Day #72 - On the Waterfront

IMDB Page

WOW. On the Waterfront was fantastic. Marlon Brando - fantastic. If there is one actor that all actors worship, it is Marlon Brando - the king of the Method, he had a style that many since him have tried to emulate. Throughout the course of this challenge his name has come up constantly as other actors list who they admire and respect. I was really excited to see him in this movie as I knew it was one of his most famous roles.

On the Waterfront is about Terry Malloy, an ex-boxer who works on the docks of New Jersey - not only is he a dock worker, he works with the mob that runs the local union. The mob is headed by Johnny Friendly (Lee Cobb), whose right hand man Charlie Malloy (Rod Steiger) happens to be Terry's older brother. The men of the dock follow the "D&D" rule - Deaf and Dumb - they know that you simply don't speak out against the mob unless you want to swim with the fishes. After one of their own, Joey Doyle, is killed for speaking out against Friendly and his men, Terry starts to wonder if what they are doing is right. One day he runs into Joey's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), who is dedicated to finding out who killed her brother. As his interest in Edie grows, she works with Father Barry (Karl Malden) to help Terry follow his conscience and speak against the mob in court. Meanwhile, Friendly warns Charlie to keep his brother in line - leading to the famous scene between Charlie and Terry in the back of the cab. Charlie has basically been sent to kill Terry but can't to it - and Terry shares with Charlie the loss he feels over the life he could have had if he had been allowed to box without the intereference of the mob ("I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody"). In the end, Terry must stand up to Friendly and win back the rights of the union workers.

Watching Brando to me is a bit like watching Spencer Tracy just in the sense of naturalism. I imagine that the things he does are not written on the page - that he starts with the script but then adds in mannerisms and gestures that are subtle yet make him feel like a real person. He really feels vulnerable to me - specifically, there is a scene where he is talking to Edie in a salloon and she forces him to face his conscience - he kneels down on his knees and looks up to her, asking her what is wrong. It's such a tender moment and yet he can turn around and be just as tough in the next scene- really amazing.

On the Waterfront was nominated for 11 Oscars and won 8 - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Brando), Best Actress (Eva Marie Saint), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. The three Oscars it did not win all came from Best Supporting Actor nominees to Rod Steiger, Karl Malden and Lee Cobb. The quote "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum, which I am" was #3 on AFI' list 100 Movies, 100 Quotes, behind "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" and "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

Elia Kazan was the director of On the Waterfront and apparently used this movie as a vehicle for telling his own story of ratting out colleagues to the House Un-American Committee - Roger Ebert covers this really well in his review which is linked below:

Roger Ebert's Review