Working on the docks and shipyards can be a tough job but if the union bosses are corrupt, it's hell. A great American film with that very plot was On the Waterfront. It starred a young Marlon Brando whose film career and fame was rapidly skyrocketing from instant classics. Brando is Terry Milloy, an ex-boxer that is caught up with the bad union bosses because of his brother and his rough past. In the beginning, he's a tough guy that seems to have no direction, a dirty mouth, and (almost) no concern for others. All that changes when he meets the girl of his dreams, Edie Doyle (Eva Marie Saint). With the help of the neighborhood priest, Father Barry (Karl Malden), Milloy tries to stand up against his former comrades and risks his life. Nobody in the shipyard wants to be considered a "rat" because their lives depend on keeping their mouths shut. Fear is best tool for these corrupt union bosses to go unnoticed.
The screenplay, by Budd Schulberg, allows for us to see the good side of Terry Milloy even before he realizes it himself. It tells the viewers that he is a decent person. John Friendly (Lee J. Comb), the mob-like union leader, seems to be worried about Milloy's commitment to his devilish ways. When he's in the room, Friendly treats him like a great buddy and shows him all the attention. Another man makes sure to tell Milloy he has a friend with them, almost to avoid his potential fallout. This is a key scene that disassociates him from them even though he had been around them for a long time. Another softening of his hard shell is when he is disappointed to learn that he was complicit in a murder because he thought they were going to beat up the dock-worker.
Many of the scenes start with a set-up shot or an extreme long shot which gives the film good balance, in my opinion. It is especially useful in the shipyard scenes and the roof-top scenes. Most of the shots, understandably, would from medium range which showed Brando or others from the waist up. Lighting almost all high-key; instead of shadows there is plenty fog and cigar smoke that dulls the frames and shows a darker side. That's the feeling I got from it.
I thought one of the great aspects of the film is its sound. According the credits, the people I should be thanking are James Shields and Leonard Bernstein. For a film made in the mid 1950s it had intelligent sound of ships and good timing on the mellow orchestra. The dialog seemed to good, other than a few phrases I had never heard before. For example, they don't use the word saloon much anymore. The one phrase that is still heard frequently today and the calling card for Marlon Brando is...
"...I coulda' been a contenda"
Another aspect that I found interesting was the wardrobe (Anna Hill Johnstone). The little roof-top-boys that hang around Terry Milloy have matching Golden Warriors jackets. Today, they're known as the Marquette Golden Eagles and it was just an interesting parallel to see. Terry and the rest of the dock workers had predictable attire and I felt the simplicity worked well with the nature of the film. It Brando's attire resembled Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I see many similarities between these two films and the actors themselves. Both Nicholson and Brando seem to carry their films all the way to classic stardom.
This film has all of the makings of classic and has stood the test of time. Marlon Brando is considered one of the greatest actors of all time because of his ability to become "one" with the character and his undeniable charm. On the Waterfront will be enjoyed by many more generations to come, there's no doubt about that.
