Wharf Angel (1934) DVD-R

Starring Victor McLaglen, Dorothy Dell, Preston Foster, Alison Skipworth, David Landau,
Mischa Auer
Directed by William Cameron Menzies, George Somnes

Print: black/white
Runtime: 65 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: C+

Adapted from an earlier European film, Wharf Angel stars Dorothy Dell as Toy, a
golden-hearted prostitute stranded in San Francisco. Toy finds hope for redemption when
she falls in love with Como (Preston S. Foster), a sailor on the lam from a murder charge. In
Madame Butterfly fashion, the heroine promises to wait for Como until he is able to clear
himself. The fly in the ointment is Como's buddy Turk (Victor McLaglen), who has known Toy
(in the Biblical sense) for several years. An inexpensive but fairly credible reconstruction of
the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (courtesy of legendary art director William Cameron
Menzies) caps this intriguing little romantic melodrama. Alas, leading lady Dorothy Dell was
killed in a car crash after appearing in only three films.