Night Waitress (1936)

Helen Roberts, who's on probation, goes back to work as a waitress at Torre's Fish Palace, a San Francisco waterfront dive. The customers are low characters trying to make time with Helen ... See full summary »

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

Marcus Goodrich (screen play), Golda Draper (story)

Stars:

Margot Grahame, Gordon Jones, Vinton Hayworth

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Margot Grahame	...	Helen Roberts
Gordon Jones	...	Martin Rhodes
Vinton Hayworth	...	George Skinner (as Vinton Haworth)
Marc Lawrence	...	Dorn (as Marc Laurence)
Billy Gilbert	...	Torre
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Mario Rigo (as Donald Barry)
Otto Yamaoka	...	Fong
Paul Stanton	...	District Attorney
Arthur Loft	...	Borgum
Walter Miller	...	Police Inspector

Storyline

Helen Roberts, who's on probation, goes back to work as a waitress at Torre's Fish Palace, a San Francisco waterfront dive. The customers are low characters trying to make time with Helen and ex-rum runners trying to make a dishonest dollar. Some of the latter, including Helen's unwelcome suitor Martin Rhodes, are after a mysterious, valuable hidden "cargo"; when violence erupts, Helen finds herself innocently involved, and is soon on the run from both cops and crooks.

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Plot Keywords:

waterfront | probation | waitress | stock footage | low budget film | 

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Taglines:

TOO DANGEROUS FOR ANY MAN TO LOVE... too lovely for any man to forget?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1936 (USA)

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Anthony Quinn.

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Goofs

While on the ferry Helen and Martin admire the Bay Bridge under construction, prior to the addition of its decking. Yet a few minutes earlier as the ferry departed the pier the Bay Bridge was clearly seen with a completed deck.

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Quotes

Fong: When lady's skirt come in door, man's shirt go out window.

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Soundtracks

The Monkeys have no Tails in Zamboanga
Music by Don Raye and Vic Schoen
Lyrics by Jerry Seelen and Hy Zaret
Performed by Gordon Jones

User Reviews

Decent Crime Drama

Night Waitress (1936)

** (out of 4)

Decent crime picture from Lew Landers has Helen Roberts (Margot Grahame) getting a waitress job after being put on probation for a crime the police think she knew about but couldn't really prove. Once working the woman gets involved with a young man (Gordon Jones) but what she doesn't know is that this location is a hot spot for gangster crime and soon she's threatened with going back to jail. There's romance, crime and drama here but none of the three things are exactly done good. For the most part this is just a 57-minute "B" picture that was obviously made to play second tier to something much bigger and as long as you don't take it too serious or expect too much you should at least be slightly entertained. I think Landers does a nice job with what he has to work with as he at least keeps the picture moving at a fast pace and for the most part the seedy locations feel real. Both Grahame and Jones do a nice job in the leads and help carry the picture and we also get to see Billy Gilbert in the role of the restaurant owner. If you look quick you can even spot a very young Anthony Quinn in a few spots. The biggest problem with the picture is that nothing ever really works well enough to make the film a good one. Still, fans who enjoy these forgotten, low-budget pictures will still want to check it out.