On the Waterfront
US (1954): Drama
Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech is such a warhorse by now that a lot of people probably feel they've seen this picture already, even if they haven't. And many of those who have seen it may have forgotten how flat-out thrilling it is. For all its great dramatic and cinematic qualities, and its fiery social criticism, Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront is also one of the most gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever made in the United States, a five-star gut-grabber. Shot on location around the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, in the mid-1950s, it tells the fact-based story of a longshoreman (Brando's Terry Malloy) who is blackballed and savagely beaten for informing against the mobsters who have taken over his union and sold it out to the bosses. (Karl Malden has a more conventional stalwart-hero role, as an idealistic priest who nurtures Terry's pangs of conscience.) Lee J. Cobb, who created the role of Willy Loman in Death of Salesman under Kazan's direction on Broadway, makes a formidable foe as a greedy union leader. (David Chute, Amazon.com) Cast includes Rod Steiger, Leif Erickson, Fred Gwynn, Martin Balsam, Pat Hingle, Nehemiah Persoff and the luminescent Eva Marie Saint in her feature film debut.
12 nominations, 8 Awards
· Best Picture 1954: Sam Spiegel - Producer (Horizon-American, Columbia)
· Actor 1954: Marlon Brando
· Supporting Actress 1954: Eva Marie Saint
· Directing 1954: Elia Kazan
· Writing (Story and Screenplay) 1954: Budd Schulberg
· Art Direction/Set Decoration (Black and White) 1954: Richard Day - Art Direction
· Cinematography (Black and White) 1954: Boris Kaufman
· Film Editing 1954: Gene Milford
· Supporting Actor 1954: Rod Steiger
· Supporting Actor 1954: Karl Malden
· Supporting Actor 1954: Lee J. Cobb
· Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1954: Leonard Bernstein
Tied GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) and FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) for most Awards.