On The Waterfront (1954)

Film: On The Waterfront

Director: Elia Kazan

Country: Turkey / USA

Released: July 1954

Runtime: 108 minutes

Genre: Gangster Movie

Studio: Columbia

Influenced: Martin Scorsese, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Tom Hardy, David Simon

Born in Turkey, Elia Kazan moved to the US as a child and became one of the country's most influential directors, with a series of films in the 1940s and 50s focused on social issues. From racial prejudice against Jews (Gentleman's Agreement) and African-Americans (Pinky) to adaptations of contemporary plays (Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire) and novels (John Steinbeck's East of Eden), Kazan's movies spoke with a real force to contemporary America. On the back of the success of the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951, Kazan maintained his partnership with upcoming star Marlon Brando for On The Waterfront, another movie – like Viva Zapata! (1952) – heavily influenced by the Italian neorealist movement, which by the early 50s had ebbed away as a genre in Europe.

Kazan sought to incorporate the style and themes of neorealism into On The Waterfront, working closely with the film's screenwriter, Budd Schulberg, to create a story that would explore the lives of working-class longshoremen and their struggles against the corrupt forces that controlled their lives. Schulberg spent over a year researching and writing the script, basing it on a Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé in the New York Sun about corruption on the docks and also his own experiences among the stevedores of West Side Manhattan and New Jersey. For example, the character of Father Barry was modelled on a real, tough-talking Roman Catholic priest called Father John Corridan.

Kazan also used many neorealist techniques in the film, such as shooting on location in New York and using naturalistic lighting to create a sense of realism. Legendary cinematographer Boris Kaufman, younger brother of Dziga Vertov, provided the expressive camerawork. Also part of Kazan's dream team behind the camera was Leonard Bernstein, whose innovative, dramatic score creates a heightened sense of drama at times, such as when Terry Malloy's brother Charlie leaves a meeting with the mob boss Johnny Friendly knowing Terry's life is on the line. Brando is superb in the lead role of Terry; he initially refused the role, and Frank Sinatra was lined up as replacement, but Brando changed his mind. So many actors would be influenced by Brando's method style for decades to come – for instance, you can see how Tom Hardy based much of his acting persona on Brando's performance in this film.

Kazan cast many actors who had little or no professional film experience, such as Broadway actress Eva Marie Saint, who won an Academy Award for her performance. It's the closest Hollywood ever got to the spirit of Italian neorealism, though Kazan employed a unique mix of Hollywood veteran actors like Karl Malden and Rod Steiger with less experienced ones. There are some great gangster mugs in the film too, notably Johnny Friendly's henchmen Abe Simon as Barney, Tony Galento as Truck and Tami Mauriello as Tillio, all of them former boxers who once fought (and of course lost) against Joe Louis. Perhaps one of the film's greatest legacies is the dialogue, with iconic lines such as "you can have it his way or you can have it your way, but you can't have it both ways", "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody. Instead of a bum… which is what I am, let's face it..."