“On The Waterfront” 1954



Theme: REDEMPTION! It follows man who has done horrible things in the past and wants to redeem himself with the help of an innocent catholic girl and an upset labor priest.

Genre: Drama/Gangster with hints of Film Noir

Canonical: New York City docks of the late 1940’s. It is a world filled with wealthy gangsters, struggling longshoremen and the Catholic Church. (People are D&D.)

History: “On the Waterfront” was based on articles published in the New York Sun by Malcom Johnson who won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting in 1949.

Director- Elia Kazan
• Studied at Yale School of Drama
• Theatre credits “A Streetcar Names Desire” and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” which put Tennessee Williams in the spotlight for writing. He also did the same thing for Aurthur Miller directing “All My Sons” and “Death of a Salesman.”
• Did little directing in the scenes. Relied on talents of the actors and use of small items and props. Did not change sets or spice up locations. Wanted the true dark and filthy mood to be captured.
• Had a dislike for the producer, Sam Spiegel, because he was in it for the $$$.
• Most famous scene in cab ride, there was no directing. Just a cab shell, great acting, camera work, sound effect of a light switch of interior, and the exterior lighting of the streets.

Priest John Corridan was the real life version on Father Barry. He was a chain smoking, fast talking labor priest who was fed up with injustice. Bud Schulberg spent months interviewing the longshoremen, drinking in the union and mobster bars, also spent weeks with Corridan.

Commentary
• Brandow vs. Sinatra for lead role
• All brilliant movies tend to happen by accident. You bring together 250 strangers for one project and things you did not expect happen. (i.e. wedding scene with dancing and night/day scene.
• Neorealist, Documentary, Flat Style. No extreme beauty.