A brawny sailor takes one night of shore leave on the rough and tumble docks of New York, and on his way to a riotous den of iniquity, saves a young woman from drowning herself. Despite his coarseness and her "loose" past, the two take a liking to one another; as he puts it, "I've sailed the seven seas, but I never saw a craft as trim as you." In the spur of the moment they decide to get married, though it's unclear just how official it is given no license and the fact that his ship leaves the next morning.
Josef von Sternberg does a great job creating the mood of this place with his use of shadows and reflections, and the way he tells the story is fantastic. The characters are dark and believable, and the film doesn't degenerate into cloying sweetness. George Bancroft plays the sailor very well, with a sense of strength and confidence but not meanness, and Betty Compson shows great vulnerability as the woman, someone beaten down by the world and the men who've used her. Neither think anyone would ever want to marry them. In a nice parallel plot line, another of the ship's crew (Mitchell Lewis) comes ashore as well, only to find his estranged wife (Olga Baclanova) whooping it up with another man.
Aside from the suicide attempt, drunken partying, and brawling in the film, it's not shy about alluding to sex and what these sailors do while on shore leave. We see the lewd graffiti on their ship, a full-length nude woman tattooed to the guy's forearm, and it's clear that after the brief wedding ceremony, he's going to have his way with her for the rest of the night (the teary eyes of Baclanova really show this during a hug and a kiss with Compson). After being mocked by the crowd, the priest brings a semblance of morality reminding them they're "gathered together in the sight of God," which leads to a great shot of quieted face through the smoke of the room. The question is whether the two characters can redeem themselves, and given the dark commentary about the other marriage which has failed, von Sternberg kept me guessing. The way he shoots many of the scenes toward the end is wonderful, and none better than that pull away final shot.
Josef von Sternberg does a great job creating the mood of this place with his use of shadows and reflections, and the way he tells the story is fantastic. The characters are dark and believable, and the film doesn't degenerate into cloying sweetness. George Bancroft plays the sailor very well, with a sense of strength and confidence but not meanness, and Betty Compson shows great vulnerability as the woman, someone beaten down by the world and the men who've used her. Neither think anyone would ever want to marry them. In a nice parallel plot line, another of the ship's crew (Mitchell Lewis) comes ashore as well, only to find his estranged wife (Olga Baclanova) whooping it up with another man.
Aside from the suicide attempt, drunken partying, and brawling in the film, it's not shy about alluding to sex and what these sailors do while on shore leave. We see the lewd graffiti on their ship, a full-length nude woman tattooed to the guy's forearm, and it's clear that after the brief wedding ceremony, he's going to have his way with her for the rest of the night (the teary eyes of Baclanova really show this during a hug and a kiss with Compson). After being mocked by the crowd, the priest brings a semblance of morality reminding them they're "gathered together in the sight of God," which leads to a great shot of quieted face through the smoke of the room. The question is whether the two characters can redeem themselves, and given the dark commentary about the other marriage which has failed, von Sternberg kept me guessing. The way he shoots many of the scenes toward the end is wonderful, and none better than that pull away final shot.