Nob Hill
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Henry Hathaway
George Raft
Joan Bennett
Vivian Blaine
Peggy Ann Garner
Alan Reed
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In turn of the century San Francisco, Tony Angelo runs the Barbary Coast's most successful saloon, which features his sweetheart, singer Sally Templeton. One night, Tony is enjoying his duties as host when a young girl named Katie Flanagan arrives and asks for her uncle Pete. Katie, who has just gotten off a boat from Ireland, is devastated when Sally and Tony inform her that her uncle is dead, and becomes even more despondent when Tony decides to send her back to Ireland on the next boat. Upon hearing that Katie has no family left, Sally insists that she at least be allowed to stay the night. Tony acquiesces, and soon after, Katie's earnest charm wins his affections and convinces him to allow her to stay for a few months while the boat first journeys to Seattle. Katie happily settles into life at the Gold Coast, Tony's saloon, although she insists that Tony take her to church. Knowing that Katie is expecting a proper Catholic church, Sally instructs Tony to take her to the fancy church on Nob Hill. Although Katie is awed with its magnificent houses, Tony tries to explain to her that the snobbish Nob Hill residents do not mix with their kind. His words are disproven, however, by the friendliness of Harriet Carruthers, the beautiful socialite who made Katie's acquaintance on the boat. When Harriet brings her brother Lash, who is running for district attorney, to the Gold Coast, Sally grows uneasy about Harriet's attentions to Tony. Sally's fears deepen after Tony and Katie dine at Harriet's mansion and Katie tells Sally that Tony kissed Harriet. Tony brushes aside Sally's jealousy and announces that he is backing Lash in his election bid, despite the worries of his fellow saloon owners, who fear that Lash will close them down. Although Katie loves Sally, she approves of Tony's growing infatuation with Harriet, for she wants to live on Nob Hill. Harriet's overt flirtations drive Sally to work in another saloon, and Tony conceals the truth about her disappearance from Katie. Tony campaigns hard for Lash, and on the night Lash is elected, goes to the Carruthers mansion to celebrate. Tony's hopes for a life with Harriet are crushed, however, when Lash offers him a large sum of money for his help and Harriet states that while she is fond of him, their worlds will never mix. Dejected, Tony returns to the Gold Coast, where his former friends tell him that they will organize a boycott against him for his part in Lash's election. Tony sinks into a drunken despair and the saloon is soon closed. Katie tries to reach Sally, who refuses to listen to her, and in desperation, the child alerts Harriet about Tony's woes. Harriet then tells Sally that Tony needs her and warns her that if Sally does not return, she will forget her Nob Hill pride and stand by him herself. While Katie is gone, Tony's friends return and tell him that Lash has publicly acknowledged his help and vowed to close down only the corrupt parts of the Barbary Coast. Sally also returns and celebrates with Tony, but when the reunited couple goes up to Katie's bedroom to thank her for her interference, they discover that she has run away. Tony alerts the police, who begin a search that forces Katie into a scary adventure in Chinatown. When it seems that Katie has disappeared completely, Tony realizes that she must be at the vacant lot next to Harriet's house. He goes there with Sally, and they promise the overjoyed Katie that they will be a family forever.
Director
Henry Hathaway
Cast
George Raft
Joan Bennett
Vivian Blaine
Peggy Ann Garner
Alan Reed
B. S. Pully
Emil Coleman
Edgar Barrier
Joe Smith
Charles Dale
George Anderson
Don Costello
Joseph J. Greene
J. Farrell Macdonald
The Three Swifts
William Haade
Beal Wong
George T. Lee
Frank Mccown
Robert Greig
Charles Cane
Helen O'hara
Dorothy Ford
Nestor Paiva
Anita Bolster
Jane Jones
Otto Reichow
Sven Hugo Borg
George Blagoi
Mike Mazurki
Arthur Loft
Chick Chandler
Harry Shannon
Tom P. Dillon
Ralph Peters
Brooks Hunt
Harry Strang
Edna Mae Jones
Virginia Walker
Carol Andrews
Susan Scott
Harrison Greene
Bill "red" Murphy
Chief Thundercloud
Ralph Sanford
Arthur Thalasso
Edward Keane
George Lloyd
Sam Flint
Eddie Hart
George Leigh
Grandon Rhodes
Barbara Sears
Merian Margie Davis
Susanne Rosser
Jacqueline Huber
Forbes Murray
Byron Foulger
Lillian Salvaneschi
Mario Salvaneschi
Robert Filmer
Fred Graham
Louis Bacigalupi
William Hunter
John Kelly
Vincent Graeff
Paul Graeff
Freddie Chapman
Irving Gump
Danny Hood
Danny Shaw
Gerald Mackey
Hugh Maguire
Eddie Nichols
Robert Ferrero
Joe Bernard
Paul Hurst
George Reed
Earle Hodgins
Benson Fong
Doria Caron
Larry Williams
Olive Blakeney
Bruce Wong
Eddie Lee
Marvin Davis
Mickey Mascari
David Polonsky
Ray Dolciame
Ronnie Pattison
Rudy Wissler
Claire Emery
Darleen Garner
Marie King
Vicki Lang
Virginia Lyndon
Darlene Ottum
Naomi Keene
Mabel Boehlke
Bonnadene Wolfe
Evelyn Dewey
Charlotte Dewey
Ben Jade
Priscilla White
Tiny Kline
Sam Ash
Freeman High
Teri Toy
Jean Wong
Frank Orth
Lester Dorr
Harry Harvey Sr.
Julius Tannen
Will Stanton
Syd Saylor
Marshall Ruth
Alphonse Martell
Almira Sessions
Polly Bailey
Leila Mcintyre
Peter Michael
Gwen Donovan
Antonio Filauri
Jean De Briac
Lorraine Collier
Jane Hazard
Claire Rochelle
Mary Zavian
Crew
Harold Adamson
Ernest R. Ball
Vincent P. Bryan
Gene Buck
David Buttolph
Nick Castle
Maude Clague
Edward Cronjager
Henry Cronjager
André Daven
Ida Emerson
W. D. Flick
Benson Fong
George Graff Jr.
Gerald Graun
Eleanore Griffin
Roger Heman
Charles Henderson
Hirshel Hendler
Mildred J. Hill
Patty Smith Hill
Louis A. Hirsch
Gertrude Hoffman
Callie Holden
Joseph E. Howard
Renè Hubert
Howard Johnson
Harmon Jones
Walter Jurmann
Gus Kahn
Natalie Kalmus
Bronislaw Kaper
R. A. Klune
Thomas Little
Jack Mahoney
Joseph Mccarthy
Jimmy Mchugh
James V. Monaco
Richard Mueller
Emil Newman
Ben Nye
Chauncey Olcott
Norman Reilly Raine
Frances C. Richardson
Peter Ritter
Gene Rose
Walter M. Scott
Fred Sersen
J. R. Shannon
Russell Spencer
Murray Spivack
Frank Tang
Wanda Tuchock
Vinton Vernon
Henry Weinberger
Percy Wenrich
Lyle Wheeler
Joseph C. Wright
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Eleanore Griffin's original story, which was titled "Crocus Hill," was purchased by Harry Sherman in 1943 for a United Artists release, according to a Film Daily news item. Sherman sold the rights to Twentieth Century-Fox in September 1943. Hollywood Reporter news items reveal the following about the production: Actors considered for the role of "Tony Angelo" included Brian Donlevy, Michael O'Shea, James Cagney and Fred MacMurray, and actresses considered for a leading role included Merle Oberon and Lynn Bari. Gregory Ratoff was originally set to direct the picture, and in late April 1944, he was scheduled to travel to New York to test theater actress Nancy Nugent for a part. Hollywood Reporter news items and studio press releases include the following actors and dancers in the film, although their participation in the completed picture has not been confirmed: Chester Conklin, Neal Hart, Jack Richardson, John Ince, Pat R. McGee, Elinor Troy, Carol Hartsook, Bess Flowers, John Merkyl, Dorothy Costello, Ruth Costello, Fred Steele, Red Shellac, Valerie Traxler, Evelyn Eager, and The Troupers, a dance group consisting of Jimmy Cross, Les Clark, Merrill Long and Jack Barnett. According to information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection and Records of the Legal Department, both located at the UCLA Arts-Special Collections Library, Henry Morgan was signed to play a character named "Goofy Gus," but that role does not appear in the completed film. Studio records and other contemporary sources also note that famed comedy team Joe Smith and Charlie Dale were scheduled to perform their well-known "Dr. Cronkhite" skit, with Veda Ann Borg performing as a nurse. Although Smith and Dale are in the picture, neither the skit nor Borg appears in the released film. Another skit, the "Hungarian Rhapsody," which was to feature the team and actors George E. Stone and George McKay, also was eliminated. Studio records reveal that the film's opening, during which singers and saloons on a Barbary Coast street are shown, is the same footage used to open the 1943 Twentieth Century-Fox film Hello Frisco, Hello. The legal files also note that William Rankin, the ex-husband of writer Eleanore Griffin, filed suit claiming that Griffin had plagiarized "Crocus Hill" from a story written by him. Rankin's attempt to obtain an injunction to prevent Twentieth Century-Fox from making the film was unsuccessful, although the disposition of his suit against Griffin and Harry Sherman is not known.
