San Francisco was, in 1936, one of the first “disaster films,” featuring an exquisitely created earthquake that continues to terrify audiences today, with sidewalks opening up, monuments crashing toward frightened pedestrians, buildings trembling and crumbling, all built through fast-paced editing into an impressive cataclysm.
But, with something for everyone, San Francisco offers, as well, singer Jeanette MacDonald and surly priest Spencer Tracy involved in a ménage à trois, of sorts, around Barbary Coast brute Clark Gable: MacDonald wants to love him, Tracy wants to reform him. Anita Loos's script provides a deceptively escapist prelude to the hellish climax for which the film is famous - and for which it should not be missed! (JB)