Pier 23 (1951) - Hugh Beaumont - Ann Savage - Edward Brophy - 16mm Kodak Orig.

Description

This is a 16mm Original print of the Hugh Beaumont detective mystery, Pier 23 (1951). I would describe it as a Kodak Original with the kind of wear that one might expect with a print of this vintage with some splices toward the end. I believe I detect a vinegar odor, however, the film played fine on my Bell & Howell projector without a sign of warpage. It is on a 2300' reel and has a running time of approximately 57 minutes.
Pier 23 (1951) Directed by William Berke. Cast: Hugh Beaumont, Ann Savage, Edward Brophy, Richard Travis, Margia Dean, Mike Mazurki, David Bruce, Raymond Greenleaf, Eve Miller, Harry Hayden, Joi Lansing, Peter Mamakos, Christian Drake, John Indrisano, Bill Varga, Richard Monahan, Charles Wagenheim, Jack Chefe, Heinie Conklin, Jack Gordon, Kit Guard, Barry Norton, Cosmo Sardo and Max Wagner.
In the early days of television, the makers of many syndicated series---The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The Adventures of Superman and others, would take two or three of the 30-minute television episodes, stitch them together and distribute them to small-town theatre-exhibitors as a feature-length film. The film-exhibitors knew better, but most of these films were booked into towns and areas of the country where television coverage was, at best, spotty and often non-existent. Basically, a large percentage of the audience that saw these "films" in a theatre didn't own a television set or live in an area that had a television station. Plus, there was the large-and-profitable overseas market to be tapped.
Exhibitor-producer-distributor-showman Robert L. Lippert took this concept in another direction; his plan was to make three feature films, each of which had two separate 30-minute plots with continuing characters, book them into theatres and, after they had exhausted the theatrical-circuit, cut them in half and sell the six 30-minute segments to television.
Thusly was born "Pier 23", one of three films in six segments featuring a San Francisco, hard-boiled private-eye named Dennis O'Brien. Made for theatres with intent-to-sell-to television. William Berke directed and produced all three films with screen plays credited to Julian Harmon and Victor West. Each carried a "based on a story by Herbert H. Margolis and Louis Morheim" credit. And where did these "based-ons" come from? Well, each and everyone of them had been "heard" before when they were used on a syndicated radio-series called "Pat Novak, For Hire." Mr. Novak was a hard-case, San Francisco private-eye who averaged getting knocked-out twice in every 30-minute radio episode. Dennis O'Brien maintains that average when he gets his about four times in each of these three films.
Pier 23 depicts two days in the life of detective Dennis O'Brien (Hugh Beaumont). He must solve the mystery of a murdered cop whom he believes to be an escaped prisoner from Alcatraz, as well as crooked goings-on in the boxing ring. Both episodes are tied together with the help of alcoholic Prof. Shicker (Edward Brophy) who appears to be an informer. It all has the makings of early TV crime drama, but has the crispy hard dialogue of noir, as well as some great period info on San Francisco's docks in the early 50's.
The first segment involves Dennis solving the mystery of why a professional wrestler-Willie Klingle (Bill Varga)-was not only allowed to wrestle despite having a serious heart condition but then purposely murdered in the ring by his opponent, the guerrilla-like Ape Danowski (Mike Mazurki).
O'Brien is up-and-running when he’s approached by Father Donovan (Raymond Greenleaf), who asks him to help a convict that’s going to escape from Alcatraz. This second murder case involves a dangerous blonde Ann Harmon (Ann Savage of "Detour" fame), her dark haired sister Norma Harmon (Eve Miller) and a blonde cocktail waitress (Joi Lansing). Both Savage and Lansing get some good lines, and Beaumont's first person narration is very interesting as well. There is a good payoff for Savage at the end that wreaks of irony.