The Docks of New York

On New York's bleak waterfront, longshoreman Bill Roberts spots Mae as she stands ready to jump and pulls her back into life. He brings her into the tight, noisy world of the piers, where meager wages, bars, and quick tempers shape daily survival. Their quiet, tentative bond grows against a backdrop of rivalry, gambling, and the presence of a glamorous but dangerous nightclub woman, while friends and enemies react in ways that test trust. The film keeps its focus on the routines of work and the small mercies that bind people together, showing how affection and resentment can coexist in a community shaped by hardship, without revealing how their choices will ultimately turn out, or what price they ever pay.

Released in 1928, the picture was directed by Josef von Sternberg, with a screenplay credited to Jules Furthman, John Monk Saunders, and Julian Johnson. Made during the late silent era, it helped raise von Sternberg's profile among critics and filmmakers.

Box office records for this era are incomplete, and reliable gross figures for the film are not available. Contemporary distribution was handled through studio channels, and it played in both domestic and select international markets of the late silent period.

Over time the movie has been noted for its moody, expressionistic compositions and dense atmosphere, helping to define cinematic representations of urban, working-class life. Its images of the piers and night interiors are frequently discussed in film studies and influenced later portrayals of dockside communities in American cinema and beyond.

Contemporary reviews praised the performances of George Bancroft and Betty Compson and von Sternberg's staging, while modern viewers give it about 6.9/10 on some databases. The film foregrounds loyalty, sacrifice, jealousy, and the harsh economics of dockside life, with pathos tempered by occasional rough humor, and often brutal realism too.