The San Francisco Docks

Not to be confused with the 1932 film Docks of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Docks is a 1940 American crime drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Burgess Meredith, Barry Fitzgerald, and Irene Hervey.^[1][2][3]

The San Francisco Docks
Directed by	Arthur Lubin
Written by	Stanley Rubin Edmund Hartmann
Produced by	Marshall Grant
Starring	Burgess Meredith Barry Fitzgerald Irene Hervey
Cinematography	Charles Van Enger
Music by	Charles Previn
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 1940 (1940-12)
Running time	60 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

When his sweetheart, barmaid Kitty Tracy, is annoyed by a customer, longshoreman Johnny Barnes slugs the guy. The man is later found dead. Johnny is tried for murder and convicted.

Kitty and a priest, Father Cameron, believe in Johnny's innocence and search for a way to exonerate him. They discover that Monte March, a prisoner who has escaped Alcatraz prison, is the real killer, being helped by wife Frances in fleeing from the law. March is apprehended and Johnny's set free.

The movie is noteworthy in that featured a fight scene between two of the actresses, Esther Ralston and Irene Hervey. Both women told director Arthur Lubin that they did not want to have stunt doubles perform the fight scene, described by press accounts as a "... whirlwind fistfight... said to overshadow the most hectic feminine movie battles seen in recent motion pictures."^[4] Hervey later described the fight as a "...terrific battle between me and Esther Ralston—with hair-pulling, kicking, the works."^[5]

Cast

• Burgess Meredith as Johnny Barnes
• Irene Hervey as Kitty Tracy
• Barry Fitzgerald as Icky
• Robert Armstrong as Father Cameron
• Raymond Walburn as Admiral Andy
• Esther Ralston as Frances
• Edward Pawley as Monte March

Production

In May 1940 Universal announced the film as part of its schedule for the following year.^[6] On September 20 the studio said Meredith would star alongside Irene Harvey and Barry Fitzgerald, with Arthur Lubin to direct.^[7] The film was shot in eleven days.^[8]

Reception

The New York Times called it "routine... a lot of melodramatic foolishness."^[9]

References

1. San Francisco DOCKS Picture Show; London Vol. 45, Iss. 1151, (May 17, 1941): 12.
2. San Francisco Docks Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 8, Iss. 85, (Jan 1, 1941): 35.
3. Vagg, Stephen (14 September 2019). "The Cinema of Arthur Lubin". Diabolique Magazine.
4. Hopper, Hedda (18 Oct 1940). "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood". The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa). Retrieved 27 October 2019.
5. Fitzgerald, Mike. "Irene Hervey -- An Interview with Mike Fitzgerald". Western Clippings. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
6. UNIVERSAL PLANS TO MAKE 59 FILMS New York Times 13 May 1940: 23.
7. Lubitsch, Universal Both Sign Meredith Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 21 Sep 1940: A7.
8. MEREDITH -- THE UNMELANCHOLY DANE By JOHN R. FRANCHEY. New York Times 12 Jan 1941: X4.
9. THE SCREEN IN REVIEW New York Times 26 Dec 1940: 23.

External links

• The San Francisco Docks at IMDb
• The San Francisco Docks at TCMDB
• San Francisco Docks at BFI