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Old San Francisco

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In San Francisco in 1906, Don Hernandez Vasquez (Joseph Swickard) and his granddaughter, Dolores (Dolores Costello), are desperately in need of money. Lawyer Michael Brandon (Anders Randolf) offers to buy the family's land, however Vasquez refuses. Brandon asks his nephew to persuade Vasquez, but the young man falls in love with Dolores and won't go along with the plan. Things are further complicated when scheming Chris Buckwell (Warner Oland) sets his sights on both Vasquez's ranch and Dolores.
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Old San Francisco

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Stereotypes Chinese-Americans in an ugly way, and should be forgotten except it's a good reminder of Hollywood's early racism. Rated: C- May 8, 2022 Full Review Robert E. Sherwood LIFE [Old San Francisco] is about the silliest of all the silly melodramas that the screen has known. Oct 5, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member comes off extremely racist Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Spoiler: God caused the Great SF Earthquake to punish a Chinese man "passing" for white in high society. Way to git-r-done, G. Oland plays the baddie in yellow-face, who keeps his "Mongolian" dwarf brother in a cage next to his secret idols. He's also holding a nice Christian girl's fiancee hostage and finally abducts her for life as a sex slave. Luckily, her prayers for vengeance are answered with massive collateral damage. Absurdly racist propaganda that seethes with stereotypes and paranoia. Not content to merely be out of touch with reality, this film reverses any practical notion of history or common sense. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a bad movie. I mean, even aside from the hideously racist interpretations and the overly pro-Christian sentiment...it's a bad movie. Some of the visuals are very nice, though, and Anna May Wong makes the most of a tiny role. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member It's pretty much about how the San Francisco earthquake occurred because a Chinese guy tried to get it on with a nice Catholic girl. Warner Oland plays yet another Chinese stereotype, Costello plays the Catholic girl, and Charles Mack is actually pretty endearing as the Irish hero. In the end, the (admittedly impressive) earthquake kills all the bad guys and spares the good guys. Anna May Wong is in this too, and although the part's small, she still makes an impression. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Old San Francisco

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Movie Info

Synopsis In San Francisco in 1906, Don Hernandez Vasquez (Joseph Swickard) and his granddaughter, Dolores (Dolores Costello), are desperately in need of money. Lawyer Michael Brandon (Anders Randolf) offers to buy the family's land, however Vasquez refuses. Brandon asks his nephew to persuade Vasquez, but the young man falls in love with Dolores and won't go along with the plan. Things are further complicated when scheming Chris Buckwell (Warner Oland) sets his sights on both Vasquez's ranch and Dolores.
Director
Alan Crosland
Producer
Darryl F Zanuck
Screenwriter
Anthony Coldeway
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 21, 2020
Runtime
1h 22m
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