First released in 1961 and directed by Curtis Harrington, Night Tide stars a young Dennis Hopper as Johnny, an awkward sailor. Johnny meets Mora (Linda Lawson), who works as a “mermaid” on the pier. For Johnny, it’s love at first sight. However, the more that Johnny pursues her, the more he learns about both her mysterious past and the dark fate of her previous boyfriends.
Night Tide is low-key and atmospheric gem of a movie, one that serve as an inspiration for low-budget filmmakers every where. Lawson is perfectly cast as the enigmatic Mora but the film really belongs to Dennis Hopper. Hopper’s naturally off-key presence made him perfect for the role of Johnny.
Night Tide is one of those low-budget movies that, because it’s in the public domain, has been released on DVD (often in inferior form) by dozens of different companies. Often times, films like this turn out to be fairly forgettable. Night Tide, however, is an exception.
Through the Shattered Lens 
A few years ago after seeing this film, I posted the following on a message board forum, regarding the scene where Johnny gets a massage:
The sailor, Johnny Drake, played by Hopper, is getting a massage from a rather burly looking fellow smoking a cigar. Nevermind the fact he was smoking a cigar and probably dropping ashes all over his client, which struck me as not exactly the most therapeutic thing a masseur could do for his customer. Mind you, we could explore the phallic nature of this, as the cigar was approximately the same size as a telephone pole, but what set off my alarm bells was the masseur asking Johnny “You’re full of knots, girlfriend not treatin’ ya right?” Okay, maybe I was getting the wrong impression here. However, when Sam enters the room, the masseur asks:
“Hey Sam, want me to POUND YA later?”
And as if that wasn’t hint enough, Sam responds affirmatively, in a VERY camp voice, as if he’s just scored a pair of ruby red shoes autographed by Judy Garland.
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