Waterfront

The first thing you notice, as the lovely Gloria Dickson walks along the pier on her way to pin up an announcement on the bulletin board, is that it's not a soundstage. When Waterfront opens, the screen is awash in natural light and real steamer ships and longshoremen go about their business on the docks. That's because the movie was filmed at the docks in San Pedro, California. The interiors were shot on soundstages but for the dock scenes, the producers went for the real thing. It's a little thing but it works in the movie's favor, immediately bringing the drama to life in the opening moments.

Those opening moments don't last long as Waterfront (1939) speeds along to its conclusion a mere 59 minutes away. And in that 59 minutes Waterfront packs in more plot, more story, and more drama than most full two hour length productions. It's exactly the kind of fast-paced, low budget crime movie that Warner Brothers specialized in during the thirties.

The movie opens as Ann Stacey (Gloria Dickson) posts a memo on the pier bulletin board explaining all items have to be off the pier by a certain hour by order of the Waterfront Association's president, Jimmy Dolan (Dennis Morgan). The memo serves two dramatic purposes: it lets the viewer know who Jimmy is and sets up a fight between Jimmy and Mart Hendler (Ward Bond) when Mart won't listen. The fight leads to Jimmy accidentally pushing his friend, Frankie Donahue (Larry Williams), head first into an anchor, resulting in Jimmy's arrest which, in turn, leads to a jailhouse redemption of spirit. Well, sort of.

Jimmy's visited by Father Dunn (Aldrich Bowker) who gives Jimmy the kind of honest talking to that Jimmy hasn't heard but needs to. Jimmy decides to give up violence, turn over a new leaf, and even recommend Mart as the new president once he, Jimmy, resigns as president of the association. That doesn't turn out to be a very good idea and Jimmy's vow to never fight again is quickly, and tragically, pushed aside. Events occur that pit Jimmy against Mart and neither one intends to let the other walk away from it breathing.

Dennis Morgan was a rising star at Warner Brothers and had just recently dropped his previous stage name, Richard Stanley (for the record, his birth name was Earl Stanley Morner), making Waterfront the first movie to credit him as "Dennis Morgan." He never became the big star Warners wanted but he did manage a couple of big hits with Kitty Foyle (1940), the movie that won Ginger Rogers an Oscar, and Christmas in Connecticut (1945). He does a fine job here and had the movie been given a bigger budget and marketed widely, might have made Morgan the star the studio wanted. Of course, there's no guarantee of that. Tough guy roles work magic for some but not for others. James Cagney became one of the all time biggest stars in Hollywood playing tough guys while another excellent performer like George Raft never got past the second tier. Perhaps Morgan never would have either but it would have been nice to see for sure had this film played wider.

Ward Bond impresses, once again. As the hot-tempered, bullying Mart, Bond is excellent, playing the role to perfection. For someone who appeared in as many films as Bond, it would be understandable if audiences grew tired of him but Bond never gave them a chance. The man never phoned in a single line, not a single moment, in his entire career. He remains one of the greatest character actors the golden era of Hollywood ever knew.

The real star of the movie, and its tragic center, is Gloria Dickson, who not only does a great job but carries many of the more dramatic scenes on her shoulders. Dickson was a young actress, working in B movies and hoping to strike the big time. She had a strong, steady voice, a beautiful face, and a real acting talent. Her career would go no further than 1945, however, when her life came to its sad demise. At the age of 27, Dickson found herself trapped behind a wall of fire in her Los Angeles home. She and her dog were found in the bathroom, apparently trying to escape the fire (burns indicate she tried getting through the flames before succumbing to smoke inhalation). It was a career cut short, one that may have flourished for years to come.

Waterfront is a great example of the fast-paced, plot-packed, B-movie dramas that Warner Brothers did so well. It stars an actor who never became as big as he should have, a character actor who acted in some of the greatest movies of all time, and a young starlet who never got to see the long career she deserved. For all those reasons and more, it's well worth a look.

Producers: Bryan Foy, Hal B. Wallis, Jack Warner
Director: Terry O. Morse
Screenplay: Lee Katz, Arthur Ripley, Kenyon Nicholson (based on his play Blind Spot)
Music: Heinz Roemheld
Cinematography: James Van Trees
Editing: Louis Hesse
Art Direction: Charles Novi
Costume Design: Milo Anderson
Cast: Gloria Dickson (Ann Stacey), Dennis Morgan (James 'Jim' Dolan), Marie Wilson (Ruby Waters), Sheila Bromley (Marie Cordell), Larry Williams (Frankie Donahue), Aldrich Bowker (Father Dunn), Frank Faylen (Skids Riley), Ward Bond (Mart Hendler), Arthur Gardner (Dan Dolan), George Lloyd (Joe Becker)


By Greg Ferrara