On the Waterfront

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2:31

On the Waterfront

1954

1h 48m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

99%

Tomatometer

115 Reviews

95%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about Friendly's control of the Hoboken waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and the streetwise priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) to testify himself, against the advice of Friendly's lawyer, Terry's older brother Charley (Rod Steiger).

Critics Consensus

With his electrifying performance in Elia Kazan's thought-provoking, expertly constructed melodrama, Marlon Brando redefined the possibilities of acting for film and helped permanently alter the cinematic landscape.

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Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

Jul 17

It’s a great film, in no small part due to Marlon Brando’s staggering performance and Leonard Bernstein’s blustering score.

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Ed Potton

The Times (UK)

04/05/2024

5/5

Malloy makes an unlikely proxy for Kazan, though. A former boxer with the eyes of a showgirl, he was the role of a lifetime for Brando, whose Method-schooled blend of machismo and vulnerability redefined acting for a generation.

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Chris Bennion

The Times (UK)

04/04/2024

The supporting cast is wonderful, but it’s Brando who lights up every part of this film.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

07/04/2024

5/5

On the Waterfront is a film that would change cinema for years to come.

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Vernon Young

Arts Digest

01/17/2024

It has a persuasiveness of characterization, for the most part, rare on the American screen, not because actors are lacking to convey it but because it is so seldom elicited either by their material or their directors.

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Matt

06/04/2021

Fabulous movie. It seems like Brando's right and left hand are always in different worlds from each other. When he goes to confront Johnny Friendly about (SPOILER ALERT), his right hand is vice-tight around a revolver, while the other is frozen into a tense openness. This is thematically resonant, signaling the two worlds Brando straddles. And Kazan earns that clich label, "the actor's director," by choosing the wide frame to capture it.

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Graham B.

@gbake13 Mar 1

One of my favorite movies of all time acting was incredible I loved it 5 stars

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Geoff T

@RT31236545 Feb 18

There’s nothing I could possibly say or add , that hasn’t been already said or written about this movie. Still holds up well some 70 years later,which is a testament to its intrinsic quality. Masterpiece.

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Harry H

@Movies10 Jan 25

Liked it but didn't love it

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Bookies B

@BookiesBeat Jan 7

The movie becomes a farce when you are aware of the politics of its director. Mr "loose lips" Kazan fancies himself an underdog martyr of sorts and uses Brando's image to facilitate his fantasy.

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Richard J

@winston426 Jan 5

The movie that i just is really good i enjoyed the film its great watch especially Marlon Brando early acting career the movie talks about he changed in the film how the guilty of his action meeting this girl see the world different, how the person changes how see himself great movie are great. I am glad its free on tubi

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Elia Kazan

Director

Marlon Brando

Terry Malloy

Eva Marie Saint

Edie Doyle

Karl Malden

Father Barry

Lee J. Cobb

Johnny Friendly

Rod Steiger

Charley

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Let's Go to Work!

2:13

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - I Coulda Been a Contender

2:13

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Present from Uncle Johnny

2:13

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - They Got Charley

2:10

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry's Conscience

2:10

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - This Is My Church

2:12

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Am I Gonna See You Again?

2:10

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry Asks Edie Out

2:11

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On the Waterfront: Trailer 1

2:31

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Synopsis

Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about Friendly's control of the Hoboken waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and the streetwise priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) to testify himself, against the advice of Friendly's lawyer, Terry's older brother Charley (Rod Steiger).

Director: Elia Kazan
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Screenwriter: Budd Schulberg, Budd Schulberg
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2014
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm