Waterfront

As so many of the second line stars of the Thirties and Forties from the big screen, Preston Foster was finding fewer and fewer roles on the big screen. So he opted for a television series and found a good one in Waterfront. Foster was always a rugged sort and as Captain Jack Herrick, tugboat captain in San Diego he found a part that suited him perfectly.

Herrick was a family man he had a wife played by Lois Moran and two sons, Douglas Dick and Harry Lauter. Dick helped his father on the tugboat, but Lauter was a San Diego police detective. With some of the situations that Foster ran into on the docks a family member in the police department became downright essential.

Willie Best was also a member of Foster's tugboat crew, but he was also practically a family member as well. Best's character was not one of the shuffle-butt types he played on the big screen and that was a good thing. I'm glad Best ended his career with a part that afforded him dignity.

Waterfront had some good action filled stories with realistic shots around the San Diego harbor showing the daily life there. Sad it only lasted two seasons.