The Docks of New York (1928)

A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Jules Furthman (story), Julian Johnson (titles),

Stars:

George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Bancroft	...	Bill Roberts
Betty Compson	...	Mae
Olga Baclanova	...	His Wife - Lou (as Baclanova)
Clyde Cook	...	'Sugar' Steve
Mitchell Lewis	...	Andy, the Third Engineer
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Hymn Book Harry

Storyline

The ship on which Bill Roberts is a stoker has just put into port, giving the crew one night ashore. The ship's bad-tempered third engineer orders the stokers to clean up, while the engineer heads for a dockside bar, where he has a confrontation with the wife he had abandoned. Then, as Bill himself goes ashore, he sees a young woman attempt to drown herself. Bill dives in, saves her, and then, assisted by the engineer's wife, sees that she is cared for. Bill and the rescued woman begin to enjoy one another's company, but they must contend with the malice of the engineer, as well as a number of other complications.

---

Plot Keywords:

stoker | waterfront | dock | waterfront bar | brooklyn bridge | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Docks von New-York

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donald Sosin composed his score in 2008 for the Ritorato Festival in Bologna with vocals composed and sung by Joanns Seaton. The 2010 score by Robert Israel includes such vintage songs as "East Side, West Side," "Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage," "Bicycle Built for Two," "Strawberry Blonde, and "After the Ball Is Over".

---

Quotes

Lou: Until I got married, I was decent.

---

Connections

Edited into Spisok korabley (2008)

User Reviews

A silent film that you'll forget is silent.

Long before Renoir or Welles experimented with depth of field, Sternberg was employing it in his silent films, and perhaps most beautifully in The Docks of New York. The mise-en-scene is so incredible in this movie that many critics accuse the movie of being overly concerned with imagery, and less concerned with plot. The plot is simple, yet it allows Sternberg to concentrate on what he appears to be most concerned with--developing character psychology. One is reminded of the rich characters in Greed when watching this film, yet the sense of despair is underplayed in Docks creating a much more subtle film than Stroheim's.

Many critics claim that Docks shows a near-perfect mastery of silent technique. Yet, the film remains somewhat obscure because it was released in 1928, when the novelty of the first "talkies" was overshadowing silent films such as Docks. If you are at all interested in film history or just plain good films see The Docks of New York.