#19 - On the Waterfront

He could'a been a contender. He could'a been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what he is.

The man, Terry Malloy, is played by Marlon Brando in what I consider to be his best role. In the past few years, I have had a burgeoning obsession with any movie having to do with the Mafia. When I watched this 1954 masterpieces as a 14-year-old, I didn't know it had anything to do with the Mafia (I didn't know what was going on in it half the time). Thus, I couldn't see what all of the hullabaloo was about. But now, I will defend all of the hullabaloo I hear about his amazing piece of cinema.

The story of mob informants, "On the Waterfront" depicts Malloy's descent into becoming a rat. Elia Kazan, the director, had recently been investigated and questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee (Wikipedia article here), and had named names of people in the movie industry he thought held Communistic beliefs. So many people see this movie as a response to all the criticism he faced for turning on his own people, to show that there can be nobility in "naming names."

Terry Malloy is just one man, but through his fervent beliefs of right and wrong, he is able to build up support and topple the mob boss he's become rather close with, Johnny Friendly. The movie, rather gorier than I expected, depicts the action of the coup d'etat, which includes many killings of people who need to die to move the plot forward.

At the center of all the action is the power-couple: Malloy and his new flame, Edie Doyle, the sister of a man who was just killed for talking to the cops about the organized crime activities happening down on the waterfront (the name comes from where all of the corruption takes place -- at Terry's workplace down on the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey).

The movie was filmed in a short 36 days, on-location in Hoboken to add a realistic touch. The bars are dirty, working-men places. You can almost smell the musk and the cheap booze when Malloy and Edie dance at a wedding party to which they weren't invited.

The movie is a classic that was easier to follow than I remembered and that contains one of the most famous scenes ever, including the line I quoted at the top of this article, which was ranked #3 on AFI's list of 100 Movie Quotes.

And it's clear that Brando was certainly acting like a guy who had no class. This man was a true gentleman. Oh wait. Never mind. So close.