VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

mark.waltz Dorothy Dell, the glamorous moll who took a shine to moppet Shirley Temple in 1934's "Little Miss Marker", priced herself to be quite the amazing leading actress in this shocking pre- code drama that makes no hiding of her profession. It's the oldest one, and there's no question that it's helped gee survive. But inside that life is a woman longing for respect, and in fooling wanted rebel Preston Foster, she finds a man she longs to make a home for. But when he gets a job stoking coal on a ship, he meets the tough Victor McLaglen, an old lover of hers and they have no idea that "their girl back home" is the same one. There's more than just a hint of Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie" here with the character of "Ma" played by Alison Skipworth, Paramount's answer to Marie Dresser. Dell may lack Garbo's accent, but it's obvious how she's survived, the first half of the film making no bones about that. There's a lot of tension of whether Foster will be caught for the murder he is blamed for (but claims innocence), how McLaglen and Foster will react to being in love with the same girl, and how each of them will deal with the revelation of what she does. Look for Mischa Auer in the part of the stoker whom Foster gets in the fight with. Amazing little sleeper with satisfying performances and a gripping plot.

GManfred "Wharf Angel" is a movie about Stokers, seamen who stoke the boilers on ships and the brutish lives the live. In between voyages they hang around in dive bars and drink too much, carouse, fight and often pass out on the floor. This one is called "Mother Bright's", on the Barbary Coast near San Francisco. When in port, "Turk" (Victor McLaglen) holds court and is also the star of the picture. One night Como (Preston Foster), on the run from the police, ducks in and finds a hiding place in a room upstairs; the tenant is Toy (Dorothy Dell), a prostitute with the proverbial heart of gold. Almost simultaneously, Como and Turk fall in love with her, and therein hangs the tale.Too bad the tale is not as interesting as the players or the sets. The film is held together by the force of the actors, especially Dorothy Dell, who gives a superlative performance. It is all the more remarkable when you consider she was only 19 at the time. McLaglen is his usual overpowering self and Foster, minus trademark mustache, looks almost boyish. The director is set designer William Cameron Menzies, who doesn't have much of a chance due to the tepid story, but creates an atmospheric dive setting for the cast that is very realistic - it looks and feels extremely authentic. That said, there's not much else to recommend this picture. It's been done before and since, and better.

drednm At 65 minutes, this film seems to have the narrative substance of the fog that surrounds the San Francisco waterfront where a prostitute named Toy (Dorothy Dell) meets a man named Como, accused of murder (Preston Foster). It's love at first sight. But he must flee the cops and so ships out to China with thuggish Victor McLaglen who has eyes for Toy as well. When they return months later, Toy has gone straight in preparation for Como and is waiting for the freighter. But what to do about McLaglen? Interesting if familiar storyline is sparked by a good performance by McLaglen as Turk, who beneath his rough exterior lurks a rough heart. Foster is excellent as the malcontent who spouts political slogans against the world's injustices. Dell, in her feature debut, is also excellent as the gold-hearted tramp who tries everything in an effort to go straight. The scene where she sings in a saloon while the men throw insults and coins at her is a killer.The sleazy bar is called "Mother Bright's" and Mother is played by the wondrous Alison Skipworth, a tough customer who's ready to fight for love. Co-stars include Mischa Auer, James Burke, Frank Sheridan, and David Landau as the cop. Among the horde of saloon girls are Alice Lake and Grace Bradley.This was the first of Dell's three films made in 1934. The others are LITTLE MISS MARKER and SHOOT THE WORKS. She would have been a big star, but was killed in a car crash. She was 19 years old.

melvelvit-1 Political activist Como Murphy (Preston Foster), on the run from a murder rap, ducks into Mother Bright's (Alison Skipworth) waterfront saloon on the infamous Barbary Coast and forms a fast friendship with Turk (Victor McLaglen), a stoker on a ship bound for Shanghai. When the cops close in, Como's directed upstairs where he stumbles into Toy's room (a sexy Dorothy Dell) and he spends the night there. The next day, he leaves a note for Toy promising to return and signs on with Turk's ship but on shore leave in the Orient, Como learns the gal Turk carries a torch for is none other than Toy. Como doesn't tell Turk he knows Toy and when their ship docks in Frisco, both men make a bee line for Ma Bright's where their romantic triangle comes to a deadly head...Paramount's burly brawler Victor McLaglen had been playing variations on the "love & friendship" shtick ever since WHAT PRICE GLORY? back in '26 and handsome Preston Foster makes a good romantic opponent for him here. Paramount's back lot Frisco, all fog and shadow, was put over with a bit of panache by director William Cameron Menzies, who'd go on to greater fame as one of Hollywood's premiere set designers. Released just before the Production Code crackdown, it's obvious how Dorothy Dell earns her living at Mother Bright's and there's lots of snappy patter, too, such as "No tow-headed jane is gonna make a monkey out of me!" and Dell actually tells McLaglen to "flock off" at one point. The alluring Dottie also warbles a wistful blues ballad and a lean and lanky Mischa Auer makes the most of his role as shifty shipmate Sadik, replete with an earring and a turncoat temper.Things were going great guns for nineteen year-old Dorothy Dell at the time; the former "Miss New Orleans" and "Miss Universe of 1930" was plucked from the Ziegfield Follies by Paramount and groomed as its answer to Fox's Alice Faye. Dorothy had just made her mark in the Shirley Temple starrer, Little Miss Marker, and it looked like she had arrived when it all came to a sudden, tragic end on June 8, 1934. Returning from a party in the Altadena hills, Dottie and her date were killed in a car crash; their automobile went over an embankment, hit a telephone pole, and rammed into a boulder. Dorothy was killed instantly and her escort died a few hours later. Engaged to another at the time of her death, Dell was also romantically involved with crooner Russ Columbo who, along with Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby, was making multitudes of female fans swoon as his velvety voice wafted over the airwaves.