One Paragraph Movie Review: The Docks of New York

One hundred and tenth film: The Docks of New York, a 1928 silent film. This is the first silent film in the ‘1001 Movies’ book that I’ve been able to find, and definitely the first silent film I’ve ever watched the whole way through. And if there’s one notable thing about silent films, you can’t look away or you’ll miss what’s going on — there’s no dialogue to keep you across the plot, just jaunty piano and the occasional cymbal crash when somebody falls on their arse. What’s going on in this particular film is clever photography, convincing extras, a dirty hulking hero, a flawed femme fatale, and the most convincing representation of a crowded pub at midnight I’ve ever seen on film — all to justify a one night stand. OR IS IT/WAS IT? Quaint, easy to watch, and easily three quarters of my annual quota of pianola. Two wall-struck matches out of five.