Um Dia Voltarei

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). Duke vows to master the gambling arts and return to Frisco, not just for revenge, but to win the hand of Morell's showgirl moll Flaxen Tarry (Ann Dvorak). This being turn-of-the-century San Francisco, you just know that the Great Earthquake is going interrupt everyone's plans.

This was another of Republic's "A" pictures, with time spent on costumes, sets, and expensive set-pieces (such as the earthquake sequence, or a large cattle drive). The movie isn't terrible, but the script is bit weak, like in most of these Republic showcases. There's never a good rhythm established to the narrative, and the three main characters never rise above sketches. Dvorak looks good, but if that's her real singing voice heard on the soundtrack, it's pretty awful. Still, if one likes SF earthquake melodrama and adventure, this may be worth checking out. It earned two Oscar nominations, for Best Sound, and Best Score.

"Flame of the Barbary Coast" is a movie that I grew up watching in a movie theatre. It's easy to poke fun at a movie like this, or any movie made in that era, if you've only seen it on television. The power and quality of the performance of the film can only be seen on the big screen and not on the television screen. Actually, the cast is quite good and anyone interested in directing or photographing a movie should learn from the film. This movie makes every second and minutes count on the screen, and that's the reason the action never stops. Moving the camera in a certain way to make use of the drama and action with out two many cuts is genius, but then, these people knew what they were doing. Many repeats for good measure with eyes on an actor or actress moving side to side as if they are actually participating in the scene. The catty remarks between Virginia Gray and Ann Dvorak after Virginia Gray sings for an audition with Tito, oh boy - meow indeed! Who cares if Ann Dvoraks singing was a little off, and who cares if John Wayne tried his hand at singing on a horse? Who cares if Fred Mertz played a gambler before he was Ricky Ricardo's best friend? Who care's if Butterfly McQueen didn't get a chance to repeat "Ah knows how to birth babies Miss Scahlett!"? This movie is just good old fashioned campy entertainment with no foul words, no nudity, and in many ways the bad guy won when he said, "With Compliments of the House!" Anybody who doesn't like this movie is an old grumpy!

Lesser John Wayne vehicle with Duke playing a character named...Duke. Set in early Twentieth Century San Francisco (a popular setting for many movies made during the classic Hollywood era), Duke plays a gambler who falls for a saloon singer (a miscast Ann Dvorak) and crosses swords with accented villain Joseph Schildkraut, who believes the lady belongs to him. Dvorak, about ten years past her prime (career-wise not looks; she was still lovely) was a poor fit for a sultry singer that turns men's heads. By contrast, Virginia Grey appears in a supporting role and seems a much better fit for the lead role. Dvorak also has remarkably little chemistry with John Wayne. Not to bag on her. She was a great actress, particularly in her pre-Code films where she had grittier roles than this. Schildkraut was a decent actor who certainly could make you hate him. But every film I've seen where Duke's opponent is a wimpy tycoon or bureaucrat or something always seems to suffer for it. The villain in a John Wayne movie needs to be intimidating. This guy just isn't. Creepy at best. For his part, Duke does fine. Not really his type of role as written on the page but he sort of makes it his. Worth a look for Wayne fans but it's not one of his best.

Happy-go-lucky Montana rancher John Wayne comes to San Francisco, wins and loses a fortune in a night, and begins a competition with a sleazy gambling-hall owner for the heart of singer Ann Dvorak. After some lessons from aging card-shark William Frawley, he comes back to town to win back the money and the girl.

Another of the Duke's lightweight, nineteen-forties Republic pictures, this okay romantic melodrama features a likable Wayne performance, some fairly lavish sets and costumes, and a neat low-budget recreation of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

This isn't the greatest or most memorable of John Wayne vehicles, but it's not the worst either.

John Wayne, Duke Fergus, is tagged "King of Luck", after breaking the bank in several casino saloons with the help of Ann Dvorak, as Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry, who says, "You've just been promoted". From Duke to King. How ironic that the man known as The Duke in his lifetime had to be the object of this tongue-in-cheek line. Some would think that The Duke was above being a king. This movie does fit the small screen (of t.v), but maybe it was appropriate for the large screen in 1945 when folks weren't so jaded in their viewings. The real gem of this movie is Joseph Schildkraut, as Boss Tito Morell. How could a shady bad guy be so lovable? We love the under dog. Is there any question that The Duke will walk away with the lady? But Tito is the one who really loves Flaxen, and always holds back from resorting to "fixing" The Duke as his cronies want to do. He may be the evil foil, but you can't help but love this gentleman scoundrel. Loyalty does not pay in the end for our hapless romantic. And talk about obsession: the suitors of Flaxen still hang around even when it seems she will be paralyzed for life after the Great Earthquake (did San Francisco really have electric poles in 1906?!)--they hope the old trooper will return to the stage and awe their hearts, not to mention their libidos! As Flaxen is whisked off in Duke's carriage to Montana, Tito has the best line: "Compliments of the House"....