GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

utgard14 Lesser John Wayne vehicle with Duke playing a character named...Duke. Set in early Twentieth Century San Francisco (a popular setting for many movies made during the classic Hollywood era), Duke plays a gambler who falls for a saloon singer (a miscast Ann Dvorak) and crosses swords with accented villain Joseph Schildkraut, who believes the lady belongs to him. Dvorak, about ten years past her prime (career-wise not looks; she was still lovely) was a poor fit for a sultry singer that turns men's heads. By contrast, Virginia Grey appears in a supporting role and seems a much better fit for the lead role. Dvorak also has remarkably little chemistry with John Wayne. Not to bag on her. She was a great actress, particularly in her pre-Code films where she had grittier roles than this. Schildkraut was a decent actor who certainly could make you hate him. But every film I've seen where Duke's opponent is a wimpy tycoon or bureaucrat or something always seems to suffer for it. The villain in a John Wayne movie needs to be intimidating. This guy just isn't. Creepy at best. For his part, Duke does fine. Not really his type of role as written on the page but he sort of makes it his. Worth a look for Wayne fans but it's not one of his best.

classicsoncall With all the songs and can-can dance scenes this film would almost qualify as a musical. The story takes place in San Francisco at the turn of the century, and I should have picked up on the date when it was mentioned but I never gave it a second thought. It was the year of the great earthquake, 1906, and it figures somewhat prominently during the latter part of the picture, though it couldn't shake Duke Fergus's resolve to win the trophy he came back for.His nickname was the Duke, and even though he didn't use that name in very many of his pictures, John Wayne was Duke Fergus in this one, a Montana cowboy who wins and loses a small fortune of sixteen thousand dollars on his first trip to San Francisco to collect on a horse trade. A newspaper reporter from the San Francisco Star called him the 'King of Luck' when he cleaned up at the Eldorado, and then partied his way up and down Pacific Street with winning hands at the competition. Smitten with saloon gal Flaxen Tarry (Ann Dvorak), Duke winds up leaving town with a vow to return and make his mark after Tarry's main man Tito Morrell (Joseph Schildkraut) busts him at the poker table.It was cool to see William Frawley here as Duke's sidekick and gambling mentor Wolf Wiley. Frawley seems to be one of those actors that no matter what year he appeared in a picture, he always looks the same as Ricky and Lucy's next door neighbor. It's like he was never young and never ages. At least that's the way it strikes me, but I'm still looking to a capture an early flick in which he might have appeared youthful. In the story, Wolf seems to know all the transplanted gamblers like Calico Jim (Paul Fix) and Horseshoe Brown (Al Murphy). Speaking of which, actor Marc Lawrence probably has one of the shortest ever credited film appearances here, actually counting down his thirty seconds of screen time before the Duke shoots him for dirty dealing.Well the love triangle, if you want to call it that, between Flaxen, Tito and the Duke will keep you guessing how it will turn out right till the very end. Wayne's character came in with a winner take all attitude right from the start, but I have to say, I thought the singer would have stuck it out at the Eldorado after all the fireworks settled down. You know, we never did get to see the Duke's cabin back in Montana, so who knows. Maybe after one look, Miss Tarry might have high tailed it back to the city by the bay.

JohnHowardReid In Republic's musical remake of "San Francisco", the songs are mostly handled by Ann Dvorak, although Virginia Grey also has two or three. As might be expected, production values are extremely lavish by Republic's usual standards. The earthquake is spectacularly staged, even though it occupies less screen footage than the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer version. The film also benefits greatly from Robert De Grasse's expert photography. He even manages to make Ann Dvorak look enticingly attractive. Her Adele Palmer costumes also help. Joseph Kane's direction rises well above his usual humble standard, making full use of the spectacular sets with effective crane and tracking shots. Dick Van Enger's snappy film editing also helps. The support cast headed by Joseph Schildkraut and Paul Fix is A-1. Snappy musical numbers with their nice chorus lines and zippy score also come as a nice surprise. And even the dialogue is remarkably bright and with-it by Republic standards. Altogether a most enjoyable effort which actually seems to improve on subsequent viewings.

ianlouisiana If you want to see John Wayne paddling in the Pacific Ocean with his boots off this may be your only chance.Pleasingly named "Duke" in "Flame of the Barbary Coast",Mr Wayne cuts a fine figure amongst the stone gamblers in the casinos as he goes to the big city to collect a debt from saloon owner Mr J.Schildkraut(looking unnervingly like TV's Sherlock Holmes Jeremy Brett).The two men turn out to be rivals for the hand of Miss A.Dvorak as chanteuse Flaxen Tarry. This is a movie full of energy and movement.As Duke and Flaxen tour the gambling houses,winning - courtesy of her preventing the croupiers from cheating - a large wedge, they are followed by an increasingly noisy entourage like a conga line,bustling with excitement.Arriving back at Schildkraut's casino,Duke flashes his cash and buys everybody drinks. The next morning he ill - advisedly accepts Schildkraut's challenge to a game of Stud and is cleared out,left only with a return ticket to Montana.Undeterred and in lurve with Flaxen,he takes poker lessons,sells up his herd and - with his card - coach on hand - returns to San Francisco to win his money back and his gal at the same time. Republic make a surprisingly good fist of the 1906 earthquake,Flaxen is photogenically injured and Duke takes her off to Montana to get the good country air into her lungs.Mr Schildkraut is surprisingly sporting about the whole thing.Put this way,the movie might seem a little bit frothy and trivial,but it is given body by the performances of the leads,Mr Schildkraut in particular in a role that might have been written for Clark Gable,a charismatic mixture of charm and menace. Perhaps not writ large on Mr Wayne's C.V.,"Flame of the Barbary Coast" is nevertheless an enjoyable,well - made and worthwhile movie.In it one can see the nascent wry,stubborn and sometimes wrong - headed persona Mr Wayne was develop so successfully and use for the rest of his career.