On the Waterfront: Key Facts

Full Title: On the Waterfront

Director: Elia Kazan

Lead Cast: Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, Eva Marie Saint as Edie Doyle, Karl Malden as Father Barry, Rod Steiger as Charley Malloy, Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly

Supporting Cast: Pat Henning, John Hamilton, James Westerfield, Leif Erickson

Genre: Gritty gangster film

Language: English

Writer: Budd Schulberg (inspired by a series of Pulitzer Prize–winning newspaper articles by Malcolm Johnson)

Producer: Sam Spiegel

Awards

1955 Academy Awards:

Won: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Story and Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing

Date of release: July 1954

Setting (time & Place): Hoboken, New Jersey in the 1950s

Major conflict: Terry Malloy must decide whether to inform the Waterfront Crime Commission about the corrupt leadership of the Longshoreman’s Union, which would risk his employment and his life, or to stay silent, which would poison his conscience and have untold effects on his life.

Rising action: As Terry Malloy struggles with his decision, his blossoming relationship with Edie Doyle, the passionate support of Father Barry, and the revealing taxicab conversation with his brother Charlie all push him toward realizing that he has only one choice for his own conscience.

Climax: When Johnny Friendly’s gang murders his brother Charlie, Terry realizes the inescapable cycle of union corruption and vows to make the union pay whatever the cost, now that he’s felt the pain personally.

Falling action: Though in his rage Terry wants to murder all the goons he can find, Father Barry convinces him to rise above their level and testify in court to the Waterfront Crime Commission the next day, which he does. He then goes down to the docks to confront Friendly.

Foreshadowing: Joey Doyle sticks his head out of his apartment window to answer Terry Malloy’s call from the street, and that answer brings his death. Much later, Malloy finds himself in the same position, sticking his head out of Edie’s window to answer a dark call from the street, which leads to the discovery of his brother’s corpse.