Silent movie: The Docks of New York

In just 24 hours, the encounter between a coarse stoker and an animate girl with a broken soul grows into true love, while a sailor’s wife settles her loyal husband for good. Composer Bob Zimmerman combined and adapted Raymond Scott’s music into a new score that pushes the dramatic, humorous and romantic developments on the screen to even greater heights.

A rugged harbor pub, sturdy sailors and fallen women are the ingredients of this warm-blooded melodrama. The film is an example of fine craftsmanship, demonstrating the level reached by silent Hollywood cinema in the late 20’s: the perfect mise-en scene by director Josef von Sternberg, the refined camera work of Harold Rosson (The Wizard of Oz) and the glowing performances by George Bancroft, Betty Compson and Olga Baclanova.