Waterfront

A tough and gritty drama detailing the turbulent life of hard-drinking Liverpudlian seamen, with Richard Burton in only his third film role.

When ship’s fireman Peter McCabe walks out on his long-suffering wife, he leaves her impoverished, with two young daughters and a boy born soon after his departure. After an absence of fourteen years McCabe returns, sacked and humiliated, trailing trouble in his wake...

This outstanding 1950 drama traces the turbulent life of a seaman brutalised by a life of hard work and hard drinking, and the challenges facing the three children he abandons as they struggle to make their way in Depression-era Liverpool. Featuring powerful performances from Robert Newton, Susan Shaw, Kathleen Harrison and a young Richard Burton – appearing here in only his third film – Waterfront has been newly transferred from its original film elements for this presentation.