During the height of its corruption, a city is destroyed by an earthquake. Only those who believe in the Christian faith are spared, so the movie ends with stirring religious music.
MGM's 1936 blockbuster *San Francisco*? No, RKO's 1935 *The Last Days of Pompeii*. And what a difference.
There are hokie things about *SF*, yes, but it's not a bad movie, and the disaster scenes during the earthquake at the end are very impressive, even today, and very moving.
Nothing is moving in this movie, not even the eruption of Vesuvius at the end.
I imagine that's primarily because the script stinks. It never engages us with any of the characters, never makes us care about any of them. Nor is it always easy to follow.
And then there are the actors. Preston Foster was no Spenser Tracy or Clark Gable, not even close. And there is no equivalent of Jeannette McDonald.
This was a serious disappointment for me. I can't understand the previous reviewers who loved it. A real turkey, in my eyes.
MGM's 1936 blockbuster *San Francisco*? No, RKO's 1935 *The Last Days of Pompeii*. And what a difference.
There are hokie things about *SF*, yes, but it's not a bad movie, and the disaster scenes during the earthquake at the end are very impressive, even today, and very moving.
Nothing is moving in this movie, not even the eruption of Vesuvius at the end.
I imagine that's primarily because the script stinks. It never engages us with any of the characters, never makes us care about any of them. Nor is it always easy to follow.
And then there are the actors. Preston Foster was no Spenser Tracy or Clark Gable, not even close. And there is no equivalent of Jeannette McDonald.
This was a serious disappointment for me. I can't understand the previous reviewers who loved it. A real turkey, in my eyes.