Versatile, wondrously gifted 17-year-old West Coast radio actress Ann Rutherford was signed to a contract to star in Nat Levine's "Waterfront Lady" when the performer originally scheduled for the lead role was unavailable. Levine used her in numerous subsequent features and serials while she was under contract. Decades later, Ann recalled that she was delighted at the prospect of playing, at the age of 17, a "waterfront lady," and this - her first film - began for her a long and fruitful career in motion pictures.
Mascot employed a lot of seasoned professionals and turned out a good product, and this feature, well-scripted by Wellyn Totman and nicely directly by Joseph Santley, provides a fine cast with many opportunities to shine. During a raid on a gambling ship, the owner (Charles Wilson) accidentally kills a detective. The gambler's protégé (Frank Albertson) seeks to protect him, thus taking the blame for the crime, and making his escape to a house-boat on the dock, where he meets lovely Ann Rutherford and her unreliable father (J. Farrell McDonald). Romance ensues.
A subplot involves beautiful Barbara Pepper in one of her best roles, portraying the unfaithful sweetheart of the gambling ship's boss. Character parts are vividly enacted by Grant Withers (as Miss Rutherford's dull suitor), Smiley Burnette (as a one-man-band performer), Wally Albright (as an urchin on a houseboat), Ward Bond, Jack LaRue, Mary Gordon, Purnell Pratt, Mathilde Comont, and others - all excellent.
Such actors as Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette often remarked that Ann Rutherford was as thoroughly nice off-screen as she appeared to be in the roles she enacted. In later years, this writer found that assessment to be accurate. She was, indeed, an exceptionally pleasant and kind individual. This entertaining Mascot feature provided a fitting start for her splendid career.
Mascot employed a lot of seasoned professionals and turned out a good product, and this feature, well-scripted by Wellyn Totman and nicely directly by Joseph Santley, provides a fine cast with many opportunities to shine. During a raid on a gambling ship, the owner (Charles Wilson) accidentally kills a detective. The gambler's protégé (Frank Albertson) seeks to protect him, thus taking the blame for the crime, and making his escape to a house-boat on the dock, where he meets lovely Ann Rutherford and her unreliable father (J. Farrell McDonald). Romance ensues.
A subplot involves beautiful Barbara Pepper in one of her best roles, portraying the unfaithful sweetheart of the gambling ship's boss. Character parts are vividly enacted by Grant Withers (as Miss Rutherford's dull suitor), Smiley Burnette (as a one-man-band performer), Wally Albright (as an urchin on a houseboat), Ward Bond, Jack LaRue, Mary Gordon, Purnell Pratt, Mathilde Comont, and others - all excellent.
Such actors as Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette often remarked that Ann Rutherford was as thoroughly nice off-screen as she appeared to be in the roles she enacted. In later years, this writer found that assessment to be accurate. She was, indeed, an exceptionally pleasant and kind individual. This entertaining Mascot feature provided a fitting start for her splendid career.