

After a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him rise to a position of power in the vice industry of the infamous Barbary Coast.
Acting
Cagney's kinetic physicality—he's a live wire in every frame.
Production
Rambunctious Barbary Coast sets built for Warner Bros. efficiency.
Writing
Rapid-fire Pre-Code banter that sidesteps later censorship.

Director
Lloyd Bacon
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in just three weeks on recycled sets from other Warner Bros. period pieces—classic 1930s studio efficiency.
One of Cagney's last Pre-Code roles before the Production Code clamped down on screen violence and moral ambiguity in 1934.
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