Watch San Francisco For Free

Just what I expected

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

"Pay attention to her singing" is what another reviewer wrote. Well, it would be kinda' hard NOT to pay attention since 90% of this movie is nothing but Jeanette McDonald's caterwauling. I can appreciate music of just about any kind, but I did not think I would literally be watching a musical, starring a goody two-shoes, who has about as much stage presence as a turnip. I also did not know I would be captive to so many meddlesome people in one movie. Spencer Tracey played the local priest, and I wanted to slap him until my arms got tired. He was always into everybody's business. Jeanette McDonald's character was so wishy-washy, you never knew from one minute to the next which man had become her flavor of the month. Clark Gable was, well, Clark Gable. This is certainly not one of his best, and it was nice to know it took some MAJOR persuasion to convince him to do the role. He and McDonald had absolutely ZERO chemistry.The ending, which was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, was pretty spectacular for a movie made in 1936, but was ruined by a Joan-of- Arc McDonald again wailing "Nearer my God to Thee." The director (and all others involved) managed to choke people on the "better quit your sinning" message, which finally tolled the death knell for me.

At the time, this was probably seen as a blockbuster and moved many. It is too ordinary to recommend now. It has nice, clean drama. It has character conflict, sure. Gable stands in for ragged individualism and the American spirit of pulling yourself up from your bootstraps. Jeanette Macdonald stands in for unspoiled grace (what an amazing presence she was; exuding erotic magnetism in The Merry Widow, here she is dovelike and tender). Tracy's priest character acts as conscience.It is just so clean. Macdonald is not just the girl we see, she has to be a pastor's daughter and an orphan to emphasize her angelic purity, textbook stuff. The conflict up on the stage, since this is a musical, is that she's poor has to sing jazz tunes for Gable's music joint to get by, but her real talent is in opera, seen in this context as a higher form of expression. See?The one part that is interesting is that it all culminates with the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.The footage of destruction still impress on a visual level. There is scope here you wouldn't normally see in those days. But destruction like that—and Chicago's twenty years before—was a major force in shaping the face of modern America, doing away with the rubble of history, so the context matters.It ends with Macdonald singing among ruins and Gable in tears finally receiving god. (a scene that embarrassed this Hemingway man and his image)No dice. It is too Protestant to register for this viewer.But there is one notion that strikes some spark—a justifiably angry Gable has just hurt his former star in public for what seems like the last time, the rift between them for good, and this is answered the next moment by the ear-splitting roar of the earthquake and walls being ripped apart. Alas, in the film this is squandered in treacly lesson- learning.

MGM never did anything small, so they didn't skimp when they made a movie about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They cast two of their biggest stars, Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable, blew up plenty of soundstages, and rained rubber rubble on thousands of extras. But money was tight in 1936 so they hedged their bets by tossing Jeanette McDonald on top of it. And it worked. A direct ancestor of overproduced, underwritten 70s disaster flicks like "The Towering Inferno" and "Earthquake," "San Francisco" is a grand, bland extravaganza with something for everyone -- romance, suspense, special effects and operetta. Take that, Irwin Allen.In the best disaster movie tradition, "San Francisco" telegraphs its climax at the very beginning and builds tension by prolonging the inevitable. While you're waiting for the city to implode, you can enjoy Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy hamming it up as they battle for Jeanette McDonald's soul. Gable plays Blackie Norton, a nightclub owner with a heart of gold -- a popular archetype in the first half of the 20th Century (see Bogart in "Casablanca") -- who gets talked into running for political office in an unnecessary but mildly entertaining subplot. When Gable is not speechifying, he's making eyes at demure soprano Mary Blake, played by Jeanette McDonald, who sings in his nightclub now and then. Jeanette is kind of fluttery and insipid, but she's the only virgin in town and damn, can she hit those high notes, so of course Gable falls for her. There is a negligible rival for Jeanette's affections, played by the forgotten (and forgettable) Jack Holt, but Gable's real foil is another archetype -- a gritty urban priest played by Spencer Tracy, who was mythic in such roles (see "Boys Town"). It's a testament to Tracy's brilliance that he never appears romantically interested in Jeanette -- his desire to keep her from being exploited by Gable seems wholly credible. Gable isn't quite as believable. He looks a lot more comfortable punching out extras than he does swooning over Jeanette. Which is understandable, she's kind of saccharine and dull, but to be fair, she's onhand as sonic relief. Maybe "San Francisco" would have been a better film with one of MGM's better actresses as the female lead, but Myrna Loy or Carole Lombard couldn't sing arias, so you just have to pretend that Jeanette is some kind of prize.

San Francisco is a truly remarkable film. The special effects in the earthquake scene rival the special effects from any decade of film making. It is such an entertaining movie. Clark Gable is well cast in a role that's perfect for him. Spencer Tracy is fine as always, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in this film. I am not a fan of Jeanette MacDonald, but this is one of her best roles. Jessie Ralph provides fine support. The plot is a familiar one to audiences today, but was quite fresh in 1936. Good music, excellent sound, costume design and score. Great production values. Very memorable and a great classic.