Review of The Docks of New York (1928) by Jim H — 02 Nov 2013
A ship worker falls for a suicidal woman.
Much of George Bancroft's performance as Bill Roberts is spent strutting and posing with a masculine air that borders on satire, and the plot of the film is victim to silent film's inability to express full character interaction: if this is a love story, it's a love that the audience must endow with its own background and motivations.
However, the film is a technical achievement. The cinematography is beautiful, and while Bill is a tough guy to like, there's enough compassion in him that we can find ourselves siding with him. This is a seedy world, and director Joseph von Sternberg presents it in all its bleak charm. There aren't many good guys, so von Sternberg makes the bad guys all themore interesting.
Overall, this is a solid and remarkable film but not without its flaws.
This review of The Docks of New York (1928) was written by Jim H on 02 Nov 2013.
The Docks of New York has generally received very positive reviews.
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