1906 Earthquake engulfed in flames following the quake and its aftermath were high tech in 1936 (a special effects tour de force for art directors Arnold Gillespie and his unaccredited associate James Basevi) and are still effective today. The quake takes place at a key point in the film toward the end. Because the audience becomes enthralled in what is taking place on the screen, the quake is totally unexpected--though waited for since the beginning of the movie. Director W.S. Van Dyke does a masterful job of bringing the quake to bear at just the right moment for full effect. Today's disaster flicks such as The Day After Tomorrow (Widescreen Edition) should take a lesson from this film because that won me over.
One of my favorite's scenes was when Blackie, was desperately searching for Mary in the rubble, at long last finds religion and prays to God for his sweetheart's salvation. At the end, an unidentified bit player shouts defiantly "We'll build a new San Francisco!" -- and by golly, they do!
Thanks Claire for sharing one of your favorites with me.
Movie Review: MGM All-Star Classic Still Shines!
Summary: 5 Stars
"San Francisco", MGM's 'Showcase' film of 1936, demonstrates why no other studio could 'touch' Metro at it's prime. Take the biggest star in Hollywood, team him with the 'Queen' of 1930s MGM musicals, add the greatest film actor of a generation in support, then top things off with a 'no-expense-spared' recreation of the most famous earthquake in American history, and an instant Classic was born!
Seventy years later, the film has lost little of it's luster; certainly the 'Message' is a bit heavy-handed, the long opera sequences may make some viewers cringe, and some of the effects (involving double exposures) seem quaint in an era of CGI...but Clark Gable still projects his signature cockiness and virility, Jeanette MacDonald is still radiant (and can sure belt out "San Francisco"), and Spencer Tracy is still magnificent (it is easy to see why he received a 'Best Actor' nomination, in what was obviously a supporting role; he easily steals the film, in every scene he's in).
Directed by the remarkable W.S. ('Woody') Van Dyke, a consummate craftsman, and one of MGM's fastest directors (contradictory terms, but he combined speed and style, effortlessly), with a screenplay, surprisingly, by future "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" author, Anita Loos (from a story by Robert Hopkins), "San Francisco" exudes confidence, from the riotously decadent New Year's Eve, 1905, opening scene, to the finale, as Gable, MacDonald, Tracy, and, apparently, most of the survivors of the earthquake and fire march to a hilltop, vowing to build a 'better' city, and singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as they view the smoking ruins, which dissolves into the 'modern' San Francisco of 1936.
Corny? Certainly! But undeniably rousing, as well!
The 'Special Features' are excellent, as well; the TNT documentary, "Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Clark Gable", while glossing over some 'seamier' chapters of Gable's life, does offer insights by the daughter he secretly fathered by Loretta Young, and the son he died before ever seeing...and the biography is VASTLY superior to the one offered in the "Gone with the Wind" Special Edition. An 'alternate ending' is barely different from the actual one, other than offering more views of the city, but the 1936 MGM cartoon ("Bottles") is astonishingly well-crafted and gorgeous in Technicolor, and two Technicolor 'TravelTalk' short features, from 1940, on San Francisco, and Treasure Island, at the time of the 1939-40 World Exposition, are both very entertaining and a visual 'time machine' back to a simpler era.
This is a wonderful DVD, certainly worth owning!
Movie Review: Great Actors, Great Performances, Good Story = Fine Film
Summary: 5 Stars
Though I can only imagine how terrifying the real San Francisco earthquake must have been, this certainly seems like a great depiction of what the real diaster could have been like--and without CG benefits we'd often use today! It seems great to have the quake sequences toward the end, with Spencer Tracy's few cameos as Father Mullin as just enough to suffiently portray the evils of the day just before the "big event."
First, Gable perfectly portrays Blackie Norton, a cynical, jaded casino & theater owner. Then Jeanette Macdonald, wonderful as Mary Blake, lovely in both looks & spirit. However, her lengthy opera performances should have been shortened as the rest of the film already showcases her gorgeous soprano voice.
Blackie's both lovestruck by Mary's beauty yet mystified by her piety, which he finds confusing yet makes him love her more--while she too feels confused at her own growing love for him. She leaves his showplace for the opera world, the separation helping Mary & Blackie see their increasing love. Blackie becomes a changed man after the quake, climaxing where he finds God, and they finally find their joyous love is permanent!
I LOVE hearing & rewinding Jeanette's powerful "San Francisco," her infectious joy making her have the audience join in hearty chorus. This is A TRUE HIGH POINT in the movie, which no doubt also caused city officials to name that THE CITY'S OFFICIAL SONG!! ("I left my Heart in San Francisco" was also so-declared in the 80s), but this one's the REAL sparky, toe-tapping celebration chorus! We have THIS film to thank for that--and for that alone I rate this 5 stars! It might not have the appeal for many modern viewers, but it's truly a great classic!
Movie Review: Good package of vintage MGM blockbuster
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazon's own reviewer perfectly captures the irresistable combination of schmaltz (the script), macho (Gable), piety (Tracy), extravagance (MacDonald) and special effects (the earthquake) which makes up this mighty entertainment, released to smash business in 1936. If ever a film demonstrated the craft of the MGM studios, this is it. The relationship between MacDonald and Gable is a tribute to their star acting, particularly hers, because it is not surprising to learn that Gable neither liked her nor wished to play second fiddle to a prima donna. The film is a wonderful showcase for her charms and she succeeds superbly. Her rousing rendition of the title song is still famous and she has one particularly charming scene with Jessie Ralph, the mother of the Nob Hill empresario who wants to marry her. That's the best straight scene in the film. The contrast between actor Tracy and star Gable is also effective and was subsequently repeated in other films later in the decade.
In contrast to many MGM DVDs, the print is better than adequate and there is a more generous list of extras than normal. First off is a TCM documentary on Gable which captures discreetly the sadnesss in his personal life, including a sensitive appearance by Judy Lewis, his daughter to Loretta Young. There are 2 technicolour short films on San Francisco which are fascinating records of the city in 1939. A fair MGM cartoon is included and the original trailer plus a cursory alternate ending.
All in all, this is an excellent package and very good value if purchased as part of the Clark Gable Signature Collection which sometimes can be purchased very cheaply.