“Barbary Coast,” directed by Howard Hawks and scripted by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, stars one of the gangster genre’s biggest star, Edward G. Robinson.
Robinson plays a club owner in San Francisco during the gold-rush era, who get romantically involved with Miiam Hopkins.
Joel McCrea is a young prospector who’s also after Hopkins, and the reliable character actor Walter Brennan is cast as Old Atrocity.
You can spot in a bit part the very young David Niven, then under contract with Samuel Goldwyn, who produced the picture.
Oscar Nominations: 1
Cinematography: Ray June
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
This was Ray June’s second nomination for a Goldwyn movie, before moving to another studio, MGM. The winner was Hal Mohr, who won for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Hal Mohr still bears the distinction of being the only write-in candidate to win an Oscar Award
