On the Waterfront (1954)

The Stats: won 8 out of 12 Academy Awards it was nominated for, including: best picture, director (Elia Kazan), actor in a leading role (Marlon Brando), actress in a supporting role (Eve Marie Saint), art direction-set direction (black and white), cinematography (black and white), film editing, and writing, story and screenplay.

I've decided not to waste your time (or mine) on a plot synopsis, plus I'll probably ruin the ending for you.

So this was my first serious Marlon Brando experience. I've seen him in Guys and Dolls, but let's face it, that is not the "bad boy" Marlon Brando one immediately thinks of. And, anyway, who pays attention to him when Frank Sinatra is sharing the screen? Certainly not me.

I once heard somewhere that Johnny Depp's portayal of Willy Wonka in the 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was based on Marlon Brando. Now it's hard to compare the two immediately:

But when you listen to the tone quality, intonation and speech patterns of Marlon Brando you can TOTALLY see how Johnny Depp mimicked him as Willy Wonka. Just go and listen, it's uncanny. For such a suave and ruggedly handsome leading man, he certainly has a goofy voice. Alas, you love him anyway as Terry Malloy in this gritty, underdog vs. the man (mob?) story.

You really hate Terry Malloy in the beginning. He's a lazy kiss up to the mob who is willing to do what he needs to do (regardless of what happens to others) so he can keep his cushy position doing nothing on the docks. And you hate Edie Doyle (Eve Marie Saint) even more for falling for the bad boy that she hopes to convert. But by the end Terry is the hero you were hoping he would become. Yet, it's less grand then what you're used to. He hardly seems victorious, covered in blood, walking back to do the same labor they always did, just free of the mob this time, but he changes the lives of the crowd that follows him. Because one man chose to stand up, he led the rest to do the same. Well, Terry isn't really the man who started the revolution, it's Father Barry (Karl Malden), but we'll get to him later.

As I watched this movie, I wondered "is this really what life was like for some people in the '50s?" They took out loans from the mob just so the mob would let them work. That's right, they paid the mob so the mob would give them work. It's not just the controlling mob that's frightening, it's their control over the masses, who overlook ANYTHING so they don't cross the mob. For example, Joey Doyle is killed in the beginning and his very own father is unwilling to even look at Terry after he testifies against the mob (who killed Joey) in the investigation of Joey's murder. His own father! Before Terry turns to help destroy the mob he tells Edie, "I'd rather live like an animal then end up like Joey...quit worrying about the truth all the time and worry about yourself." The underworld of the waterfront has so polluted the lives of it's inhabitants that they morality is non-existent. We see this in the scene where Terry tells Edie that he had a (unknowing) hand in her brother's murder. As he tells her, you can't hear what he says, all you can hear is the noises of the waterfront: ship horns, hammering, clanking, machinery, and it gets louder and louder. So as he tries to pull himself out of the muck of the waterfront, he can't escape, it's all around him, drowning him out.


And who is there to drag them out of the dregs of the waterfront? Father Barry. He inspires those around him to fight against the mob, and is one of the most convincing, passionate, ring leaders I have ever scene. After the death of another man who sought to fight against the mob, he comes to see the body. When told to go back to the church he says, "boys, this is my church. And if you don't think Christ is down here on the water front, you've got another guess coming...only you with God's help have the power to knock them out for good." This is one of the BEST inspiring speeches I have ever seen.

Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XLbRI0kdLg

I just realized that the reason I love Father Barry so much is because his character is what makes the movie transcendent. Without him, it would have been just a normal underdog vs. the man movie, but because of him it becomes a piece of transcendence, a spiritual awakening.