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 | Longshoreman | Dock | Waterfront

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 29

8:00 PM

TCM

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)

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:

At the hearing, Slim gives his name as "Mladen Sekulovich", which is co-star Karl Malden's real name. Malden always deeply regretted having had to change his real, very ethnic name for the sake of his movie career, and attempted to make amends over the years by making sure his real name always showed up in his movies, one way or another.

Goofs:

Continuity: The framed photo of Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly glad-handing an unidentified politician or mobster shows up both in the Longshoreman's Union headquarters on the docks and also in the Friendly bar, when Terry Malloy throws his gun at and breaks.

Quotes:

Edie: Shouldn't everybody care about everybody else?
Terry: Boy, what a fruitcake you are!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Freshman (1990)

Quite simply a classic

Gripping, powerful drama of corrupt unions for dock workers and how one man Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) fights back.

This movie is a definite must-see. The story is pretty simple and has been done before but the script is superb and all the actors are at the height of their powers. Brando is unbelievable as Malloy--he portrays his innocence and hurt so easily--I actually started to get a lump in my throat when he comes to grips about the corruption. Rod Steiger is great in a small role as his brother. The taxicab sequence between him and Brando has become a legend--rightfully. Lee J. Cobb is frightening as the leader of it all. Eva Marie Saint (in her first theatrical role) is gorgeous and just great as a woman who falls in love with Brando. The scenes between them are incredible. There's also superb direction by Elia Kazan--this is possibly his best work. The only debit here is Karl Malden as the priest--he overplays it way too much and got on more nerves. But that's about it.

This movie is one of those rare instances where everything clicked together perfectly. A HUGE hit in its day. Don't miss this one!