I Cover the Waterfront (1933) User Reviews

Underrated, saucy, journalism film

[jesswis · 7/10 · 8 September 2005]

For those who like "It Happened One Night", read = fans of great quotes, the boozer/ace/snoopy journalist flicks, or Claudette Colbert's big doe eyes, it's a must see film.

Add to that the titillating and graphic aspects of the film, which was made only one year before the 1934 amendment of the Hayes motion picture production code* and you have a film or media history lover's paradise. I'm talking same-sex bed sharing, white people being restrained, graphic deaths, explicit techniques for breaking the law; the works.

That's pretty much where the plot twists begin and end, but it's enough to keep a viewer, uh, captive.

Anyway, the film is based on a book by a reporter who wrote about the shipping and fishing docks on the Pacific Ocean in the 1930s.

There's unemployment and there's the black market; there's those who survive by any means necessary, and those who just sink for lack of work. And then there's journalistic integrity somewhere in the hazy mix.

With an editor who won't leave him alone because the leads are constantly rolling in, wannabe investigative reporter Joe Miller (Ben Lyon) can't get a decent night's rest from his waterfront beat. Forced to cover everything from bootleggers to herring stench, mob arrests to nude swimmers, he's got no choice- he'd be out a job if he doesn't jump when the boss says so.

His pantheon of sources, all characters, comes to include the daughter (Claudette Colbert at her sassy best)of his favorite mark for reporting: Eli Kirk, a kingpin of the docks and bootlegger extraordinaire.

Seeing his in with Kirk's daughter, Julie, Miller dogs the seafarer, convinced he can pin him with illegal immigration of Chinese workers (whose lives are quickly extinguished by smugglers if the KGB-like Coast Guard should come their way, sirens blasting).

Miller's editor, unlike the fish in whose bellies Kirk so often carries his bottles, doesn't bite, reminding his ace that he needs to prove it with facts, not hunches.

So Miller sets out to use Julie, the captain's daughter, to prove it.

Alas, as can be expected, love gets in the way. And he soon learns she may not bargain easily when it comes to her father.

Will Miller be able to unearth the smugglers and get the girl or will he lose his editor's patience, steamy love affair, and his job in the process?

The movie's got more life, wit, and zest in presenting determination and desperation by far than Grapes of Wrath (the movie).

*From Wikipedia: 1934 changes to the Code

The Motion Picture Association of America responded to criticism of the racy and violent films of the early 1930s by strengthening the code. An amendment to the code in June of 1934 prohibited any reference in a motion picture to illicit drugs, homosexuality, premarital sex, profanity, prostitution, and white slavery.

Do you remember, will you return.

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 26 June 2009]

**SPOILERS** Stuck in a dead end job covering the San Diego waterfront newspaper reporter Joe Miller, Ben Lyon, would want nothing better then leave that boring and no news worthy hick town for a place like Chicago or New York were the real action is.

Joe does have one news story that he feels would break the ice, in getting him a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism, and that has to do with the suspected smuggling of illegal Chinese immigrants into the US by old salt and gin & rummy drinking Eli Kirk, Ernest Torrence. What stunned me about Kirk's smuggling operations is that not only is he, in every scene he's in, far too drunk to do anything especially operate a boat on the high seas but the Chinese he's smuggling end up very very dead! That's by Kirk stuffing them, alive, inside the stomachs of 20 or more foot long sharks where they end up either suffocating or drowning!

It's only by chance that Joe runs into the very sexy Julie, Claudette Colbert, on the beach one evening skinny-dipping in the Pacific Ocean. As it turned out Julie just happens to be Old Man Eli Kirks' daughter! Getting romantically involved with the somewhat naive Julie in what his plans really are, to get the goods on her old man, Joe instead falls helplessly in love with her. This makes it very difficult for Joe to have Julie's father arrested by informing the US Customs Agents about his illegal activities but, as duty calls, he does it anyway. The way Joe, through circumstances beyond his control, does it not only ends up with Eli not only saving his life but having his daughter Julie, who at first dumped him, not only fall in love with Joe but in the end marry him!

The movie, based on the 1932 best selling book by Max Miller, really doesn't make that much sense in explaining the bizarre round-robin relationship between on and off lovers Joe and Julie and the criminally minded, he's in fact responsible for at least two murders, and constantly drunk Eli Kirk. Were also given a bit of comedy relief by having Joe's friend the mooching and always drunk, like Eli, One Punch McCoy, Hobart Cavanaugh, who it would take only one punch, or slap, to flatten him.

P. S There's a number of oddities in "I Cover the Waterfront" in that it was one of the last films not restricted by the Hollywood Hayes Commission on morality in films where it was implied, not shown thanks heavens, Julie or actress Claudette Colbert actually swimming nude on film. There's also the oddity of one of the movie's top stars Ernest Torrence never living long enough to see himself in it by dying at the age of 54, on May 15, 1933, just days before the film was to be released to the movie going public. And by far the biggest oddity of all about the film is that the composer of its haunting and hypnotic them song, also called "I Cover the Waterfront", Johnny Green was for some reason or another excluded from the movie's-opening as well as closing- credits!

"I don't like the price of fish around here".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 4 October 2009]

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.

Not Tonight, Josephine

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 11 April 2010]

On the San Diego coast, hard-nosed reporter Ben Lyon (H. Joseph "Joe" Miller) suspects nasty seafaring Captain Ernest Torrence (as Eli Kirk) is part of a smuggling racket. Indeed, Mr. Torrence is cleverly shipping illegal Chinese immigrants to California. But, neither Mr. Lyon nor the local Coast Guard can catch him in the act. And, Lyon's editor wants him to cover stories like the report of a nude woman swimming in the ocean. Wearing only a bathing cap, but conveniently posed behind a large rock, the naked woman turns out to be beautiful Claudette Colbert (as Julie). When Lyon learns Ms. Colbert is Torrence's daughter, he decides a quick romance with the attractive Colbert might net him the proof he needs to bag the crook.

This story, while flawed in a couple of important ways, is full of clever touches. The opening credits are noticeably well-done, in a "newspaper" style, they explain "I Cover the Waterfront" will be about, "The unique and personal experiences of a newspaper reporter covering a Pacific waterfront." Lyons and Torrence contribute fine, dependable characterizations. Colbert isn't entirely believable as Torrence's salty daughter; but, this could have been fixed with some slight script revisions. For example, Colbert could have been reconnecting with her father, after a long absence. Still, Colbert looks great from any angle.

Director James Cruze handles his players marvelously, with the most delightful scene occurring when Lyon takes Colbert on a date to the torture chamber of the "Prison Ship Santa Madre" and engages in her some bondage. "I can take it!" says a satisfied Colbert. Not so successful is the moment when Lyon slits a shark open to reveal an immigrant inside, which defies credulity. Sly innuendo is provided by "One Punch" Hobart Cavanaugh (as McCoy), Lyon's drunken companion. When Lyon pokes him in bed, Mr. Cavanaugh sheepishly catchphrases, "Not tonight, Josephine!" (remember, Lyon's character is named "Joseph"). "Women are all alike," he says later, "When you need them most, they are conspicuous by their absence." Credit writers Max Miller, Wells Root, and Jack Jevne.

******* I Cover the Waterfront (5/19/33) James Cruze ~ Ben Lyon, Claudette Colbert, Ernest Torrence, Hobart Cavanaugh

Surprisingly good for its age

[roedyg · 7/10 · 19 February 2012]

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.

Claudette Colbert on the waterfront

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 27 March 2018]

Ben Lyon and a thirty year old Claudette Colbert star in this "newspaper reporter stumbles into something big" deal. Lyon is reporter Joe Miller, who bumps into Julie Kirk.. she just HAPPENS to be the daughter of smuggler Eli Kirk, but Miller wants the chance to investigate. This one moves a bit slow, and we spend a lot of time following the fishing antics of Julie's father. Miller discovers quite a bit about the father, but will have to follow it through. Based on the book by Max Miller. Miller also wrote "Hell and High Water", but Turner Classics must not have that one, since there are no rating votes on that. There IS quite a bit of bio information at the Online Archive of California, apparently from his collection of papers at U.C. San Diego. Interesting to note that the lead is a reporter named "Miller", in a story written by a reporter named "Miller"... Film directed by James Cruze, who had started as an actor in the wee days of silent films, but crossed over to directing in the 1920s. Lyon had been in silent films for YEARS, but Colbert had only been in the biz a couple years. It's pretty good. Drags in some places. Story itself is pretty solid... just moves kind of slow.

Claudette tortured?

[drpax · 6/10 · 31 July 2005]

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"

Pretty Good Atmospheric Drama

[Snow Leopard · 10 July 2001]

Although some aspects of the film don't quite work, "I Cover the Waterfront" is a pretty good atmospheric drama with some good moments. The setting works very well for a story of suspense and crime, and the good story mostly makes up for the less impressive elements of the movie.

Joe Miller (Ben Lyon) is reporter assigned to find interesting stories along the waterfront. His obsession is to prove that ship captain Eli Kirk is involved in a smuggling operation with an occasional murder thrown in. When Miller has a chance meeting with Kirk's charming daughter Julie (Claudette Colbert), he seizes the opportunity to get information about her father. He quickly becomes enamored of Julie, and find himself with conflicting loyalties. Some of the story that follows is predictable, but there are some moments of tension and some good scenes.

The waterfront setting is done nicely, and it makes a good background to the events in the plot. It also includes an exciting and realistic shark-fishing scene. On the other hand, there are some features that are less effective or even a bit dated: for example, the very callous attitudes of all of the characters towards Chinese immigrants, and Miller's irritating sidekick, who is supposed to provide comic relief by his habitual drunkenness, but who is really just an annoyance that contributes nothing whatsoever to the plot.

Overall, this is an interesting film despite a few flaws, and it is worth watching for anyone who likes films of the era.

Claudette Colbert fans should enjoy I Cover the Waterfront

[tavm · 7/10 · 11 April 2007]

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.

Lost his moral compass

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 14 February 2013]

I Cover The Waterfront stars Ben Lyons and Claudette Colbert and it concerns reporter Lyons trying to uncover a smuggling racket by Colbert's father Ernest Torrance. When all else fails, Lyons goes on a romantic campaign to win Colbert and maybe get a line on what her father is doing. If it was liquor and this film was made at the tail end of Prohibition that might be one thing. But he's smuggling illegal Chinese immigrants and has no compunctions about throwing them overboard should the Coast Guard get too close.

Torrance who is best known for playing Saint Peter in Cecil B. DeMille's King Of Kings makes his farewell performance in this in a role 180 degrees polar opposite of Peter. He's a man who's totally lost his moral compass and regards the Chinese as cargo to be jettisoned. His attitude is quite typical of the West Coast which was flooded with Chinese and Japanese immigrants starting with the California Gold Rush and the opening of Japan. The Oriental was regarded as cheap labor and nothing more. So Torrance takes his money and jettisons his human cargo when the heat is on. As it is he's got quite the gimmick for concealing the cargo you have to see the film for.

Of course Claudette just thinks Torrance making a good living as a fisherman. And Lyons while putting on the moves to get information falls in love with her. The inevitable consequences follow.

Hobart Cavanaugh plays one his best drunks, a milquetoast when sober and a guy who gets real aggressive as long as Lyons is around to fight his battles. Given the ever raging battle over illegal immigration, I Cover The Waterfront has a relevancy for today as well.

A 1933 movie should be better than this!

[1930s_Time_Machine · 2/10 · 1 February 2023]

Anyone who has never sampled the cinematic delights of 1933 might stumble upon this flotsam because of its reasonable reviews. If they do they will probably never watch an old motion picture again....dull, miserable tedium!

Ben Lyon was around for years but he never made it as a grade A actor. If you watch this you'll understand why - he's just not that good and doesn't have that special something to make him stand out from the crowd. In this film, that's not a particularly high bar to reach anyway. Apart from Claudette Colbert, who gives a fine performance (although she's far too classy for us to believe that she's a poor fisherman's daughter) the acting from the rest of the cast is something akin to an under rehearsed first production from a local amateur dramatics society.

It must have taken some skill and effort to turn what could have been an exciting story about people smuggling into something so utterly dull and lifeless. The script is bland and is lacking in any humour - someone pretending badly to be drunk does not constitute comedy. The direction tries hard to be atmospheric but ends up a disjointed mish-mash of random styles edited together with a butcher's knife. It's one of those films where you're just itching to press the fast forward button. Save yourself the disappointment - give this one a miss.

Colbert absolutely glows!

[mikhail080 · 8/10 · 15 July 2001]

The presence of luminous Claudette Colbert lifts this standard and somewhat dreary effort to an entirely different level. Her shocking entrance has her buck-naked after skinny-dipping in the ocean, where Ben Lyon holds her bathing suit hostage as Claudette hides behind a boulder. She demands to know how he found her in this remote beach. He tells her that a neighbor with a telescope objected to her nudity. "It must have been a woman," replies Claudette. "Yes," answers Lyon, "no man would object."

Obviously, Claudette Colbert appears at the pinnacle of her legendary beauty, with her distinctive wide cheekbones complemented by her enormous eyes. Her wardrobe here is cheap yet sexy, often in tight sweaters, and her slim form cuts a glorious figure across the screen. She's cute in the best sense, never self-conscious or cloying, and it's easy to see why she'd take the nation by storm the following year in "It Happened One Night" and "Cleopatra." It's a joy to even watch her make toast in an adorable bit of business when she catchs an errant glob of jelly from dropping onto the table. One of the sweetest ad-libs I've ever noticed, done with humor and style.

The movie itself offers other enjoyments too. Like the gnarled Ernest Torrance as Claudette's sea-salty father, who smuggles illegal Chinese immigrants into port -- sometimes inside the bellies of sharks! Naturalistic undertones abound when the viewer goes aboard this captain's ship, where it's an unfortunate incident when a Chinese man is chained and thrown overboard when the Coast Guard is spotted nearby. "He knew he was takin' a risk," is how the Captain justifies his actions.

All-in-all a worthwhile effort, this movie has much to recommend it, although it is somewhat marred by annoying Ben Lyon as the lead. If another actor had essayed that role, perhaps Clark Gable or Spencer Tracy, the entire movie could have been lifted to greatness.

More Undocumented Aliens.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 22 August 2015]

A tale of love and immigrant smuggling in San Diego harbor, enlivened by some clever dialog. Example: "When two men agree, one of them is unnecessary." I grant you it's not a flight of poetry.

Lyon isn't bad as the newspaper reporter who gets mixed up with the chief smuggler and the smuggler's sexy young daughter, Colbert. It's true that someone like Gable or Spencer Tracy would have been an improvement, but Lyon's lackadaisical approach doesn't ruin the part. His chief job is to court Colbert in order to get evidence that will hang her father, who is particeps criminis, although Colbert believes him to be a simple fisherman.

Ernest Torrence is Colbert's father. Chinese workers pay him $700 to hide on his fishing boat and be brought ashore along with the catch du jour. If a Coast Guard cutter approaches, good old Torrance and his two crewmen will reluctantly dump the illegal Oriental passenger overboard, loaded with chains. It is a bit impolite but let's not condemn the old fellow, because he loves his daughter and brings her a pretty gift, given to him by the Oriental gentleman whom he just deep sixed. The boat carries other illegal stash as well, such as whiskey. God, it just occurred to me -- 1933, the depths of the Great Depressions AND prohibition! How bad can a national nightmare get?

The weighted body of that illegal immigrant is found by Lyons shortly after it's been dumped. In pursuit of a story, he rolls it up and deposits it on his office desk, while the editor argues with him. The body continues to be treated rudely. It's referred to several times as "the Chink." And when Lyons plops it on his desk, the editor shouts angrily, "What do you want ME to do with it -- have it stuffed?"

Torrence looks the part of the old barnacle, his weathered Scots face bewhiskered and corrugated. His acting is as old-fashioned as his appearance but the mug can play the piano in the local bawdy house and the audience is treated to tuneful ditties like "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Mighty Like a Rose." He and his crew overreach when harpooning a monstrous shark and the brutal scene that follows is right out of "Moby Dick" or "Jaws." The few scenes at sea are pretty good.

Tipped by Lyon, the Coast Guard catches Torrence smuggling illegals inside the bodies of huge (fake) sharks. The details regarding the Coast Guard's equipment and uniforms of the period haven't been well researched, but no matter.

The few scenes at sea are pretty good. The ending is serious and well handled. Direction by James Cruze is exceptional in a strictly functional way and in fact it's an exciting and funny movie.

A Miserable Place

[view_and_review · 2/10 · 17 November 2023]

The waterfront was a source of income, freedom, and escapism for some, while it was a source of misery for others. For H. Joseph 'Joe' Miller (Ben Lyon) it was definitely a source of misery. He was a reporter for the local newspaper and he wanted nothing more than to break a story big enough for him to land a better gig back east. If he could just catch Eli Kirk (Ernest Torrence) smuggling Chinese into the country, then he could write his own ticket.

Joe discovered a dead Chinese man floating in the harbor one day and he knew it was connected to Eli, except he couldn't conclusively prove it. He'd needed to catch Eli red-handed, and to do that he'd need Julie Kirk (Claudette Colbert), Eli's daughter. He would charm, flirt, and date her to gain her trust in hopes she would let slip any information he could use to catch Eli.

I had a big problem with this movie. Besides their use of the term ch*nk for Chinese and w*p for Italians, they totally downplayed the fact that Eli was a murderer.

In the very beginning he had a Chinese stowaway on his schooner. He told his men to tie an anchor around the Chinese man. Why? Because if the coast guard came he wanted them to throw him overboard and not float. In other words, killing the man was more important than going to jail.

When Joe brought the dead man to his newspaper office, of all places, there was never any consideration or concern given to the dead man just slung on top of a desk. The editor treated him as though he were useless refuse, not a human being who's murderer should be brought to justice.

And then we heard no more about it. A Chinese man was dead. Who cares? If that was the attitude of the people on the waterfront, then it was a miserable place and romance or not, this is a miserable movie as well.

Free on YouTube.

Crime, fishing and romance on the waterfront

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 28 August 2021]

"I Cover the Waterfront" is a crime, drama and romance film that stars Ben Lyon, Claudette Colbert and Ernest Torrence. It's set in a harbor location that's probably near Los Angeles or San Diego. Lyon is Joe Miller, a reporter who hates the locale and the smells of his beat on the waterfront, and who longs for the country of Vermont. Colbert is Julie Kirk, daughter of a fisherman who smuggles Chinese into the country. That's Eli Kirk, played by Ernest Torrence. Julie calls her dad by his first name and dotes on him, but doesn't know his racket. While he takes money to smuggle Chinese into the country, he thinks nothing of killing them by weighing them down and throwing them overboard if a Coast Guard boat approaches.

The story is fair and the acting is okay, although it shows a little stiffness and hesitation - probably part of the early sound film jitters not quite worked out yet by the smaller studios. Torrence in particular seems to have some holdover delay in his lines and actions from his silent film days. The film has scenes of the stereo-typical shouting matches and clashes between newspaper editors and their reporters. One can easily get tired of seeing so many of these in the movies.

Both Lyon and Colbert were established actors by this time. This film has a light plot of reporter tenacity and romance, with a dark side of the disregard for life by men who become greedy. The film quality is quite crude yet, but it had some nice outdoor scenes on the ocean and around a harbor. While there isn't much of a mystery aspect to the crime segment, the scenes of catching large sharks adds a sense of reality and authenticity to the film.

The final scene shows Joe Miller's newspaper report about catching smuggler, Eli Kirk, with a poetic phrase: "Eli Kirk made good his boast that the Law would never get him. He died saving the life of a man - not a friend - but the man he hated. Man proposes. God disposes." Here are some lines from the film.

One Punch McCoy, "All editors are fatheads - except when you're looking for a job."

Julie Kirk, "Oh, I get it - you're a ventriloquist." H. Joseph Miller, "No, I'm just a dummy."

Julie Kirk, "I'll bet it was a woman." Joe Miller, "Of course No gentleman would say a word."

One Punch McCoy, "When two guys agree, one of them is unnecessary." Joe Miller, "All city editors are unnecessary."

Joe Miller, "Come on, let's play a love scene." Julie Kirk, "Let's fall in love first. "

Randall, the Boat guide, "Take one of our little booklets." Joe Miller, "Oh, take one of those little booklets yourself and stick it in your back pocket. I know more about this boat than you do. "

Joe Miller, "You wouldn't go for that kiss now, would you?" Julie Kirk, "Say, I thought you came down here to work." Miller, "Well, if you don't think it's work getting a kiss out of you, your nuts."

Joe Kirk, in the bottom of an old Spanish prison ship, "Oh, yeah, this was, this, this was the manicure parlor. Now with these things they take and uh, pull your fingernails out."

Julie Kirk, "I'm afraid of tomorrow, without you."

Joe Miller, looking around at his tidied apartment, "You did this?" Julie Kirk, "Yes." Joe, "Why?" Julie, "Well, I had something to say to you, 'n this is my way of saying it. You like it?" Joe, "I think its swell."

Joe Miller, "I've got the finish for my novel." Julie Kirk, "What is it?" Joe, "He marries the girl." Julie, "That's a swell finish."

Ernest Torrence Gives This Movie Much Needed Grit!!

[kidboots · 7/10 · 1 October 2010]

Reliance Pictures was an off shoot of Edward Small productions and was also responsible for some really interesting films ("Palooka" (1934), an excellent adaptation of the Joe Palooka comic strip with Jimmy Durante and "Let "em Have It" (1935), a dynamic story about a ruthless gangster played by Bruce Cabot) during it's short life. James Cruze was hired by Reliance to direct it's first film in 1933, "I Cover the Waterfront". Based loosely on the best selling expose by reporter Max Miller, the film combined lurid fact with fiction, sprinkled with chilling drama.

When reporter Joe Miller (Ben Lyon) is called out to report on a nude bather (pretty risqué even for 1933!!) he meets Julie Kirk (Claudette Colbert) and realises her father is Eli Kirk, an old fisherman, who he has suspected for a long time is involved in a smuggling racket. He is - people smuggling!!!and he is cold blooded enough to think nothing of throwing a chinaman overboard when the customs officers get too close. The one person he loves unconditionally is his daughter Julie but she has suspected for a while that something is troubling her father. Miller starts to romance Julie - to see what she knows, but of course the inevitable happens and they fall in love.

Claudette Colbert and Ben Lyon were the nominal stars but the real reason to watch is Ernest Torrence. He had always been a menacing villain ever since portraying the degenerate Luke Hatfield in "Tol'able David" (1921) but in this movie he really outdoes himself as the fearsome tobacco spitting killer, who will stop at nothing to avoid detection of his smuggling racket. An amazing story, according to "Human Monsters", involves a harpooning expedition, where several twenty foot sharks were caught for the scene in which illegal immigrants were hidden in the shark carcasses. Special breathing masks attached to snorkels enabled the Chinese extras to survive the scenes in which they are bound in chains, inside the sharks. "I Cover the Waterfront" also boasted a popular theme song, which became a jazz standard, covered by many artists, including Billie Holiday.

Recommended.

Good but the ending deadens the impact a bit...

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 25 June 2011]

Joe (Ben Lyon) is a reporter whose beat is the waterfront. His big crusade is to stop a local fisherman (Eli--played by Ernest Torrence) who is smuggling in Chinese illegal aliens. However, when the harbor patrol searches his boat, they never find anything. In fact, one of these scenes is pretty horrifying as Eli has his mates truss up one of the illegals and toss him overboard when the patrol approaches! Joe is determined to prove Eli's evil deeds and he plays up to Eli's daughter (Claudette Colbert) to get inside information. And, using some of this information, he's able to learn about Eli's plans. But, by now Joe is in love with the daughter--and if he springs his trap he'll most likely lose her. What's he to do?!

The film is pretty tough--featuring not only the murder of the 'Chink' (as the film refers to Chinese folks) but an impossible scene where a basking shark tears the leg off a man (though they are plankton feeders--not man eaters). And, because it's so tough it really kept my interest--even though it was a low-budget affair. However, at the end, the movie has a sappy ending that unfortunately detracts from all the rest of the film--with a redemption that seemed far-fetched to say the least. Still, it's worth seeing--particularly since it's free and you can downloaded from IMDb.

A must-see for Colbert fans!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 12 December 2013]

This museum piece will interest only rabid Claudette Colbert fans and dyed-in-celluloid film buffs. James Cruze's direction is totally and inexcusably routine, almost all his scenes shot in either long, static takes or monotonously intercut reverse angles. Worse, the action scenes are few and poorly staged. Cruze uses very little camera movement, though admittedly what little he does employ is very effective — the camera pulling back from the piano to Torrence; the lengthy tracking shot of Colbert and Lyon taking Torrence home. Also on the reverse side of the ledger, the script is overloaded with banal dialogue — though Hobart Cavanaugh's tippling reporter is allowed one really amusing riposte — most of it delivered at a rapid pace by an extremely wooden Ben Lyon. But, luckily for us, Miss Colbert is as entrancing as ever. Even a rotten vehicle like this cannot dim her charm. Her presence is undoubtedly the film's sole recommendation — a fact realized by the photographer who gives her many attractive close-ups. Ernest Torrence, on the other hand, over-acts.

A Combination of Gritty and Sappy That Doesn't Work

[marxsarx · 7/10 · 6 February 2005]

Mild Spoilers Ahead - Please Take Note.

I Cover the Waterfront is a 1933 movie featuring Claudette Colbert. Film buffs may wish to see it because she is in it. She is a vivacious actress and has screen charisma.

The film also has other things to commend it such as the photography of the waterfront circa 1933 that is interesting. There are also some engrossing plot elements involving the smuggling of illegal Chinese immigrants and the use of huge sharks in the process.

Ernest Torrence is also interesting in his role as the father of the Claudette Colbert character. Ben Lyon is okay as her character's love interest. I must say that all the performances in this movie did seem to be a bit forced and unnatural and I felt this throughout the film.

My reaction is that the overall cinematic synergy of I Cover The Waterfront is not good. The film at times is gritty and hard hitting and at other moments tries to be sappy and cutesy. The combination does not work well in this film. For that reason, it is far from a classic or enjoyable film and is more important from the standpoint of being an antique. I would only recommend it for film buffs interested in Claudette Colbert or in films of the period. I rate it a 70 percent or a C - on my scale.

i cover the waterfront

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 30 September 2023]

Some good stuff from Ernest Torrance in his penultimate performance as a sea captain adrift in corruption and dissipation. I also liked Colbert in an early, sexy, right profile turn. And a lot of Wells Root's dialogue from Max Miller's novel is properly cynical and funny, as befits a 1930s newspaper movie. But there is way too much of Ben Lyon, kind of a half ass Lee Tracy, and the dull as desalinated water romance between him and Claudette. And while I know I should put my 2023, anti MAGA viewfinder aside when watching this 1933 offering I confess I was fairly appalled to see Root and director James Cruze lavish so much sympathy upon Torrance's exploiter and murderer of Asians trying to enter the United States while regarding his victims as little more than supercargo. Give it a C plus.

Excellent Waterfront Romantic Drama

[robert-temple-1 · 8/10 · 30 September 2008]

This film was excellently directed by James Cruze, best known for 'The Great Gabbo' (1929) with Erich von Stroheim, and the Will Rogers vehicle, 'Mr. Skitch' (1933). Cruze died rather young, and has never been properly appreciated. Here he has made a gritty and realistic drama of the California waterfront with lots of harrowing location footage shot at sea showing the dangers of shark fishing. Apparently, great white sharks were hunted by harpoon from small rowboats, and here we see just how wrong this can go. The story is all about Claudette Colbert, here as radiant as ever she was, despite the fact that all the characters in the film including herself are morally ambivalent at best. Her father is a ruthless people smuggler who does not hesitate to throw a Chinese illegal immigrant overboard to save himself from discovery by the Coast Guard, but despite being this sort of character, he is powerfully played by character actor Ernest Torrence as someone entitled to our sympathy, and Claudette goes on loving him despite his crimes, which surely must have left some touches of mildew on her supposedly stainless character? As for her love interest, the dogged newspaper reporter played by Ben Lyon, who is sick of the waterfront and wants to go back to the sanity of Vermont, his own character flaws are wide enough to drive a rather large fishing boat through. All of these iniquities are glossed over, as we are encouraged to root for the romance of this couple, and we very quickly drown in the deep pools of Claudette's soulful eyes (which, by the way, has anybody ever noticed, are too far apart). This is absolutely not a sugary Hollywood drama. Its moral ambiguity possibly makes it all the more interesting.

Ben Lyons Is The Problem

[boblipton · 6/10 · 15 September 2023]

Ben Lyons is a reporter assigned to cover the San Diego waterfront. Someone has been smuggling Chinese people in, and Lyons thinks it's Ernest Torrence in his last role. He also tries to seduce Torrence's daughter, Claudette Colbert.. but she's interested in love, not just sex.

The copy I looked at was the result of a recent restoration. While the sound was perfect, the visuals were a bit off.

Which pretty much covers how I feel about the movie. There's potentially interestingly written characters, like Hobart Cavanaugh's "One Punch McCoy", but they never seem to affect Ben Lyon's mood. He hates his job, he wants the story, he desires Colbert, and nothing anyone does -- including him -- seems to change that. Miss Colbert swimming naked in the sea, indicated S&M overtones in a torture chamber from Spanish days, even Miss Colbert cleaning the windows of his place so he can actually sea the waterfront doesn't affect him, even with a mandatory happy ending to the script, and that's why I think this movie isn't a pre-code classic.

Info on Missing Scenes

[clintlyle · 8/10 · 23 April 2015]

In his 1976 book CLAUDETTE COLBERT, film historian William Everson writes extensively about I COVER THE WATERFRONT, praising it as one of Colbert's best films and as containing one of her best performances. Everson's book was one in the series edited by Ted Sennett, THE PYRAMID ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE MOVIES.

In discussing the movie, Everson references scenes which are not found in the 60 minute print in existence today. (Another reviewer states the original movie is 72 minutes long.) Here is an excerpt from Everson's text which refers to the missing scenes: ". . . there seem to be years of world-weariness compressed into the tone of Colbert's voice in her one line 'Who cares about tomorrow?' as she rolls over into the embrace of Ben Lyon, before an off-screen seduction. In the scene where she visits the bordello to collect her father, there's a wonderful combination of humor, resignation and the implication that this is a frequent procedure, when she good-naturedly says she'll wait for him, as he's still 'busy' upstairs. When she finds he's been 'rolled,' her mood changes to one of fury. Transformed into a fighting demon, she lashes out at his companion, retrieves the money, and then, as the floozie dissolves into tears, has a change of heart and peels off a bill for her. 'Here, I guess you've earned it!', is her exit line as she propels her father homeward."

In the existing 60 minute version, I COVER THE WATERFRONT is a valuable piece of film history. How much more valuable it would be to have the missing scenes restored.

Excellent Period Piece!

[poj-man · 8/10 · 8 June 2013]

I popped this in for my 88 year old Mom to watch to stop her from dawdling. It is hard to find anything that will grab her interest. Momma was rapt and I was quite surprised.

The story is also well written for the times. The dialog is not so stock as is wont for films of the time.

Claudette Colbert absolutely shines in this pre-code picture. Her nude swimming and bondage scenes are spectacular for 1933. She also is a believable 1930's female.

The rest of the cast is not bad. Ernest Torrance is a commendable lovable scoundrel.

If you can appreciate an early cinema 1930's film you will enjoy this movie! I know I enjoyed it!

Smuggler's Cove

[lugonian · 8/10 · 26 April 2023]

I COVER THE WATERFRONT (United Artists, 1933), directed by James Cruze, based on "the unique and personal experiences of a newspaper reporter covering a Pacific waterfront" by Max Miller, is an interesting yet old-fashioned tale made plausible thanks to its interesting cast, namely Claudette Colbert, on an assignment away from her home studio of Paramount, in an against-type performance as a tough waterfront girl, with screen veteran Ernest Torrence as her rugged fisherman father. While Colbert's name heads the cast during the introductory title, it's Ben Lyon, in one of his finer screen roles at this point, whose name comes first during its second cast introduction (through newspaper clippings) and closing casting credits, and with good reason, too, because the plot revolves around his character suggested on Max Miller, while Torrence, who died before the film's release, being the most interesting of the two leads mainly because the way he acquires himself as both brutal and likable.

In a story set against the San Diego waterfront, H. Joseph Miller (Ben Lyon), an investigative reporter, takes up residence in the surrounding area while doing a series of "I Cover the Waterfront" articles for his newspaper. He is determined to get enough evidence on Eli Kirk (Ernest Torrence), whom he suspects is the leader of a smuggling racket. After meeting a girl named Julie (Claudette Colbert), who attracts his attention as well as a nosy busybody (Lillian Harmer) using a peril-scope, by taking her nightly ocean swim without anything on, Miller becomes interested in her, especially after learning she's Kirk's daughter. As gathering enough information about Kirk without her realizing his intentions, Miller comes close to making his catch at the risk of losing his bait.

An interesting mix of romance, comedy and drama with risqué dialog added in, I COVER THE WATERFRONT has its share of intense scenes along with some amusements provided by Hobart Cavanaugh as Miller's sidekick, McCoy. Other members of the cast include Purnell B. Pratt (John Phelps); Maurice Black (Ortega); Harry Beresford (Old Chris); Wilfred Lucas (Randall) and Claudia Coleman (Mother Morgan).

Not quite as powerful as other waterfront stories: ON THE WATERFRONT (Columbia, 1954) or EDGE OF THE CITY (MGM, 1957), for example, I COVER THE WATERFRONT shows how raw it could be. Aside from that, it does have its share of great scenes that build up suspense, thanks to its writing staff, leading players and some location scenery. While it's commendable for Colbert to try something different by playing stronger characters, her role as the tough waterfront girl, that have been better suited to the likes of a Jean Harlow or Carole Lombard for example, doesn't come off as hard as it should. Having Colbert as its leading lady is one of the reasons for viewing this one today.

Sad to say the prints that have been in circulation since the late 1980s are from a reissue containing different opening score and ten minutes clipped from its original 72 minutes. The reissue even eliminates Torrence's name entirely from the cast altogether as well as the closing cast listing and exit music. While Bob Dorian, former host of American Movie Classics, claimed that AMC never cuts its movies, it did acquire this edited version during its March 1989 presentation.

While it's hard to acquire a more concise print to the 1933 original copy these days, a close to complete version containing both the original "I Cover the Waterfront" theme and Torrence's name in the cast, would have to be processed by an old 1980s home video cassette from Kartes Communications, or watch a long awaited restored broadcast edition from Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: September 13, 2023) minus the exit black screen music, which is close to accurate with better visuals to the 1933 original. (****)