| San Francisco | |
|---|---|
 Original Film Poster |
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| Directed by | Woody Van Dyke |
| Produced by | John Emerson Bernard H. Hyman |
| Written by | Robert E. Hopkins |
| Starring | Clark Gable Jeanette MacDonald Spencer Tracy |
| Music by | Walter Jurmann Bronislaw Kaper Edward Ward |
| Cinematography | Oliver T. Marsh |
| Studio | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | June 26, 1936 |
| Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
San Francisco is a 1936 drama-adventure film directed by Woody Van Dyke, based on the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The film, which was the top grossing movie of that year,[1] stars Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, and Spencer Tracy. The then very popular singing of MacDonald helped make this film a hit, coming on the heels of her other 1936 blockbuster, Rose Marie. The Internet Movie Database reports that famous silent film directors D. W. Griffith and Erich von Stroheim contributed to the screenplay without screen credit. Griffith also helped direct the famous earthquake sequence.[2]
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"Blackie" Norton (Clark Gable), a saloonkeeper and gambler in the notorious Barbary Coast, Norton owns the Paradise Club on Pacific Street. He hires a promising but impoverished classically-trained singer from Benson, Colorado, Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald). She becomes a star attraction at the Paradise, and a romance develops between Blackie and Mary. The Professor (Al Shean) can tell Mary has a professionally trained voice. Mat (Ted Healy) feels Mary is not going to stay on the "Coast." Complications arise when she is offered an opportunity to sing in the opera. Mary is hired by the Tivoli Opera House on Market Street. She becomes involved with Nob Hill scion Jack Burley (Jack Holt). Meanwhile, Blackie's childhood friend, Roman Catholic Father Tim Mullen (Spencer Tracy), keeps trying to reform him, while the other nightclub owners attempt to convince Norton to run for the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors in order to protect their crooked interests. Norton knocks out a heckler during a speech in Golden Gate Park. Blackie wants to stop Mary singing at the Tivoli, he hears her and does not stop the opera. Mary meets Burley's mother (Jessie Ralph) at her Nob Hill mansion. She tells Mary, she started out as Massie, the washerwoman in 1850 on Portsmouth Square; then, she married the elder Burley. Despite Father Tim's best efforts, Blackie remains a jaunty Barbary Coast atheist. However, Father Tim tells Mary that the new church organ was paid for by Blackie. Mary returns to the Paradise and is dressed skimpy; Father Tim takes her from the Paradise and Blackie. On order of Burley, April 17, 1906 the San Francisco Police Department padlocks the Paradise. Mary sings the song San Francisco and wins the Chicken's Ball for the Paradise; Blackie refuses the prize money. Then, at 5:13 a.m. April 18, 1906, the earthquake hits and then the fires erupt. The water mains are broken. Mat has been taken from the destroyed Hall of Justice on Washington Street; a nurse tells Blackie, Mat will not survive, as Mat says he was wrong about Mary. Blackie goes to Nob Hill and sees Mrs. Burley (she senses her son has died, and Blackie saw the dead Burley) as the US Army troops from the Presidio prepare to blow up the mansions as fire breaks. Father Tim takes Blackie to Golden Gate Park. Blackie sinks to his knees and finds God upon discovering that Mary survived. Men yell, "The fire's out!" and "We'll build a new San Francisco!" The people march from Golden Gate Park and the smoldering ruins dissolve into the San Francisco of the mid 1930's.
The earthquake montage sequence was created by montage expert Slavko Vorkapich. The Barbary Coast barroom set was built on a special platform that rocked and shook to simulate the historical temblor. (Similar sets were built for the 1974 disaster film Earthquake).
There are two versions of the ending. The original release features a stylish montage of then-current (1936) scenes of a bustling San Francisco, including Market Street and the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. When the film was re-released in 1948, it was thought these scenes were dated and the film fades out on a single long shot of the modern business district. However, the TV and 16mm versions of the film seen in the 1950s and 60s were struck from the original version which includes the montage. The current DVD and cable version features the shorter, 1948 version.[3]
The title song, composed by Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Jurmann with lyrics by Gus Kahn, is sung by Jeanette MacDonald a half-dozen times in the film, and becomes an anthem for the survivors of the earthquake. It is now a popular sentimental sing-along at public events such as the city's annual earthquake commemoration. It is one of two official city songs, along with "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."[4] Years later, Judy Garland added the song to her concert repertoire, with a new introduction that starts, "I never will forget Jeanette MacDonald. Just to think of her it gives my heart a pang. I never will forget how that brave Jeanette. Just stood there in the ruins and sang. A-a-a-and sang... San Francisco Open Your Golden Gate." Judy goes on to sing of the Cable Cars and Market Street. It was also sung by the cast of Beach Blanket Babylon at Candlestick Park prior to Game 3 of the 1989 World Series on October 27, 1989, ten days following the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
The words sang by Mary Blake (Jeanette MacDonald) at the Paradise with the Professor (Al Shean) and at the Chicken's Ball on the morning of April 18, 1906.
Early in the film the song "The Darktown Strutters Ball" can be heard. The trouble is that the song was written in 1917 and the title card plainly says December 31, 1905 and April 18, 1906.
The song is played after every score by the NFL's San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park.
It was the Winner of 1 Academy Award.
| Award | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Production | Nominated | MGM (John Emerson and Bernard H.
Hyman) Winner was Hunt Stromberg (MGM) - The Great Ziegfeld |
| Best Director | Nominated | W. S. Van
Dyke Winner was Frank Capra - Mr. Deeds Goes to Town |
| Best Actor | Nominated | Spencer
Tracy Winner was Paul Muni - The Story of Louis Pasteur |
| Best Writing (Original Story) | Nominated | Robert Hopkins Winner was Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney - The Story of Louis Pasteur |
| Best Assistant Director | Nominated | Joseph M.
Newman Winner was Jack Sullivan - The Charge of the Light Brigade |
| Best Sound, Recording | Won | Douglas Shearer |
It missed out on Best Actor for Clark Gable, Best Actress for Jeanette MacDonald, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music (Song) for San Francisco.
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Photoplay Awards | Won | Medal of Honor | John Emerson and Bernard H. Hyman |
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