On the Waterfront is a powerful and realistic motion-picture drama about a longshoreman fighting a corrupt labor union. The film was released in 1954 and became one of the most popular and honored American films of its time. On the Waterfront won eight Academy Awards, including best picture of the year. Marlon Brando won the Oscar as best actor. Many critics consider his performance as the brooding longshoreman Terry Malloy the finest of his career.
On the Waterfront takes place on the dingy dockside streets of the port of Hoboken, New Jersey. Terry Malloy is a member of a union controlled by the racketeer Johnny Friendly. Eventually, Malloy defeats Friendly and the hoodlums who run the union. The film was shot on location in Hoboken rather than in a studio, giving the picture its gritty, realistic atmosphere.
In addition to Brando’s intense acting as Terry Malloy, the film features acclaimed performances by Eva Marie Saint as his girlfriend and Rod Steiger as Charley, Terry’s corrupt older brother who serves as the union’s lawyer. Brando and Steiger play an emotional scene in a taxi that has become a classic of the American cinema. Lee J. Cobb is Johnny Friendly, and Karl Malden plays a crusading priest who opposes the union bosses.
Eva Marie Saint made her film debut in the picture and won the Academy Award as best supporting actress. Elia Kazan won the Oscar as best director. Budd Schulberg won an Oscar for his screenplay, which was based on a series of investigative newspaper articles about union corruption by Malcolm Johnson.
