I Cover the Waterfront (1933)

This movie surprised me again and again with its unexpected plot twists. Movies of this era are usually so predictable. It has a giant hideous shark and a scenes with this shark in the water that are genuinely terrifying. I did not expect effects from this era to stand up.There is a lot of distressing racist dialogue deprecating Chinese people.Claudette Colbert is like a fireplace. She radiates warmth, friendliness and enthusiasm. She has alarmingly thin eyebrows and overly thick face powder, but you get used to it. If she were in movies today, she could hold her own. She has that indefinable something.There is also a pretty racy scene when a women in a bar picks up the sea captain. I was shocked at how direct it was about what was going on. This must have blown the socks off the audience back in 1933.

Wow, where to start? Here's a real gem from the pre-Code days that touches on just about every controversial subject that the Hayes Commission took to task in print and film. It starts out with reporter Joe Miller (Ben Lyon) investigating a nude moonlight swim, leading to a highly risqué exchange between himself and Julie Kirk (Claudette Colbert), discreetly positioned behind a large boulder. From there, the story moves to Miller's work on a Chinese smuggling operation, using his connection to Miss Kirk to try and get the goods on her father, a crusty seaman who plies the ocean for all sorts of contraband.I have to say, I wasn't quite prepared for some of the scenes depicted in the story. When the Coast Guard moves in to get a closer look at Captain Eli's (Ernest Torrence) fishing boat, the Captain has his crew drop a shackled Chinese immigrant overboard! All part of the risk involved as Eli would explain. "The poor Chink tried pretty hard to get into the United States" is Miller's reaction, and to make his point, brings the body back to the City Editor's desk! What!!?? There's also the scene aboard the Santa Madre prison ship, where Miller playfully traps Julie in manacles and a neck restraint in a classic bondage scene. The only thing missing was a tattered leopard print dress for Colbert, which might have crossed someone's mind if it wasn't such a completely different genre.The scene that really had me jumping out of my seat though was the shark chase by Eli and Ortegus (Maurice Black) in the small fishing boat. That was just outrageous, especially when they harpooned the fish and it ran away with the boat! That segment for me was just about as frightening as the opening scene of "Jaws"; I mean, who would ever even think of making a living in an occupation with that kind of hazard? Then think about this for a minute - how do you convince a Chinese immigrant that he's got to crawl inside a shark to make it to shore? Did stuff like this really happen? Well if nothing else, this is a unique film, with all the noirish atmosphere you could ask for in a flick from the Thirties. Perhaps a bit too dark in spots, making it hard to follow the action, but when accentuated with that lonesome old foghorn in the distance, you've got just the right touch. Made to order for a dark and rainy night, as Claudette Colbert might suggest, watching from the comfort of a roaring fireplace.

With the title I Cover the Waterfront, I expected a social-conscience picture on the order of Warner Bros.' then contemporary I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. What I got was a part screwball comedy, part romance, part soap opera. Ben Lyon is the "I" in the title, a Joe Miller who hates his reporting job for a San Francisco paper because of non-event stories his boss keeps getting him. One of them is about a skinny-dipping woman named Julie Kirk (Claudette Colbert) who is the daughter of Eli Kirk (Ernest Torrence), a man Miller is interested in because he believes Eli has smuggled some Chinese immigrants illegally. This being pre-Code, there are some scenes that wouldn't have made it past the censors after 1934 like the one where Lyon and Colbert tour an old torture ship and Ben tricks Claudette into getting chained into one of the ship's devices just so he can kiss her without resistance! And she likes it too! There's also a brief picture of a nude woman in another scene. Witty lines dominate the first half with the two leads while the conflict between Colbert, Torrence, and Lyon takes part in the next in mostly compelling fashion resulting in a pretty satisfying denouement for those who believe in heartfelt conclusions. Well worth seeing for Colbert enthusiasts. P.S. This was Ernest Torrence's final movie.

This is the one where Lyons takes Colbert on a visit to a "torture" ship, puts her in stocks, spread eagle, kisses here and then asks if she wants more "torture" to which she says "Yes, I can take it!" Approximately 35 minutes into the movie. This was pretty racy in it's day--not too shabby now either. For atmosphere for this sort of movie, I suggest "The Docks of New York"--another coast, of course, but I think it's a better movie--although it doesn't have the come-hither looks of Claudette Colbert. Waterfront movies need lots of atmosphere and this one has it. The ending is a bit trite, though--all of the fireplace and cats, but it is a good diversion picture and good example of it's period. I'd also recommend, if you like this, to try out "Anna Christie"--both the silent version and the sound version--"Garbo talks"--gimme a visky, ginger ale on the side and don't be stingy, baby"