Docks Of New York

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The Docks of New York (1928 film) is a silent film starring George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova, Clyde Cook, and Mitchell Lewis. The ship on which Bill Roberts is a stoker has just put into port, giving the crew one night ashore. The ship's bad-tempered third engineer orders the stokers to clean up, while the engineer heads for a dockside bar, where he has a confrontation with the wife he had abandoned. Then, as Bill himself goes ashore, he sees a young woman attempt to drown herself. Bill dives in, saves her, and then, assisted by the engineer's wife, sees that she is cared for. Bill and the rescued woman begin to enjoy one another's company, but they must contend with the malice of the engineer, as well as a number of other complications.
Directed by Josef von Sternberg, The Docks of New York remains frequently cited by critics as one of the great silent films. The dark, gritty beer-hall ambiance remains a startling visual treat for modern audiences and the superb acting was acclaimed as a benchmark.
The movie was adapted by Jules Furthman from the John Monk Saunders story The Dock Walloper. In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.