 Marlon Brando stars in this hard-hitting drama about an ex-prizefighter who goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption in the ranks. An errand boy (Brando) for a corrupt union boss dreams of being a successful prizefighter. When he witnesses and murder and fall's in love with the dead man's sister (Saint), he must decode where his loyalties lie. Storyline: Terry Malloy dreams about being a prize fighter, while tending his pigeons and running errands at the docks for Johnny Friendly, the corrupt boss of the dockers union. Terry witnesses a murder by two of Johnny's thugs, and later meets the dead man's sister and feels responsible for his death. She introduces him to Father Barry, who tries to force him to provide information for the courts that will smash the dock racketeers. Written by Colin Tinto Cast Notes: Marlon Brando (Terry Malloy), Karl Malden (Father Barry), Lee J. Cobb (Johnny Friendly), Rod Steiger (Charley Malloy/Charley The Gent), Pat Henning (Timothy J. 'Kayo' Dugan), Leif Erickson (Glover), James Westerfield (Big Mac [Pier Boss]), Tony Galento (Truck), Tami Mauriello (Tullio), John Hamilton [II] ('Pop' Doyle), John Heldabrand (Mutt), Rudy Bond (Moose), Don Blackman [I] (Luke), Arthur Keegan (Jimmy), Abe Simon (Barney). User Comment: Neil Morse Lowton,England • In 1954 production of "On the Waterfront" began . Marlon Brando had been persuaded by Elia Kazan to play the role of Terry Maloy. The film was given little chance of success, critics claimed the story was of no real interest. Whilst Kazan was himself not popular among directors in the industry after he informed on them for corrupt practises hence the conclusion many have reached in believing "On the Waterfront" was made to justify and defend Kazan's own actions. Despite this troubled pre-production period "On the Waterfront" went on to become one of the greatest and most critically aclaimed films ever made. The success was due to a combination of factors, brilliant acting, memorable scenes and emotional directing from Kazan. The film saw the third Kazan-Brando collaboration which had seen previous fruition in the 1951 production of Tennesse Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" . Again the most lasting impression of "On the Waterfront" like Streetcar is Brando's performance. The film itself is about a longshoreman and ex-prize fighter who confronts the corrupt labour leaders who effectively run the dockers lives, in an attempt to expose their criminal practises. The film was hard hitting and controvesial in the subjects it dealt with such as racketeering and socialism and was wrongly accused of promoting communism and being anti American by unionists at the time. The film was shot in New Jersey and in black and white giving the film an authentic oppressed look and adding to the intensity of its subject. In the end the film was a huge hit with audiences and won eight acadamy awards. If you have never seen this film I would highly recommend thet you do so. "On the Waterfront" is a masterpiece of film making and it also contains possibly the best performance given by any actor ever in Marlon Brando's subtle and at the same time spectacular performance as Terry Maloy. A must see. Summary: Subtle and spectacular, One of the finest films ever made IMDb Rating (07/25/14): 8.3/10 from 77,198 users Top 250: #121 IMDb Rating (10/15/07): 8.3/10 from 24,245 users Top 250: #84 IMDb Rating (09/18/01): 8.4/10 from 4,720 users Top 250: #84
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