Review of The Docks of New York (1928) by Eric K — 02 Oct 2010
George Bancroft gives a tough, bullish, and sweet performance as a steam ship worker who saves the life of a suicidal flapper (Betty Compson), uses her, and comes to love her, all in one gloriously foggy and brilliantly lit night, in this, the last of the great Josef von Sternberg Paramount films of the silent era.
Bancroft and Compson, using gestures and eyes to portray their growing love, cynical and guarded at first, tender as the night turns to day, make believers of even the most jaded anti-romantics, and on these studio-built docks, those are plenty and many, while Sternberg and lighting master Harold Rosson create a fog shrouded atmosphere that, entirely studio bound, perfectly matches the gritty, gorgeous, balletic movement of the characters and the camera.
Some will suggest that the final five years of the silent era is undeniably the greatest era of visual cinema of all time, and these Sternberg films of the time certainly lend credence to that belief.
This review of The Docks of New York (1928) was written by Eric K on 02 Oct 2010.
The Docks of New York has generally received very positive reviews.
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