Barbary Coast
Love was a gamble she couldn't afford to lose.
Directed by Howard Hawks
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions
A romantic adventure set in the rough-and-tumble Gold Rush era, where a woman caught between love and survival navigates a dangerous gambling den and rival suitors.
Mary Rutledge arrives from the east, finds her fiancé dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Luis Chamalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in San Francisco in the 1850s. She falls in love with miner Jim Carmichael and takes his gold dust at the wheel. She goes after him, Chamalis goes after her with intent to harm Carmichael.
Clusters
Questions people ask
Is Barbary Coast easy watching? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
Does Barbary Coast end with hope? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
Is Barbary Coast scary? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
Is Barbary Coast sad? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
Is Barbary Coast violent? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.
Written about
Cinnamon Score
How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.
Familiar shape, done well.
How unlike any other film this one feels
How much more it delivers than it promises
How much audiences actually like it
Ensemble
Like Barbary Coast
Nearest across the full emotional profile.
Same Mood as Barbary Coast
Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.
Like Barbary Coast, But Darker
Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.
Like Barbary Coast, But Lighter
Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.
Like Barbary Coast, But Less Popular
Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.
