Night Waitress

A not bad little programmer directed with flair by Lew Landers about a night waitress, Helen Roberts (Margot Grahame), on probation who is trying to get her life together working in a waterfront dive run by none other than Billy Gilbert, who is virtually wasted in a routine bit part. Seems Helen's new boyfriend, Martin Rhodes (Gordon Jones of "The Green Hornet" fame), is somehow mixed up with gangsters who are after a hidden cargo he has. The result is murder and hot pursuit by both mobsters and police of Helen and Martin. The approximately hour-long second feature moves at a fast pace, filled with excitement and adventure.

Keep your eyes open for Anthony Quinn as one of the hoods, Don "Red" Barry as a victim, and Frank Faylen as a policeman, each just beginning his screen career. Gifted comic Willie Best is also seen briefly as a passerby with only one line. The cinematography by Russell Metty captures all the griminess, desolation, and seediness of the San Francisco waterfront. It's fun to hear the seamen sing "The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga," later popularized by US soldiers in the Pacific in World War II. Many John Wayne fans will recall it being sung by Lee Marvin in John Ford's "Donovan's Reef."