Reviews

On The Waterfront

Reviewed by John Porter

On the Waterfront (1954, Elia Kazan) became the second of the Alhambra's Tuesday classics, blending themes of corruption, love, family, and conscience into the post-war world of New York longshoremen. Marlon Brando delivers one of the enduring lines of cinema dialogue as Terry Malloy when he laments that he, "coulda had class...coulda been a contender...coulda been somebody", whilst wrestling with moral duty over his part in a wider scheme of union infiltration by the mob. Kazan's career is often overshadowed by his decisions during the 1950s' witch-hunts, but thankfully On the Waterfront remains a testament to the power of art to endure beyond historical context.