On the Waterfront

1954

Directed by Elia Kazan

Netflix says… Winner of eight Oscars, director Elia Kazan’s classic morality tale stars Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, a has-been boxer who experiences a crisis of conscience while working for mobbed-up union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). Terry turns a blind eye when Friendly’s thugs kill a fellow dockworker to keep him from testifying in a corruption case, but he has second thoughts when the victim’s sister (Eva Marie Saint) urges him to take a stand.

I really wasn’t looking forward to this one. Strictly because of Marlon Brando. Seriously, can’t stand that guy. I’ve explained why before. Now that I’ve seen it, it’s really not bad. But I really don’t attribute any of that to Brando. And watching this certainly hasn’t changed my opinion of him. Ugh… I really wish I had better things to say. I just don’t.