On the Waterfront (1954)

· by · in 1954. ·

Synopsis:

A dockworker (Marlon Brando, The Godfather) has a crisis of conscience after he unwittingly participates in the murder of a fellow dockhand, who was planning to testify against a corrupt union boss (Lee J. Cobb, The Exorcist).

Reaction & Thoughts:

“ I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody.”

As much as I admire Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, I don’t think it is as good as other Kazan movies like A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and East of Eden (1955). It’s an amazingly well crafted movie with many memorable performances, but I dislike the ending more every time I watch it — while I’m not exactly sure what I wanted to see, I’m convinced that the “happy ending” doesn’t fit the rest of the movie.

This grim tale of unrealized aspirations has been interpreted as Kazan’s self-justification for naming names during the 1950s Red Scare. I agree with people who find Kazan’s efforts to justify his decision to become an informer dishonest, to say the least. However, I also agree with those viewers who think this is an outstanding motion picture that can be appreciated regardless of director Kazan’s motivations.

Although it looks a tad quaint by today’s standards, On the Waterfront conveys a sense of realism rarely seen in pre-70s American cinema. It seems that Kazan was influenced by post-WWII Italian neorealism, which is characterized for its exploration of the unglamorous world of the working poor. The deliberately drab cinematography by Boris Kaufman (12 Angry Men) is both realistic and stylish.

Furthermore, one could argue that Kazan unintentionally created the first movie of American New Wave — On the Waterfront is like a ’70s movie made in the ’50s. It feels much closer to Mean Streets (1973), and Rocky (1976), than to 1954’s The Caine Mutiny or The Country Girl. On that basis alone, this is an interesting movie.

Great acting is the movie’s main joy, apart from the realistic depiction of the blue-collar milieu. Marlon Brando is superb as the movie’s anti-hero. It is not my favorite Brando performance. It isn’t even my favorite performance of the year (James Stewart’s wheelchair-bound photographer in Alfred Hitchcock’s dandy thriller Rear Window gets my vote), but it is an impressive piece of acting nevertheless.

Brando is luminous, and so is Karl Malden (A Streetcar Named Desire), who plays fearless Father Barry. Lee J. Cobb is wonderfully hammy as the evil kingpin, and Rod Steiger (Norman Jewison’s In the Heat of the Night) underplays splendidly as Brando’s shady brother. Also excellent is Eva Marie Saint (film debut) as Brando’s waify girlfriend. It’s hard to believe that this plain-looking actress is the same person who would later play the ultra-chic femme fatale in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959).

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

On the Waterfront is well-written and well-directed, the acting is great, etc., and yet it isn’t one of my favorite films. Why? Well, I hate when characters unexpectedly decide to do the right thing, and that’s exactly what happens at the end of the movie. In my view, the “uplifting ending” doesn’t belong here, and damages an otherwise powerful story. That said, I highly recommend the movie. B&W, 108 minutes, Not Rated.

Theatrical Trailer:

15 responses to “On the Waterfront (1954)”

  1. Excellent fair review. Like ‘Waterfront’ a whole lot despite flaws. Brando is one of the greats and I adore the scene with Steiger in the taxi. I suppose the ending is Kazan’s naming of names with HUAC. I really dislike political mumbo jumbo however. I admire Kazan as great American filmmaker anyway. The Criterion edition of this legendary American film is incredible.

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  2. You’re right. On the Waterfront does feel like it could’ve been made in the 70’s. I do like when something unassuming wins Best Picture. As for the ending, I do think downer movies can pull off happy endings. Like the ending of Shawshank Redemption for example.

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    • Agreed. It’s tricky, but it can be done. Shawshank is indeed a good example. Blue Velvet is another bleak story with a “happy ending” that works. But more often than not, it feels forced. In Waterfront, the dockworkers’ decision to turn again the mob boss seemed unrealistic. Color Purple is another excellent film with an unbelievable ending: a terrible man — he abuses & rapes the heroine for decades — does a complete 180 overnight, and I just couldn’t accept it.

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  4. I totally get that: people suddenly reversing course with no real or believable buildup or explanations. I didn’t remember that about Waterfront at all. I guess it’s been a LONG time! ha. But Color Purple: yeah. I remember that. So weird! It doesn’t fit/work. It’s a sad letdown, to me, when that happens.

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    • “people suddenly reversing course with no real or believable buildup or explanations”

      Exactly! However, I’ll freely admit that I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I didn’t mind seeing characters suddenly change their minds in films like Goldfinger (Pussy Galore) or Superman (Miss Tessmacher). I guess it was because I didn’t take the movies seriously. I do have a problem when we are talking about a straight drama.

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      • Yeah, harder in dramas. But actually, even in Superman Miss Tessmacher was believable because it had to do with her mother! She had no idea the nefarious plans would touch her personally like that… so it wasn’t totally unbelievable that she’d decide to turn on Mr. Luther, lol

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        • That’s a good point. And it seems that even Lex understood Tessmacher’s betrayal… they are still friends in Superman II. And I guess the same thing can be said of Pussy Galore: she didn’t Goldfinger was planning to kill thousands of people, thus her change of heart makes some sense.

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