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Frisco Kid

Play trailer Poster for Frisco Kid 1935 1h 17m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 30% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
After escaping an attempt to shanghai him, Bat Morgan (James Cagney) heads to the Barbary Coast and Paul Morra's (Ricardo Cortez) famed saloon, where he kills the man who's been abducting sailors and becomes a hero. Impressed, Morra offers Bat a job, but Bat declines and teams with a politician against newspaper editor Charles Ford. Bat conflicts with newspaper owner Jean Barrat (Margaret Lindsay), and when violence erupts in the city, he finds himself blamed for a murder he didn't commit.
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Frisco Kid

Critics Reviews

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Winston Burdett Brooklyn Daily Eagle Nov 19, 2020
The direction and writing of the film are hardly distinguished, but there are numerous able performances. Go to Full Review Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy) Esquire Magazine Apr 22, 2020
The Warner Bro. picture is tougher and richer than Barbary Coast, as the sophisticated veneer which Hecht-MacArthur spread over the Goldwyn epic scarcely suited the subject. Go to Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine Oct 2, 2019
Frisco Kid, starring James Cagney, is one remove from being an effective and original story; the one remove being Barbary Coast, which had used up practically all the dramatic material in advance. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D @RT35616104 Jul 26, 2026 One of Cagney's worst. See more Craig G @CraigGustafson May 5, 2026 Even James Cagney made the occasional stinker, with this one being at the top of the list. Cagney didn't like it either: "James Cagney later described the movie to his biographer John McCabe as a 'stinking piece of junk made up of tissue paper and spit'." See more Dec 6, 2014 Cagney is Cagney as always in his somewhat similar gangster-stereotype of good-guy-in-a-bad-time senario that is set to a different era than the usual, yet still doesn't disappoint. See more Nov 19, 2014 good western of sorts See more Nov 18, 2014 Cagney is dynamic as ever but those two cinematic black holes Margaret Lindsay and Donald Woods stop the film dead in its tracks whenever they appear in a scene. See more Grant S @grantss Jul 18, 2012 OK, but not great. The anti-vigilantism message was a good one, but other than that the plot is hit-and-miss, and often drifts. James Cagney plays his usual tough guy role. Good support from the beautiful-yet-underrated Margaret Lindsay. See more Read all reviews
Frisco Kid

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Cast & Crew

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Lloyd Bacon

Director

James Cagney

Bat Morgan

Margaret Lindsay

Jean Barrat

Ricardo Cortez

Paul Morra

Lili Damita

Belle

Fred Kohler Sr.

Shanghai Duck
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Frisco Kid

Frisco Kid (1935) Frisco Kid (1935) Frisco Kid (1935) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After escaping an attempt to shanghai him, Bat Morgan (James Cagney) heads to the Barbary Coast and Paul Morra's (Ricardo Cortez) famed saloon, where he kills the man who's been abducting sailors and becomes a hero. Impressed, Morra offers Bat a job, but Bat declines and teams with a politician against newspaper editor Charles Ford. Bat conflicts with newspaper owner Jean Barrat (Margaret Lindsay), and when violence erupts in the city, he finds himself blamed for a murder he didn't commit.
Director
Lloyd Bacon
Producer
Samuel Bischoff
Screenwriter
Warren Duff, Seton I. Miller
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 30, 1935, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 17m
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