On the Waterfront
Dir: Elia Kazan
1954
*****
Elia Kazan's 1954 film On the Waterfront is the quintessential American classic. It's a post-war, post-noir - almost neo-realist drama focusing of union violence, corruption and racketeering on the waterfronts of New Jersey that overlook the towers of Manhattan. Cited as being Kazan's reaction to criticism he received for providing names to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) or The Red Scare as it was also referred to, in 1952, it deals with social issues that hit a nerve and addressed an injustice that was rife among workers at the time. Marlon Brando plays Terry Malloy, an ex-boxer and dockworker whose brother (Rod Steiger) is the right-hand man of mob union boss Johnny Friendly (played by Lee J. Cobb). Malloy is torn between making extra money working for the corrupt union boss and his fellow workers, his middleman status providing an excellent protagonist highlighting the contrast between the groups. After Malloy is hired to assist in a the murder of a friend and because he was one forced to throw a fight for Friendly, ending his boxing career in the process, his guilt and resentment finally boils over but not before Brando delivers the now infamous line "I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody..". It is delivered with such desperation, regret and honesty that it immediately resonated with audiences. It's hard to imagine the great Frank Sinatra delivering the line in the same way. Sinatra was originally cast after Brando refused, stating that he was disgusted by the script. Old blue eyes was desperate to play the part and was devastated and angry when Brando finally took the role. As well as challenging political thinking, it changed acting styles across the film industry. It's possibly the first time that theatre and cinema merged perfectly, creating a totally different way of making movies. Masterpiece is an understatement.