Ship Cafe (1935)

In the hold of a passenger liner, Chris Anderson leads the stokers in "Blow the Man Down" as they shovel coal into the fires. Chris, a Dane, becomes enraged when Donovan, another sailor, calls him "Dimples." The two soot-covered men fight with their shovels as they are watched by the Countess Boranoff, who is most impressed with the strong Chris. Chris finds himself in jail, and is told by Jones that Donovan is recovering but that he has missed his ship. Chris's cellmate, Briny O'Brien, takes him to his "Ship Cafe," a nightclub in a vessel at anchor. After bickering with his girl friend, Molly, Briny hires Chris as bouncer. Eddie Davis, a singer at the Ship Cafe, offers his audience sweet or "hot" songs. After living in the Ship Cafe for several weeks, Miss Ruby, a dancer Chris likes, invites him to her apartment for breakfast. When Eddie is sick, Briny, Molly and Ruby plan to perform at the cafe, but at the last minute the nervous Chris is called upon to entertain the crowd. In the audience are the countess and Rocky Stone, the heavyweight champ. When she goads him into calling Chris "Dimples," Chris knocks Rocky out with one blow. Soon, Chris is drawing crowds as the cafe's regular entertainer, and he and Ruby fall in love. After an argument with Ruby, the countess lures the naive Chris away from the cafe by promising to give him his own nightclub. Instead she turns him into her companion and has him trained in social graces, until one day he leaves in disgust after Ruby compares him to a lap dog. Meanwhile, Briny opens a new, larger Ship Cafe, where Eddie performs. Chris wanders the foggy waterfront, where he meets Molly and tells her of his yearning for Ruby. To bring them together, Eddie has Chris sing in his place at the cafe that night, but Ruby continues to rebuff him. Chris prepares to return to sea, and as the ship's cargo is loaded, Ruby climbs into a net and is swung toward the ship. She falls into the harbor, and Chris plunges in after her and they kiss.