Twelve Miles Out (1927)

Synopsis
John Gilbert was one of MGM's top stars when he appeared this melodrama. Playing against his usual matinee idol type, Gilbert plays a tough and restless wanderer. Jerry Fay (Gilbert) and Red McCue (Ernest Torrence) are fierce but not unfriendly rivals who run into each other in various ports. They meet up once again in New York to discover that they have both become bootleggers. Fay has just loaded up his speedboat with rum when he is pursued by the coast guard. He hides out in a home on the seashore, and Jane, the girl living there (Joan Crawford), threatens to call the cops. To prevent her from turning him in, Fay kidnaps her and takes her to his ship. McCue and his men, disguised as revenuers, hijack Fay's boat, and the two men find themselves face to face once again. A drinking contest between the two of them turns into a vicious battle. Fay recaptures the boat and turns it in to save Jane. Jane, who has fallen in love with the wounded Fay, cradles him in her arms. Crawford, whose star was still very much on the ascendant, would appear with Gilbert again in 1928's Four Walls. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide