On The Waterfront

The 1950s were an interesting time in American history. World War Two had just ended, but the Cold War was heating. The Second Red Scare gripped the hearts of many Americans, especially in Hollywood. Many accused others of being communists or were called to identify names of those who could have been communists. One such man was Elia Kazan, who revealed the names of eight actors that had been a part of a community sympathizer group in the Group Theater with him years before. This ruined the careers of those eight actors and forever tarnished Kazan’s reputation throughout the film industry. Kazan responded to those critics with On the Waterfront. Marlon Brando plays an ex-boxer who now works on a dock and strives to expose the corruption and deception of his murderous union bosses. The film won many Oscars and remains as one of the most influential films of all time.

Production

Directed by Elia Kazan

Produced by Sam Spiegel

Screenplay by Budd Schulberg

Story by Budd Schulberg

Based on Crime on the Waterfront by Malcolm Johnson

Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, Eva Marie Saint

Music by Leonard Bernstein

Cinematography by Boris Kaufman

Edited by Gene Milford

Production company: Horizon Pictures

Distribution & Stats

Distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation

Release date: July 28, 1954

Running time: 108 minutes

Country: United States

Language: English

Budget: $910,000

Box office: $9.6 million