ST. JAMES

Evening Star, Issue 22453, 25 September 1936, Page 14

ST. JAMES

* Frisco Kiel/ Warner Bros.’ thrilling tale of the glamorous Barbary Coast of old San Francisco, opened at the St. James to-day with an allstar cast headed by James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, and Lili Damita. The picture is set in the colourful background of the early ’fifties when the waterfront at ;the Golden Gate was a flaming panorama of gilded gambling halls and palaces or pleasure, when murder, arson, crimping, and robbery were winked at by the authorities, who derived huge revenues in bribes from the denizens of the underworld. The characters are based on historic personages of the time who flocked to the city of gold from every port in the world—adventurers all, ready to risk their fortunes or their lives on the throw of a dice. Into this picturesque atmosphere comes a sailor, strong, purposeful, crude, ignorant, but a man of tremendous force and magnetic personality, who rises, to bo the master of the Coast, and who dares to fall in love with the most beautiful girl of San Francisco’s highest society. James Cagney and Margaret Lindsay, as the two characters, carry on this strange romance in the midst of a series of thrilling episodes when the city is rocked by terrific battles between the vigilantes and denizens of the Coast.'More than two score talented actors have important roles in the picture, while thousands take part in the gigantic riot scenes in which the dens of the waterfront are set ablaze. The leading characters, besides those mentioned, include Donald Woods, Barton MacLane, George E. Stone, Joseph King, Robert M'Wadc, Joseph Crelian, Robert Strange, Joseph Sawyer, Fred Kohler, and Claudia Coleman.