thoughts on Kazan's On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a powerful film about working class conflict on the docks of Manhattan or Brooklyn, I wasn't sure about which one it was. The drama is searing. I was taken into the film the whole way through. I wasn't bored or distracted throughout the action. And, of course, Marlon Brando makes the film. His passion is incredible. His method acting style is something of legend. Terry Malloy is one of the most memorable characters in film history. I still can't get over his legendary speech to his brother when his brother is supposed to kill him but ends up dead himself. "I could a been a contender, I could a been somebody." So memorable. One of the most famous lines in film history. And the film is great too. The class conflict, the struggle for survival, it raises so many questions; why don't the docker workers leave the docks? Isn't there a better life somewhere else? Why do they keep coming back to work at the docks? It also reveals Capitalism's faults. The union which is supposed to act on behalf of the workers is absolutely corrupt. And anyone who gets in their way is murdered. It's all hopeless. But the hero becomes Terry Malloy. he testifies against union boss. And, we are led to believe that it leads to his downfall.

Under the major conflict between Terry Malloy and the union boss is a love story which is fraught with tension. Terry was the last person to see his love interest's brother who was killed by the union. Terry wants to help her, but at first she resists. It is only when Terry breaks down her door and they go searching for Terry's brother that they truely consummate their love.

It's a great finish, but it leaves open ends. What does happen to the union boss? Do the workers ever get fair work? It seems like they never will. I remember Guliani cleaning up the docks from the mob years ago. But did that do anything? Do doc workers still work for peanuts with bad working conditions? My grandfather who had only a 6th grade education worked in factories his whole life. He was one of the lucky ones. His wages put my father and my uncles through college and they have all gone on to better lives. But what about the multitude of others who weren't so lucky?

Kazan named names at the HUAC committee meetings and he drew flack for it. It was only years later that he was rehabalitated and given a life time achievement award by the academy. It's too bad it wasn't earlier.