On the Waterfront [PG]

Terry Malloy is a failed boxer turned errand boy for a corrupt gang of mobsters who run the workers’ union on the docklands. One night he is asked to lure a disaffected dockman to a rooftop. Unaware that the job was for a hit, he does so and then becomes morally disturbed when the dockman is pushed from the roof. His guilt is exacerbated when he falls in love with Edie, the dockman’s sister, whom has shamed the town’s priest into encouraging the worker’s to speak out against the mob. Already grappling with his guilt, Terry finds himself in an emotional deadlock between his conscious and his loyalty and he must choose whether to save his skin or his soul. 

Some would say that you could either take this movie or leave it. Indeed at the time of its release America was in a tender place having been shaken by the betrayals and paranoia of the anticommunist scare. With its searing and penetrating questions of loyalty and morals being so beautifully exhibited by breathtaking performances and complemented by an extravagant but empowering accompanying score by Leonard Bernstein, On the Waterfront continues to receive critical acclaim and is widely considered to one of the all-time greatest American films. Me? I’ll take it. 

Terry Malloy is a failed boxer turned errand boy for a corrupt gang of mobsters who run the workers’ union on the docklands. One night he is asked to lure a disaffected dockman to a rooftop. Unaware that the job was for a hit, he does so and then becomes morally disturbed when the dockman is pushed from the roof. His guilt is exacerbated when he falls in love with Edie, the dockman’s sister, whom has shamed the town’s priest into encouraging the worker’s to speak out against the mob. Already grappling with his guilt, Terry finds himself in an emotional deadlock between his conscious and his loyalty and he must choose whether to save his skin or his soul. 

I want to talk about the soundtrack first off. This is no ordinary accompanying score that creates atmosphere and tracks the narrative and key plot points. The soundtrack is deliberately heightened in volume and often appears most forcefully in places where it doesn’t quite seem to fit. Big bursts of volume, long notes, and percussion penetrate the most visually quiet scenes (like scenic long shots) and for the life of me I can quite fathom how they got it to work… but it does! The music brings a whole new level of depth and drama to the film and it’s just brilliant! 

At the time of its release, this movie was in a league of its own, bringing to Hollywood a hard-hitting social realism that had, until then, not been seen before. With a cast made up of post war generation Method actors as well as naturalistic ones, it’s really no wonder. 

Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy is just stunning! Slow-witted, but sensitive and with strong but compromising senses of right and wrong, Brando delivers a most searing performance that has you loving him and crying for him in the more dramatic scenes. Despite being an agent of the baddies, he’s a portrait of the little lost lamb, desperately trying to find his flock. He also gives us that iconic line “I coulda been a contender”. Breathtaking. 

Starring Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rob Steiger, Leif Erikson, James Westerfield, Tami Mauriello, Tony Galento, Pat Henning, John F. Hamilton, Abe Simon, Rudy Bond, Don Blackman, Arthur Keegan, and featuring Eva Marie Saint in her debut role, On the Waterfront is a deeply powerful and moving film that’s filled with morals, guilt, betrayal, drama, action, and romance. It’s highly empowering and a fierce contemplation of morals, values, betrayal, and loyalty. It’s a real stunner!