Waterfront (1939 film)

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Waterfront
Directed byTerry O. Morse
Written byLee Katz
Arthur Ripley
Fred Niblo, Jr.
Don Ryan
Based onBlind Spot
by Kenyon Nicholson
Produced byBryan Foy
Hal B. Wallis
Jack L. Warner
Starring
CinematographyJames Van Trees
Edited byLouis Hesse
Music byHeinz Roemheld
Distributed byWarner Brothers
Release date
  • July 15, 1939 (1939-07-15)
Running time
59 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Waterfront is a 1939 action–crime drama film directed by Terry O. Morse and starring Gloria Dickson, Dennis Morgan, and Marie Wilson.[1] It was adapted from the play Blind Spot by Kenyon Nicholson.[2][3][4][5][6] It is preserved at the Library of Congress and produced & released by Warner Brothers.[7][8]

Plot[]

Jim Dolen (Morgan), head of a dock-worker's union, can't resist a good fight, until he meets Ann Stacey (Dickson). She makes him promise to give up fighting in order to marry her. When his brother, Dan Dolen (Gardner), is accidentally lkilled by Mart Hendler (Bond]), Jim, with the aid of his pal Frankie Donahue (Williams), sneaks out to look for Mart.

Mart is hiding out with his girlfriend Marie (Bromley). They plan to leave on a ship, but don't have enough money. Raising the specter of Jim killing Mart, perhaps even in the courtroom, Marie convinces Ann to give her $100–all their savings—to get Mart out of the country and away from Jim. Still bent on revenge, Jim finds out and confronts Ann, who threatens to shoot him to keep him from killing Mart. He takes the gun from her. She locks him in the apartment, and when he shoots the lock off, she tells the police, landing him safely in jail for a few hours. Meanwhile Mart is overwhelmed with fear that Ann will betray them.

With Frankie's help, Jim breaks out of jail. Ann races to warn Mart and Marie but arrives at their hideout just moments ahead of Jim. Mart knocks Ann out, puts her in the closet and hides by hanging from the windowsill. Jim is horrified when he almost shoots Ann through the closet door, and Mart falls to his death when his foothold gives way.

In Judge Scott's chambers, Father Dunn presents himself as Jim's “mouthpiece” and pleads eloquently for Jim, blaming the environment of the waterfront. The Judge commutes Dolen's sentence to probation and puts Jim in the custody of Father Dunn and Ann.

Father Dunn says goodbye to Ann and Jim, now married, as their train leaves for a better place.


Cast[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Waterfront". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  2. ^ McCabe, John (1999). CAGNEY (1st ed.). New York City: Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 978-0786705801.
  3. ^ Goble 1999, p. 532.
  4. ^ Yogerst 2016, p. 48.
  5. ^ The American Film Institute 1997, p. 1114.
  6. ^ Aaker 2013, p. 20.
  7. ^ The American Film Institute (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1931-40. Oakland, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520079083.
  8. ^ "The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:Waterfront". The American Film Institute. Los Angeles. Retrieved September 16, 2016.

Sources[]

External links[]

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