''Waterfront'' is a 1939

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Terry O. Morse and starring

Gloria Dickson Gloria Dickson (born Thais Alalia Dickerson; August 13, 1917 – April 10, 1945) was an American stage and screen actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Dickson was the daughter of a banker. After her father's dea ...

Dennis Morgan Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner, December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gained his greatest fame. According to one obi ...

and Marie Wilson. It was adapted from the play ''Blind Spot'' by

Kenyon Nicholson Kenyon Nicholson (May 21, 1894 – December 19, 1986) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Early life John Kenyon Nicholson was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on May 21, 1894, the oldest son of Thomas B. and Anne (Kenyon) Nichols ...

. It is preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Plot

Jim Dolen, head of a dockworkers' union, cannot resist a good fight until he meets Ann Stacey, to whom he promises to stop fighting in order to marry her. When his brother Dan Dolen is accidentally killed by Mart Hendler, Jim, with the aid of his pal Frankie Donahue, sneaks out to look for Mart. Mart is hiding out with his girlfriend Marie. They plan to leave on a ship but do not have enough money. Fearing that Jim might kill Mart, perhaps even in the courtroom, Marie convinces Ann to give her $100 to abscond Mart out of the country and away from Jim. Still bent on revenge, Jim learns what Ann has done and confronts her, but she threatens to shoot him to prevent him from killing Mart. He takes the gun from her. Ann locks Jim 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 overcome with fear that Ann will betray them. With Frankie's help, Jim escapes from jail. Ann races to warn Mart and Marie but arrives at their hideout just moments ahead of Jim. Mart knocks Ann unconscious, places her in the closet and hides by hanging from the window sill. 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 Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

and remands Jim to the custody of Father Dunn and Ann. Father Dunn says goodbye to Ann and Jim, who are now married, as their train leaves for a better place.

Cast

as Ann Stacey *

as James 'Jim' Dolan * Marie Wilson as Ruby Waters *

Sheila Bromley Sheila Bromley (born Sheila LeGay; October 31, 1911 – July 23, 2003), (The reference work ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003'' gave her birth date as October 31, 1907). sometimes billed as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Manno ...

as Marie Cordell * Larry Williams as Frankie Donahue *

Aldrich Bowker Aldrich Bowker (January 1, 1875 – March 21, 1947) was an American stage and film actor. Biography Bowker was born in Ashby, Massachusetts. He graduated from Fitchburg High School. His debut came in Boston in a stage adaptation of ''The Ch ...

as Father Dunn *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Skids Riley *

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

as Mart Hendler * Arthur Gardner as Dan Dolan * George Lloyd as Joe Becker

References

Sources

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waterfront 1939 films 1939 crime drama films American films based on plays Films directed by Terry O. Morse American black-and-white films American crime drama films 1930s American films