Flame of Barbary Coast

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.

. .

I love old Hollywood films, like this, but this movie was flat and uneven. I was really hoping for a good mix, between 1935's Barbary Coast & 1936's San Francisco; but I didn't get that.

You gotta hand it to the Duke...his loyalty to the small Republic studios was admirable.

Considering it's a John Wayne film, it already earns a respectable score from me. Aside from his early B-movies and a few horrible mistakes ("The Green Beret" and "The Conqueror" come to mind), any John Wayne film is worth seeing.

John Wayne stars as Montana cattle rancher Duke Fergus. He heads to San Francisco to conduct some business and ends up losing his shirt at the Barbary Coast gambling dens, particularly that of Tito Morell (Joseph Schildkraut).

Lesser John Wayne vehicle with Duke playing a character named...Duke.

"Duke Fergus" (John Wayne) is a cowboy traveling from Montana to the Barbary Coast of San Francisco when he happens to meet a young woman named "Flaxen Tarry" (Ann Dvorak) along the way. He also meets a man by the name of "Tito Morrel" (Joseph Schildkraut) who happens to be in love with Flaxen and owns the nightclub where she works as a singer.

The Duke vs. Joseph Schildkraut for the heart of Ann Dvorak and dominance of the San Francisco gambling scene.