On the Waterfront (1954)

You can't really write about On the Waterfront, named Best Picture of 1954, without noting the performance of Marlon Brando. It's one of the iconic performances on film. Brando stands out so sharply from so many of his fellow actors because of the pain and torment and joy that he seems to contain within him in this film. It's a masterpiece, certainly. And if you haven't "gotten" it by the time of the famous "I could have been a contender" speech, then you likely will never understand.

Likewise, you can't really write about this film without noting its place in history. It's the movie that director Elia Kazan made soon after he named names at the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. It's an attempt, perhaps, on his part to justify his actions, to say that wasn't' really a "pigeon," the somewhat heavy-handed recurring image in the film associated with Brando's Terry Malloy. This is a film about the consequences of providing information to the authorities against your own kind. I'm not sure that it truly expunges what Kazan did; that's a debate best saved for someone and somewhere else. I can only say that within the context of the movie, Terry's actions are certainly justified. It's not such a clear parallel to what was happening with HUAC and the search for Communists in Hollywood, though.

On its own merits, On the Waterfront is still a great film. You don't have to note Brando's style of acting to appreciate the difficult situation his character faces. Here's a man who has been, to a degree, taken care of so long as he goes along with the actions of the union bosses, one of whom is his brother. Now, however, thanks to the intervention of the sister of one of his "victims" and the guidance of a local priest, Terry has to rethink his actions and reconsider what he has done with his life. His transformation throughout the film is the key to its success overall.

Brando's is not the only great performance in the film, for the record. Karl Malden is also strong as Father Barry, the priest who gets involved in union busting despite some pretty severe opposition. Eva Marie Saint as Edie Doyle, the sister of an informant who has been killed, is a remarkable blend of tenderness and intensity. She's so young here, but she already exhibits the talent that would lead her to have such a long career. And I admired Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly. Cobb was always exceptional when he played a tough guy, and as the local union leader or "mob boss," he is a standout. There's a rage to his character that is always in danger of escaping, and Cobb captures that sense perfectly.

Still, it's Brando you'll remember. No one could have had the same impact that he had during Terry's walk along the docks at the end of the film. I won't spoil the ending for you, but watching him stride past all of his fellow longshoremen, knowing the pain that he is feeling at that moment, is revelatory. Brando holds the film together and, as a result, changed the way that actors acted on film from that point on. Brilliant stuff.