Claudette Colbert and her sweet ol’ human-trafficking papa.
Doesn’t it drive you crazy when you know something is true but you can’t prove it?
Welcome to the world of a newspaper reporter (Ben Lyon) who covers the activities of a west-coast harbour in the 1933 drama I Cover the Waterfront. The movie is based on the true-life experiences of journalist Max Miller, who wrote a surprise bestseller about his waterfront escapades.
Just like the real-life Miller, reporter Lyon is your man for waterfront news. It doesn’t matter if it’s drug smuggling or illegal fishing. He’s got the story covered – whether he likes it or not.
Mostly he doesn’t like it. Lyon is certain that a local fisherman (Ernest Torrence) is smuggling Chinese immigrants, but he can’t prove it. Even when the body of a Chinese man is discovered, there isn’t enough proof to link the murder to Torrence. But Lyon can’t devote the time he needs to the story; his editor is obsessed with making headlines out of more trivial activities.
Torrence’s character as the fisherman/human trafficker is pure evil. He smuggles Chinese immigrants on his boat so they can work in the city’s laundromats – as slaves, no doubt. But if the Coast Guard approaches his boat with intentions to search, Torrence ties up the immigrant with heavy metal chains and drops the man overboard. In one scene, Torrence has had a man stuffed inside a giant shark in order to sneak past the Coast Guard.
(Oh dear. We shouldn’t have told you about that last scene. It’s a visual that will put you off seafood for a while.)
The wrench in these works is Claudette Colbert, who plays Torrence’s free-spirited daughter. She honestly believes her father is just a fisherman; she has no idea about the darker side of his business. Of course she meets Lyon, and falls in love with him, and has no idea he’s determined to bust her old man.
Although Torrence has an annoying habit of mumbling his lines, he is a good actor. We believe this man has no qualms about murdering people for the sake of convenience, yet in his scenes with Colbert one could not imagine a kinder, more doting father.
As talented as Torrence is, he’s no match for Colbert’s charisma. No one is. Colbert really does own every scene – this role is only one example of why she became a legend.
I Cover the Waterfront is known as a pre-code Hollywood film. These were movies made before the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code in 1934. The code was meant to ensure all characters behaved in morally acceptable ways and – here’s something we really like – the bad guys always got what they deserved. If you haven’t seen a pre-code film before, you’ll notice a few things that may raise an eyebrow.
We recommend I Cover the Waterfront as a fast-paced gem with the fabulous Claudette Colbert. But if you’re a real seafood lover, remember what we said about the stuffed shark scene.
I Cover the Waterfront: starring Claudette Colbert, Ben Lyon, Hobart Cavanaugh. Directed by James Cruze. Written by Max Miller and Wells Root. United Artists, 1933 B&W, 64 mins.
Silver Screenings 
Ooooo! This sounds like a movie I’d love. Must. Find. Even though I am a seafood lover 🙂 Claudette Colbert is one of the actresses I don’t mind watching in anything. She’s great!
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She is great, isn’t she? … But I a serious about the shark scene…
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I’m glad you featured this film, did such a wonderful review of it. I’m glad I’m not the only one who really enjoyed it. Colbert and Lyon were so sweet together on screen.
It’s such a good script and it was cast perfectly. You mention what a tyrant Torrance was. He certainly was but his performance was memorable and necessary to get to the powerful ending.
If anyone hasn’t seen this one and they thought Gable and Colbert were cute together, they really should give Colbert and Lyon a chance.
I hope you had a great holiday.
Page
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You’re right, Page. Colbert and Lyon are a terrific pair in this movie. Thanks for visiting.
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I absolutely adore that oriental housecoat Colbert wore! Wow! Where can I get one of those? She was stunning!
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I KNOW!! I love it!
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I love every performance Claudette ever gave, including this one. She was always excellent, and stylish to boot.
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So true. I can’t think of one Colbert movie outfit that I didn’t like.
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Agreed. She knew how to wear clothes, that lady!
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Mmm, human-stuffed shark – let’s see THAT on The Food Network show CHOPPED! 🙂 But seriously, Ruth, your post on I COVER THE WATERFRONT sounds like my kind of movie, especially with all the pre-code elements! Thanks for recommending this, Ruth, and all of us here at Team Bartilucci HQ hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season!
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Thanks, Dorian. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving with zillions of turkey leftovers in the weeks to come.
I hope you get the chance to see this movie. I’d really like to hear your opinion.
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This is something I think I would enjoy. I tend to love Colbert and this seems like another one of her wonderful performances that no one remembers. (That is, except for you!) Thanks for the post and the recommendation.
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While all the actors in this film are good, Colbert is waaay more charismatic than the rest of them put together. It’s an interesting movie, and a short one. I hope you have the chance to see it.
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Colbert really was a force of nature, both on and off the set. I love her movies and this one stands out in my mind as one of the more engaging because of the relationship between her and her father.
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Yes, the relationship between Colbert and her father is quite poignant. You’re right – she really was a force of nature!
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