#53 On The Waterfront - Marlon Brando didn't always sound like he had cotton balls in his mouth

1954. dir. Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden.

Seen it before? No.

There seems to be a trend in the older movies we've been watching. There is always ONE woman who is intentionally there as a love interest (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Rashomon, The Lady Vanishes, Singin' in the Rain, etc.) otherwise there would be just men in the movie (12 Angry Men). Sam's The Wire comparisons are hilarious because there is some truth to them. It's also like what I have been writing in previous posts...there's something eerie about the past being similar to the present in that clearly we're not getting any more creative with our story lines and essentially that we're not evolving into better human beings and creating better situations for ourselves. People are still greedy. People who ask too many questions still get killed. People who want out get hunted.

Marlon Brando is terrific. Seeing him this young and vital is refreshing compared to watching him as the leader of a strong mob family. It's kind of like watching him before he gets a promotion. I liked the conflict about being brothers and being safe. Where do your allegiances lie? Where can they lie without anyone getting hurt? Eva Marie Saint is great. The woman character/love interest always seems to be strong. I guess she would have to be to deal with what she has to deal with!

Would I see it again? Yes
Would I own it? Eh

#53 On The Waterfront: I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum...

1954. dir. Elia Kazan, starring Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden.

Seen it before? No.

Marlon Brando stars as Terry Malloy, a washed-up former boxer who now works down at the docks. The dockworker's union is ruled with an iron fist by Johnny Friendly, played by Lee J. Cobb, who seemed to specialize in shouty asshole roles like this. (See also: 12 Angry Men.) The union is corrupt and crooked, and Friendly uses brute force to run it. He has Malloy set up a hit on somebody who I guess was asking too many questions. The guy's sister (Eva Marie Saint, winner of Best Supporting Actress for this role) investigates his death, and becomes involved with Malloy. Oh and Karl Malden is here too, as a meddlesome priest.

This movie reminded me of Season 2 of The Wire. Apparently not much has changed in the last 50 years for the dockworkers: backbreaking labor, lousy pay, inconsistent hours, and organized crime. Of course The Wire was able to explore these issues in more detail, given that it had 13 hours to play with instead of 107 minutes. Anyway, this is a great movie, and it's worth seeing for Brando's performance.

Position on the list: 114
Another weird Wire parallel: The pigeons. "Man, shit like that don't even work in them cartoons. The roadrunner just snatch the birdseed and book."