On the Waterfront (1954)

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

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

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

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb

Top Rated Movies #146 | Won 8 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Terry Malloy dreams about being a prize fighter, while tending his pigeons and running errands at the docks for Johnny Friendly, the corrupt boss of the dockers union. Terry witnesses a murder by two of Johnny's thugs, and later meets the dead man's sister and feels responsible for his death. She introduces him to Father Barry, who tries to force him to provide information for the courts that will smash the dock racketeers.

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Plot Keywords:

thin woman | woman in night gown | night gown | mob | union | 

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Taglines:

The Man Lived by the Jungle Law of the Docks!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1954 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Hook

Filming Locations:

Court Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$910,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Horizon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Elia Kazan was loath to do business with Darryl F. Zanuck who had insisted on multiple cuts on Man on a Tightrope (1953). Fortunately when Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg met with Zanuck, he started talking about widescreen Technicolor pictures. Zanuck eventually came clean and said he didn't like a single thing about it, stating "Who's going to care about a bunch of sweaty longshoremen?" This led Kazan and Schulberg to meet with independent producer Sam Spiegel who set up a deal with Columbia.

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Goofs

The label on the bottle of "Paddy" whiskey changes orientation in every other shot when Johnny Friendly is telling Charlie to straighten out his brother.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown over a bamboo-type mat background.

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Alternate Versions

Starting on 29 February 2004, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel plays this film in a widescreen aspect ratio of (1.85:1). This is despite the fact that the Columbia Tri-Star DVD (Release Date: October 23, 2001) is produced in only the Academy Standard (Full Screen or Pan&Scan) aspect ratio (1.33:1). Presumably, the intended ratio is (1.85:1).

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Connections

Featured in Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2014)

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Soundtracks

Here Comes the Bride
(uncredited)
Written by Richard Wagner

User Reviews

Kazan's film constitutes an extraordinary tour de force of fluid direction and nervous, edgy acting…

"On the Waterfront" is basically the story of one man, Terry Malloy, a young dock worker with a little, and unsuccessful, experience as a boxer but not much intelligence or purpose… He wastes his time around the docks, vaguely discontented about his life and revealing a tender trace in his otherwise tough manner as he tends his pigeons caged on the roof of his modest building…

His brother Charley (Rod Steiger), a suave opportunistic lawyer, works for the local dockers' union, headed by Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), the arrogant mob boss…

Friendly takes affectionate interest in Terry and tries to make things easy for him… He also takes advantage of Terry by involving him in the killing of an uncooperative docker… Unaware of their murderous intentions, Terry sets the trap for the man who is thrown from a roof top because he allowed himself to be interviewed by a crime investigating commission…

Terry's alienation from the crooked union leaders starts when he meets the dead man's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), and realizes the grief he has brought into her life… She asks his help in bringing the racketeers to justice, as does Father Barry (Karl Malden), a priest of complete goodness and rightness…

Brando's moral dilemma was superbly drawn in the film… He's an ordinary man finding the courage to stand up and be counted… As portrayed by Brando he is touchingly believable…

The rest of the cast is excellent:

Cobb is extremely good as the brute fury boss who intimidates the workers into silence, stopping at nothing to maintain his position of power on the docks...

Rod Steiger gives his finest performance as the clever and suave opportunistic lawyer who works for the local docker's union...

Eva Marie Saint manages to make the blood go through Brando's valves reviving and creating a heart that never existed before...

Karl Malden is hard and clear as the activist Catholic priest who continue encouraging other longshoremen to testify, inciting Brando to fight for his rights—regardless of the cost—rather than be a pawn in a ruthless system of bribes and killings...

"On the Waterfront" is one of the great American films, not only because it bravely spreads a strong light on the violation of justice, but because it is a powerful piece of cinema, which push forward a classic study of man's responsibility to his fellow man...

The film won eight Academy Awards...