A ship’s stoker in the New York harbour rescues a prostitute who has tried to drown herself. He takes her to a brothel where the girl is already known. The owner of the place, who helps her to recover, is married to the captain of the ship, a slimy individual who wants to possess the prostitute. The stoker, resentful of the captain, falls in love with the girl and even offers to marry her that same night in a bizarre wedding ceremony, even though he is thinking of abandoning her the next morning because he does not feel like leaving the life of a sailor… Considered one of Sternberg’s absolute masterpieces, this film still retains its charm after more than ninety years, thanks to a skilful and virtuoso use of the expressive possibilities of silent film. A melodrama of the slums with its smoky atmospheres and its characters all of a piece, with the genius of the directorial vision that builds a universe of poverty, violence and amorality, with poignant moments of tenderness, but without pre-established judgments on the characters.
script: Jules Furthman
mounting: Helen Lewis
scenography: Hans Dreier
costumes: Travis Banton - non accreditato
color: Bianco & Nero
taken from: "The Dock Walloper" di John Monk Saunders
production company: Paramount Pictures
photography: Harold Rosson
other titles: I Dannati dell'Oceano, Les Damnés de l'océan
Su gentile concessione dell'Ente dello Spettacolo
