Review of On the Waterfront (1954) by Sumit B — 21 Jul 2010

As a man who is pushing 33, who was a confused child in the 80's and a tentative avatar of generation X throughout the 90's and up until now, my perspective of older films is going to be different than of those who lived during that time. Many period pieces have been made "after the fact", that require the audience to trust that the research has been done and that what they are watching is a plausible representation of that era. It takes a special kind of film to effortlessly appear legitimate to any generation that would be exposed to it, and any kind of social or political commentary it was trying to make can be easily swallowed. I insist that On The Waterfront exemplifies that analogy.

Anyone who is new to Marlon Brando and is curious to know why he is universally considered a great American actor will benefit from starting with this film. Brando is "coulda-been a contender" prize fighter Terry Malloy, who is a product of his upbringing in the NY slums. Having flushed his career by taking a dive to satisfy the pockets of local gang figureheads - specifically a Johnny Friendly played seamlessly by an intimidating Lee J.Cobb - he has long since settled into a blue color job at the docks as provided by his benefactor.

The well oiled machine of underground criminal activity motors along, until Terry is confronted by a moral dilemma. His conscious is awakened by the the naive and beautiful Edie Doyle, sister of a recently eliminated snitch, whom Terry unintentionally had a significant part in murdering. Her brother was a stand up kid who everybody liked, and Edie lingers around the crime scene desperate for someone to help her learn the truth about his death. While the locals generally sympathize, no one is dumb enough to point in Johnny Friendly's direction lest they meet a similar fate.

Terry doesn't care much about the gang or street politics; he is a simple man with a simple instinct for survival. Its unfortunate that these cats get away with extortion and murder, but what is he supposed to do about it, right? Terry tries to adhere to the unspoken code that keeps him alive and working. His empathy for this pretty little fish out of water wears away at him, as do the righteous, fiery speeches of catholic priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) who boldly dedicates himself to abolishing gang oppression in his part of town once and for all. The priest implores people to do the right thing and go to the authorities with any knowledge they have of this young man's unfortunate passing. Terry's dilemma is made all the more difficult because his own brother Charlie is bookkeeper to the devil.

Terry has his own reasons for despising Johnny Friendly for the loss of his promising career as a boxer, but it takes the distress of a lovely blond girl to ignite the fire within him. In a fantastic, memorable third act, Terry takes a stand and a beating in front of his fellow co-workers. Though battered to a pulp, he gathers himself and limps his way to the warehouse to do his job, proving that Johnny Friendly is only as powerful as the people allow him to be.

On the Waterfront is an uncomplicated film that truly captures the essence of post war late 1940s, where corrupt union officials ran rampant and the city streets were brimming with downtrodden, luckless civilians that lived to work and worked to live. We see very little of the politics, rather we live the side effects along with Terry.

There are still many classic movies I have to catch up on; and certainly classics by the same director Elia Kazan such as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "A Face In The Crowd". I am more eager to do so knowing that this director, as proven in On The Waterfront, appreciates his subject matter, and elicits strong performances from his actors. Most importantly, when I watched this film it never made me consider how old I was, or how old the film was; it spoke to me the very same way it spoke to audiences in the 50's, and thus truly deserving of the label "timeless classic".

Bradley J. Timm.