New Orleans Uncensored (1955)

A freshly discharged Navy man (Arthur Franz) gets a job as a longshoreman on the New Orleans docks. It's not long before he discovers that the docks have been infiltrated by mobsters and corruption is rampant. Directed by William Castle (HOMICIDAL), this noir-ish crime film tries for an authentic semi documentary approach but the script is so tired and predictable that it feels amateurish. Franz is a generic leading man type and this is a role that could use a Star to hold our attention. Also, Franz looks pretty scrawny to play a Navy boxing champ. Fortunately for us, the film clocks in at an hour and 15 minutes which means it moves quickly. I appreciated the B&W New Orleans location shooting by Henry Freulich (IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT).  It's not terrible by any means but to say it's no ON THE WATERFRONT is a whopping understatement. With Beverly Garland, Michael Ansara and Helene Stanton.