On the Waterfront

Today I am going to look at a very classic film from 1954. It’s one of the best films ever made and is also another one of my favorites. I’m talking about none other than the magnificent “On the Waterfront.”

Marlon Brando, who I have to say, was the best actor for his time, plays Terry Malloy, an ex-Prize Fighter who is fighting with his conscience and bumped off one of his co-workers, played by Ben Wagner, for the union boss Johnny Friendly, played by the great Lee J. Cobb. Malloy is a slight mess of half-formed emotions.

His strange love moments with Eva Marie Saint, who plays his co-worker’s sister, Edie, show, as described by Empire, “the new-fangled Method acting at its most controlled and poetic.” The famous scene when Terry is in the cab with his brother Charlie, played by Rod Steiger, is the highlight of the movie. This is the famous scene where Brando says to Steiger, “I could have been a contender, I could have been somebody, instead of just a bum, which is what I am.” Hats off to screenwriter Budd Schulberg, and his speech for the priest, played by Karl Malden, in the loading bay is still moving.

Once you add the acting/writing epics, Leonard Bernstein’s calm score, and a striking, dark look by cinematographer Boris Kaufman, you have a sad picture of labor relations that crawls into your skin and feels like it’s chewing you alive. You will still feel that after the 60 years this film was released.

Empire feels that “It's hard to like it that much, however, when you realize director Elia Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg made it after they ratted on their pals to the McCarthy commission and needed to do a picture about how informers were noble, brave souls facing up to oppression rather than sneaky squealers saving their careers.” I still feel that this film holds up very well today and is a classic that should be seen by everyone. It’s one of Brando’s finest performances he has ever done, and you should see it if you know or don’t know about Brando.

In the end, I give this film a solid 10. You’re probably wondering why I reviewed this film today. It’s very similar to the film that I will review this Friday, and you may already know which film I am talking about. Stay tuned this Friday to find out (if you don’t know what I will review).