"The Raging Tide" from 1951 is set in San Franciso and stars Richard Conte, Charles Bickford, Alex Nicol, S helley Winters, John McIntire, and Stephen McNally.
Conte is a mobster Bruno Felkin who murders someone and goes on the run. Lieutenant Kelsey (McNally) isn't concerned. There are only three ways out of San Francisco, and he's got them blocked off.
He forgot about the fourth - the ocean. Felkin hides on a fishing boat belonging to Hamil Linder (Bickford). His only crew is his son Carl (Nicol). When he's found, he offers to work, and Linder takes him on. Kelsey then tries to locate Bruno through his girlfriend, Connie (Winters)
Carl hates working on the boat - it's part of a deal he made with the prosecutor rather than go to prison for five years. He has to work for a year. Not only does he hate it, but he resents his father and isn't very nice to him. This bothers Bruno, who feels that Linder is a good guy and doesn't deserve the treatment.
Eventually he hires Carl to be a collector for his various organizations. Carl then meets Connie and becomes interested in her. Bruno, resenting Carl, comes up with a plan to keep him out of his and Connie's lives.
This actually isn't a crime drama at all, and the show is completely stolen by Charles Bickford, who is wonderful as Linder, a hard-working immigrant who feels as though his son is lost to him and becomes close to Bruno. Conte does a great job. He's tough as nails but softens working on the boat close to Linder. Linder has given him something he never had, while Carl is throwing it away.
Alex Nicol was an accomplished stage actor who was discovered by George Sherman, who directed this film. He gets to show a multilayered personality. Shelley Winters is Connie, a lonely woman in love with Bruno even though she knows it's a mistake. Young with a beautiful figure, she was always a good actress.
A lovely film, not what I expected. When you see the name Conte in the credits, you figure it's a crime drama. Not really.
