On the Waterfront (1954)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Malcolm Johnson (suggested by articles)
Budd Schulberg (story)

Release Date:

24 June 1954 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Man Lived by the Jungle Law of the Docks!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Union | Murder | Dock | Longshoreman | Conscience

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Terry Malloy
Karl Malden	...	Father Barry
Lee J. Cobb	...	Johnny Friendly
Rod Steiger	...	Charley 'the Gent' Malloy
Pat Henning	...	Timothy J. 'Kayo' Dugan
Leif Erickson	...	Glover
James Westerfield	...	Big Mac
Tony Galento	...	Truck
Tami Mauriello	...	Tullio
John F. Hamilton	...	'Pop' Doyle (as John Hamilton)
John Heldabrand	...	Mutt
Rudy Bond	...	Moose
Don Blackman	...	Luke
Arthur Keegan	...	Jimmy
Abe Simon	...	Barney

Also Known As:

The Hook (USA) (working title)
Nido de ratas (Argentina) (Mexico) (Venezuela) [es]
Die Faust im Nacken (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Sur les quais (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Alaston satama (Finland) [fi]
Fronte del porto (Italy) [it]
Há Lodo no Cais (Portugal) [pt]
I storbyens havn (Denmark) [da]
La ley del silencio (Spain) [es]
La llei del silenci (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Na dokovima njujorka (Yugoslavia: Serbian title) [sr]
Na nabrzezach (Poland) [pl]
Op de kaaien (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Rihtimlar üstünde (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Sindicato de Ladrões (Brazil) [pt]
Storstadshamn (Sweden) [sv]
To limani tis agonias (Greece) [el]
V prístavu (Czechoslovakia) [cs]

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Mexico:A | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | 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:12

Filming Locations:

Court Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Horizon Pictures

Trivia:

The scene where Eva Marie Saint drops her glove and Marlon Brando picks it up and puts it on his hand was unplanned. Saint dropped her glove accidentally in rehearsal and Brando improvised the rest. Elia Kazan loved the new business and asked them to repeat it for the take.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the bar, Terry's arms are folded when viewed from behind and supporting his head when viewed from in front.

Quotes:

Father Barry: Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. They better wise up! Taking Joey Doyle's life to stop him from testifying is a crucifixion. And dropping a sling on Kayo Dugan because he was ready to spill his guts tomorrow, that's a crucifixion...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Who Killed 'Winter Kills'? (2003) (V)

More and more, the Rolled-out Dough will crook the Rolling Pin

Terry lives in the shadow of his smart brother Charley the Gent working for a double-handed businessman of the underworld. He had his best times of his life during his boxing career, and has brought his dimes in for his brother. Charley's boss named Johnny Friendly is the man who is behind Terry's fame, but he is also the same man who nibbled his dimes from boxing.

The curtain opens with Terry working for Johnny Friendly to be participated in a murder. He does his duty and the murder takes effect. The victim was a labor, whose labor leader also works for Johhny Friendly. Terry turns gloomy when he finds out that the victim has been only seeking his rights when he became a rebel. Especially when Terry meets with the victim's sister his suspects grew. She reasons with him that there are two opposite sides: Johnny Friendly's rich and still-growing syndicate versus the dependent and needy workers who are driven into Johnny Friendly's punitive sanctions. Provided that Terry finds a third side: His own.

A run of the mill plot of the mid-20th century. Everybody is pretty much familiar with labor union issues. Mainly the subject gives nothing more than workers seeking out their rights. However, consider that it's Elia Kazan who ushers a new era of actors who rage the whole scenes and turn out heroes out of bums. On the Waterfront has surely inspired millions. For instance, in Robert De Niro's "Raging Bull", a prize-fighter like Terry Malloy turns out to be a stage actor and affirms Terry's speech of reproach to his brother, where no other words could describe his situation he fell into.

Marlon Brando's can-do attitude created an inspirational movement, imprinting our memory, that "If Terry Malloy can do this, yes; I can do this, and yes; everybody can do this". Subsequently movie makers began to deliver efforts and accomplishments to the silver screen in order to catch viewers' appreciations. On The Waterfront, Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando are those to remember together in the motion picture history.