12. On The Waterfront; movie review
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ON THE WATERFRONT
Cert PG
108 mins
BBFC advice: Mild violence
On The Waterfront made such an impact that I still remember where I was when I first watched it.
On a weekend away in Bath in 1995, Mrs W and I took refuge from the pouring rain and saw it on the small TV in our hotel room.
Since then, I have seen thousands of movies, and most have slid out of my memory banks.
Not this classic from Elia Kazan. But would it live up to my expectations the second time around?
It certainly did.
Kazan gives a masterclass on evoking atmosphere as the camera delves into the soul of those who live and work in the docks.
The waterfront is a dark and dangerous place where people live cheek-by-jowl.
The bosses don't care about workers' rights, but Kazan's movie focuses on the corruption of the even worse union leaders.
With a vicious chief, ironically nicknamed Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), they decide who works every morning, giving the cushiest jobs to those who do their bidding.
One of these men is Terry (Marlon Brando), who lures a neighbour to his roof, unaware that union thugs will throw him off it.
The death prompts an outburst of emotion from the dead man's sister, Edie (Eve Marie Saint), and indignation from the local priest (Karl Malden).
However, any appeal for information falls on deaf ears because it is the workers' mantra never to 'rat'.
The focus is set on Terry as more deaths follow, and he and Edie become embroiled in a dramatic romance.
He is left with the conundrum of either doing what is right and telling what he knows about Johnny Friendly and co. or keeping schtum.
The added complication is that his brother (Rod Steiger) is Friendly's right-hand man.
On The Waterfront has the perfect combination of great story, sublime direction and one of the finest casts ever assembled.
Every one of the actors is at the peak of their game, especially Brando, who typically didn't like either his own performance or the film.
He should have been less hard on himself. It is a spellbinding movie, and he deserved his Academy Award.
Indeed, it is surely one of the greatest of all time.
Reasons to watch: One of the classic movies
Reasons to avoid: Maybe too tame for today's audiences
Laugh: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 10/10
Did you know? Writer Budd Schulberg based the story and screenplay on a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles that appeared in 1948 in the New York Sun, “Crime on the Waterfront,” by Malcolm Johnson, about corruption in the longshoremen’s union.
The final word. Marlon Brando: "I was fed up with the whole picture. All the location stuff was in New Jersey, and it was the dead of winter _ the cold, Christ! And I was having problems at the time. Woman trouble." Medium
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