Die Docks von New-York

What a good film and what good condition this film is in. The story is simple enough but delivered so well by a great cast.

Seaman(George Bancroft) gets shore leave for the night and goes looking for some fun. He saves a lady(Betty Compson) and is overwhelmed by her. One thing leads to another and he ask her out. From there all kinds of things happen. One of those things is love.

I was very impressed by Bancroft and Compson. They really seemed like they were living their parts rather than acting them out. Betty Compson was such a beautiful woman. That combined with her acting talent, I am surprise that she wasn't a big silent film star. I have never heard of her before.

I would recommend this film to all film lovers, silent and sound.

Docks of New York (1928) is a prime example of the power of silent film at its height. After 1928, the medium would be crushed underneath the rise of sound technology, which was a shame considering how technically dazzling and sophisticated they had become by the latter half of the 1920s.

The film is a character study of a rough stoker and a suicidal woman. The two fall in love after he rescues her from an attempt to take her own life, though there is a chance they may be separated by the stoker's aversion to commitment and responsibility. The characters are all flawed, compelling people, each one brought to life with subtle performances from the leading actors. The atmosphere is appropriately seedy and dark, with chiaroscuro lighting and crowded spaces. It's a slow film, one that will not please those who prefer more plot or action, but it is worth your time, showcasing silent cinema at its loftiest heights. It is films like Docks of New York which make one wish the silent era had lingered on a little while longer.

Of course, no waterfront in the world was ever as deliciously seedy as set designer Hans Dreier's in this amazingly atmospheric and evocative masterpiece of late silent cinema. The story is rather tawdry, cheapish even, but plots are very rarely the point of a movie anyway, and Josef von Sternberg has made the perfect film out of next to nothing.

'The Docks of New York' is about a rough and ready stoker, Bill (George Bancroft), on leave for the night. He goes to the Sandbar and gets into a brawl with Hymn-Book Harry (the ever sleazy Gustav von Seyffertitz), and on the way back saves a young girl, Mae the tough kookie (Betty Compson) from drowning herself. Slowly they sorta kinda fall in love and he marries her on the spur of the moment, but what will they do the next morning when Bill is supposed to sail off again? The most astonishing thing about 'The Docks of New York' is its subtlety. We have no heroes or simplified villains here, just people who have had a hard time all their lives and are reluctant to be redeemed. The concept of love in this sneering, loud-mouthed environment is completely alien. "I hope you have better luck than me", says Olga Baclanova's character to Mae on her way to the slammer, "but I doubt it". It is Baclanova who says on the subject of decency that she was decent "before I got married".

It goes without saying that the film is acted as naturalistically as anything we see today, that Compson & Bancroft absolutely shine as the unlikely lovers, grittily played and with no sentimentality. The lighting is superb, photography stupendous, direction acute, and the edition you are most likely to see looks fabulous.

For me, this comes a close second to "Underworld" in Sternberg's films: the twists and turns of the melodramatic plot become ultimately a little too much for me to swallow (a twist too far?), and I found some of the camera devices simply distracting, but even so the film is more or less won by virtue of the impressive acting from all concerned. Betty Compson (who was soon to receive a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her role in the part-talkie "The Barker") stands out as the fragile, cynical girl who has "had too many good times" already but allows herself to believe in the possibility of redemption; Baclanova is memorable as the petty officer's deserted wife, while George Bancroft is a cheerful, callous but not unkindly Colossus of a stoker. The weary, sensitive features of Gustav von Seyffertitz, in a small role as the threadbare Bible-basher who ministers to this godless 'flock', also make a strong impression. The film is almost all atmosphere, but it is atmosphere well-done.

There are quite a few strengths that make this silent melodrama work so well. It has a well-crafted story that moves at a good pace and efficiently uses each minute of screen time. It is very well-acted, especially by George Bancroft and Betty Compson. Compson's performance, in particular, deserves much more praise and recognition than it has received, either at the time or now. Finally, the dockside atmosphere is interesting and convincing, besides being an integral part of the story.

Bancroft has a role that is particularly well-suited to him, and he does a fine job in the part. Compson has a challenging role, since she must make her character attractive yet lonely and miserable, and somewhat disreputable yet completely sympathetic, for the story to work. She gives an excellent performance in every respect, and Bancroft plays off of her character quite well. There are some fine moments in which their characters' rough edges contend with their own gentler and nobler instincts. Thus the unlikely attachment between the two not only works well, but draws you in and makes you care about them quite a bit.

The supporting cast gives good performances as well, with Olga Baclanova especially good in a role that is essential to the story. Mitchell Lewis is suitably brutish as the heavy, and Clyde Cook is quite believable as Bancroft's nervous pal.

Josef von Sternberg also tied together all of these strengths in an efficient and effective package, making every scene count and making you feel as if you were there on the docks with the characters. It's a fine melodrama by any standard, and is well worth seeing for anyone who enjoys silent movies.