{ "id": "epkwjgkvqx", "slug": "old-san-francisco", "title": "Old San Francisco", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent", "label": "Early and silent cinema", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features", "label": "Silent feature films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features.yr-1927-2012", "label": "Released 1927 to 2012", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features.yr-1927-2012" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features", "label": "United States · 1800 to 1945: Silent feature films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800", "label": "United States · 1800 to 1945", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent", "label": "Early and silent cinema", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features", "label": "Silent feature films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1800.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Old San Francisco (1927) is a Warner Bros. silent melodrama directed by Alan Crosland, with a Vitaphone synchronized music-and-effects score, starring Dolores Costello, Warner Oland, and Anna May Wong, set around the 1906 earthquake.", "snippet": "Old San Francisco (1927) is a Warner Bros. silent melodrama directed by Alan Crosland, with a Vitaphone synchronized music-and-effects score, starring Dolores Costello, Warner Oland, and Anna May Wong, set around the 1906 earthquake.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.early-silent.silent-features.yr-1927-2012", "markdown": "# Old San Francisco\n\n**Old San Francisco** is a 1927 American silent melodrama from Warner Bros., exhibited with a synchronized Vitaphone music-and-effects score, directed by Alan Crosland and starring [Dolores Costello](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolores-costello), Warner Oland, and [Anna May Wong](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-may-wong).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/old-san-francisco) Set in San Francisco around the 1906 earthquake, it is remembered today chiefly as an early Vitaphone feature and for its notorious depiction of [Chinatown](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinatown).[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | New York premiere 21 June 1927; general release 4 September 1927[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html) |\n| Sound | Silent picture with synchronized music and sound effects on the Western Electric Vitaphone sound-on-disc system[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html) |\n| Credits | Directed by Alan Crosland; story by Darryl F. Zanuck; scenario by Anthony Coldeway; cinematography by Hal Mohr; music by Hugo Riesenfeld[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) |\n| Length | Eight reels, 7,961 feet; 88 minutes per the AFI Catalog[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) |\n| Main cast | Dolores Costello (Dolores Vasquez), Warner Oland (Chris Buckwell), Charles Emmett Mack (Terrence O'Shaughnessy), Josef Swickard (Don Hernandez Vasquez), Anna May Wong[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/old-san-francisco) |\n| Survival | A print exists in the UCLA Film and Television Archive; the film is in the public domain in the USA[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html) |\n| Reputation | Criticized for its stereotyped depiction of Chinese-Americans; still noted for its early synchronized sound[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story\n\nThe action spans three eras. A prologue set in 1769 shows Captain Enrique de Solano Vasquez claiming land in California for Spain and establishing a rancho on the Pacific Coast; the rancho prospers until the 1848 gold discovery at [Sutter's Mill](https://www.edgepedia.org/sutters-mill) drains its workforce, and a shooting in 1849 begins the family's decline.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO)\n\nThe main story is set in 1906, when San Francisco was a bustling metropolis.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) The aged Don Hernandez Vasquez and his granddaughter Dolores refuse a lawyer's offer to buy their land, and the ruthless Chris Buckwell, a fierce opponent of the city's growing Chinese population, orders foreclosure proceedings while scheming for both the rancho and Dolores. His wealthy white friends do not realize that Buckwell is himself half-Chinese; from his cellar, a hidden passage lets him slip into Chinatown and live there under a Chinese identity, a secret shared only with a devoted Chinese girl and with Chang Loo, his dwarf brother, whom he keeps chained in a cage.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) The lawyer's nephew Terrence O'Shaughnessy, who has fallen in love with Dolores, refuses to help pressure the family.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/old-san-francisco) Death, betrayal, and the great 1906 earthquake ensue; in the end the earthquake kills the villains and spares the good characters.[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/old-san-francisco/umc.cmc.3ib8mg6hzkffsu9zuo09uoxhp) • [6](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/old-san-francisco/) The film incorporates stock footage of San Francisco from the early twentieth century, as well as footage of vineyards and a cattle ranch.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO)\n\n## Production and Vitaphone sound\n\nThe film was produced by [Warner Bros. Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-pictures), Inc. and The Vitaphone Corp., with Warner Bros. handling distribution.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) Although silent in dialogue, it was exhibited with a Vitaphone sound-on-disc synchronized score: the [Western Electric](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-electric) system matched a 16-inch phonograph disc to the film projector, and its relatively high sound quality made it well suited to music reproduction.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) The score was compiled by Hugo Riesenfeld, synchronized by the Vitaphone Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by Josiah Zuro.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO)\n\nThe film predates synchronized dialogue in other Vitaphone features, such as the part-talkie *The Jazz Singer* (1927) and the first all-talking feature, *Lights of New York* (1928).[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) According to modern sources cited by the AFI Catalog, the sound effects audible in the earthquake sequence, including crashing buildings and occasional screams, were added three days after the picture's New York premiere.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) The film is also listed under the alternative title *A Million Bid*.[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html)\n\n## Cast\n\nDolores Costello played Dolores Vasquez, Warner Oland played Chris Buckwell, Charles Emmett Mack played Terrence O'Shaughnessy, and Josef Swickard played Don Hernandez Vasquez.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/old-san-francisco) Oland, a popular character actor later known for the [Charlie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-chan) and [Fu Manchu](https://www.edgepedia.org/fu-manchu) cycles, played the heavy with secret Chinese roots.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) Sojin (Sôjin Kamiyama) played Lu Fong, Angelo Rossitto played the dwarf Chang Loo, and Anna May Wong appeared as the Chinese girl; Rossitto's surname was misspelled \"Rossita\" in the onscreen credits.[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) Mack, billed onscreen as \"Chas. E. Mack,\" died in an automobile accident on 17 March 1927 during production of *The First Auto*, before this film's premiere.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe [New York Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-post) reviewer at the time dismissed the film as \"violently melodramatic and preposterous in the extreme ... and one of the silliest pictures ever made.\"[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) The film is distinguished by atmospheric photography and imaginative set design, but its story has fared less well, and it is particularly notorious for depicting Chinatown as a treacherous, labyrinthine world of opium dens and white slavery.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco) Later critics have made the same point: the film, in the words of one review, \"stereotypes Chinese-Americans in an ugly way\" and stands as a reminder of Hollywood's early racism, even while some of its visuals are admired and Anna May Wong makes an impression in a small role.[6](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/old-san-francisco/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/old-san-francisco) A contemporary critic summarized the plot sardonically as being about how the San Francisco earthquake occurred because a Chinese man tried to get close to a nice Catholic girl.[6](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/old-san-francisco/)\n\n**Preservation.** A print survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html) The version broadcast on [Turner Classic Movies](https://www.edgepedia.org/turner-classic-movies) carried title cards crediting UCLA and the [Museum of Modern Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/museum-of-modern-art)'s \"American Moviemakers: The Dawn of Sound\" project with preservation, and restoration in cooperation with the Library of Congress under the AFI/NEA Preservation Grants Program with support from AT&T; the score and sound effects were included in that print.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO) The film is in the public domain in the United States and has been released on DVD.[4](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Old San Francisco (1927), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1605-OLD-SAN-FRANCISCO)\n2. [Old San Francisco, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/old-san-francisco)\n3. [James Steffen, Old San Francisco (1927), Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/17940/old-san-franciso-old-san-francisco)\n4. [Old San Francisco (1927), Progressive Silent Film List, Silent Era](https://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/O/OldSanFrancisco1927.html)\n5. [Old San Francisco, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/old-san-francisco/umc.cmc.3ib8mg6hzkffsu9zuo09uoxhp)\n6. [Dennis Schwartz, Old San Francisco review (May 8, 2022)](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/old-san-francisco/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Early and silent cinema › Silent feature films › Released 1927 to 2012*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Old San Francisco\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Old San Francisco](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Old San Francisco\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/old-san-francisco. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Old San Francisco is a Warner Bros. silent melodrama directed by Alan Crosland, with a Vitaphone synchronized music-and-effects score, starring Dolores Costello, Warner Oland, and Anna May Wong, set around the 1906 earthquake." }