San Francisco

San Francisco, directed by W.S. Van Dyke, is set in the period before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; groundbreaking special effects for the era included rocking, shaking sets built on special rigged floors to depict the earthquake realistically. In an interesting production anecdote, D.W. Griffith, who hadn't directed a film in five years, contributed to directing the earthquake scenes during a set visit. Aided by Jeanette MacDonald's singing performance, the film became one of 1936's highest grossing international releases. It received numerous nominations at the 9th Academy Awards, earning Spencer Tracy the first of what would total nine Oscar nominations in his career; the film went on to win Best Sound Recording. Who it's for: anyone curious about a classic Hollywood film depicting a real historical earthquake with groundbreaking special effects, which gave an actor his first of nine career Oscar nominations. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a calm, disaster free period drama, since the film builds toward a major natural catastrophe sequence.