On the Waterfront (1954)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Budd Schulberg (screenplay)
Budd Schulberg (based upon an original story by)
(more)

Release Date:

24 June 1954 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

A story as warm and moving as GOING MY WAY...but with brass knuckles!

Plot:

An ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses.

Plot Keywords:

Union | Murder | Dock | Longshoreman | Death

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Terry Malloy
Karl Malden	...	Father Barry
Lee J. Cobb	...	Johnny Friendly
Rod Steiger	...	Charley Malloy
Pat Henning	...	Kayo Dugan
Leif Erickson	...	Glover
James Westerfield	...	Big Mac
Tony Galento	...	Truck
Tami Mauriello	...	Tillio
John F. Hamilton	...	'Pop' Doyle (as John Hamilton)
John Heldabrand	...	Mott
Rudy Bond	...	Moose
Don Blackman	...	Luke
Arthur Keegan	...	Jimmy
Abe Simon	...	Barney
Eva Marie Saint	...	Edie Doyle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Martin Balsam	...	Gillette (uncredited)
Dan Bergin	...	Sidney (uncredited)
Zachary Charles	...	Dues Collector (uncredited)
Jere Delaney	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Robert Downing	...	Bit (uncredited)
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Bit (uncredited)
Fred Gwynne	...	Slim (uncredited)
Thomas Handley	...	Tommy Collins (uncredited)
Anne Hegira	...	Mrs. Collins (uncredited)
Pat Hingle	...	Jocko (uncredited)
Scottie MacGregor	...	Mother of a Longshoreman (uncredited)
Barry Macollum	...	Johnny's Banker (uncredited)
Tiger Joe Marsh	...	Longshoreman (uncredited)
Edward McNally	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Mike O'Dowd	...	Specs (uncredited)
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Johnny Seven	...	Longshoreman (uncredited)

Directed by
Elia Kazan

Writing credits
Budd Schulberg		(screenplay)
Budd Schulberg		(based upon an original story by)
Malcolm Johnson		(suggested by articles by)

Produced by
Sam Spiegel	....	producer

Original Music by
Leonard Bernstein

Cinematography by
Boris Kaufman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gene Milford		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Richard Day

Makeup Department
Mary Roche	....	hair stylist
Fred Carlton Ryle	....	makeup supervisor (as Fred Ryle)

Production Management
George Justin	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles H. Maguire	....	assistant director
Arthur Steckler	....	second second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Eddie Barr	....	props (uncredited)
Robert Hart	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jim Shields	....	sound (as James Shields)
Ernest Reichert	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Evelyn Rutledge	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Block	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Alan Stetson	....	electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Hill Johnstone	....	wardrobe supervisor
Flo Transfield	....	wardrobe mistress
Ed Wynigear	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Gil Grau	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Marlin Skiles	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Roberta Hodes	....	script supervisor
Samuel Rheiner	....	assistant to producer (as Sam Rheiner)
Guy Thomajan	....	dialogue supervisor
Roger Donoghue	....	boxing coach (uncredited)
Dale Tate	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (An Elia Kazan Production)
• Horizon Pictures (as A Horizon Picture)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (as Columbia)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1955) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (Canada) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2013) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Videosonic Arts (1988) (Greece) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Sunset Gower Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1954) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1985) | USA:Approved (certificate #16916) | West Germany:16 (f) | Mexico:A | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Court Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Marlon Brando would improvise several different lines while filming the famous "I coulda been a contender" scene such as asking Rod Steiger "How's mom?" or "Do you think the Yankees are going to win it this year?". At one point director Elia Kazan said, "Buddy, cut the crap."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Friendly is pushed into the river, the splash, and the sound it makes, are seen and heard twice in succession, instead of just once.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Johnny:[to Terry] You take it from here, Slugger.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Facing the Past (2005) (V)

Powerful every time I see it

Back in the early 1950's, after a movie had run its course at the theaters, it did not go to video. Nor did it go on prime-time TV, as that concept came up many years later. Instead, they put it on afternoon TV, sometimes around dinner time. Well, that's when I'd come home from high school, and got to enjoy free black and white classics such as "High Noon" and "On the Waterfront".

It made a moviefan of me for life. I remember the effect of "On the Waterfront", as I remember thinking about Terry Malloy in that final scene, "Wow, that guy's got guts! I wish I could be like him." Being just a typical Midwestern teen, I didn't know who Marlon Brando was, but I just was fascinated by this life of these good and bad people, on the tops of buildings and in the cold, wet streets and alleys of this far-away place near the waterfront.

Now, every time I watch it, years later, I still love it. Yes, there is definitely an attempt to make Terry into a Christ-figure at the end. That's no coincidence that he stumbles from having been beaten to a pulp, to walk and carry a hook on his shoulders, to lead others to a better life. (In the book by Budd Schulberg, by the way, Terry disappears after testifying and what is thought to be his body is found floating in a barrel of lime. But he has become a legend on the waterfront.) I love the powerful Elmer Bernstein score (glaring for our present tastes, but back then, exactly what people expected to hear during a drama -- you've got to wonder what a future generation will say about the constant replays of fairly irrelevant pop and rap songs as themes during most movies today, dramatic or comedy).

And being raised in a Catholic home, I found Father Barry to be a great dramatic figure, one of the only times I saw a priest portrayed as a gritty, brave, heroic person, not afraid to mix it up with the common folks in the parish. He smoked, drank and slugged it out. And he was not afraid to die for the right reason. Folks, that's true Christianity at work. And that's powerful.

A classic. A must-see. 10/10