For my money, this is the best of the three films in this Josef von Sternberg silent film set. It has well-drawn characters, stunning visual compositions, and clear themes that transcend its time period. And it was very clearly in the noir mold, as evidenced by the Expressionist visuals that played with light and shadow, and in the gender dynamics on display. Being a proto-noir, though, means that the world-weary cynicism characterizing much of what we consider classic noir had yet fully take over the bloodstream. And in the story itself, I see a snapshot of changing American mores/attitudes toward marriage as a civilizing institution in a creeping mutual distrust between the sexes which, if desired, could be traced to different social movements which were beginning to hit their (initial) stride during the 1920's (and maybe a bit before). Other than my wishing for more of a crisis to occur than "Will they stay together or not?" I absolutely loved this. And Robert's Israel's score was one of the best-fitting scores to a silent film I've ever heard.
Review of The Docks of New York
