Saturday, April 11, 2020

Movie review - "Frisco Waterfront" (1935) **

I only watched this for completionists sake as I'm a fan of Arthur Lubin, who directed. The version I watched was only 52 minutes - I gather the original cut was 66 but it didn't feel as though I missed anything.

It's a very fast paced melodrama about two men in love with the same gal - a version of the sort of stories done by Warner Bros. This has some decent production value - it's lower budget but there's still plenty of scenes of extras plus some on the docks; it's not a mega cheapie.

There's quasi names in the lead: Ben Lyon, Helen Twelvetrees, Rod La Roque. There's some subtext with Twelvetrees not being happy being married to a waterfront foreman and she leaves Lyon because of his lack of ambition - I mean, it's not as though she can get a job herself - and she's not punished for it.

The acting is erratic and it lacks the polish of a top level studio film.

No comments: