A masterpiece from one of the greatest directors in film's infant years, Josef von Sternberg. Set on the grimy waterfront, it is a story of the decaying humanity that works and lives on the wharf. In this film, a two-fisted stocker changes his life by saving a suicidal woman. But von Sternberg's images of the grim, desolate and gritty existence on the docks overwhelm the mind with what can only be warmth and humanity for these two lapsed souls that society has forgotten. This tough, sentimental story is enhanced by a brilliant production and by the moving, haunting score of Gaylord Carter, performed on a magnificent Wurlitzer organ.
