Cinema
On the Waterfront
Elia Kazan · 1954
Synopsis
Terry Malloy, a former boxer turned dockworker in Hoboken, New Jersey, does favours for Johnny Friendly, who runs the dockworkers' union. He lures a fellow worker, Joey Doyle, up onto a roof, without knowing that Friendly's men are going to push him off it. Edie, the dead man's sister, and Father Barry, the priest of the docks, press him to say what he knows. His older brother, Charley, is Friendly's right-hand man.
Context
Budd Schulberg's screenplay draws on Malcolm Johnson's articles on waterfront crime, awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1949; Father Barry is modelled on Father John Corridan. Two years earlier Kazan had named, before the House Un-American Activities Committee, eight former comrades, and the film has been widely read as a response to his critics. When the Honorary Oscar was presented to him in 1999, several actors remained seated without applauding.
Who it is for
A film of one hundred and eight minutes, in black and white, shot almost entirely outdoors; the French DVDs carry a dubbed track.
Prizes and reception
Eight Oscars at the March 1955 ceremony, including best picture; in 1989 the Library of Congress selected it among the first twenty-five films of its registry.
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