On the Waterfront

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On the Waterfront

1954

1h 48m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

99%

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115 Reviews

95%

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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).

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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

07/17/2025

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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Matt H

@NormalAndBored Aug 23

Most over-rated B Movie ever. Practically unwatchable. Irritating nonsense throughout and overflowing with obvious holes. The movie starts with a guy getting thrown off the roof for ratting on The Mob, not the Italian Mob you understand, but the Irish Mob. I know they sound like the Mafia, act like the Mafia and look like the Mafia, but they're actually supposed to be Irish. The only actor who could pass for an Irish guy is the Irish priest Malley. Then there's the unconvincingly easy to turn on Mafia characters who just turn on the Mafia for no particular reason and a particularly noticeable absence of fearing for their lives despite their 100% kill ratio. Then there's the cringe worthy rooftop scenes. Half the movie is shot there and noone seems to care that her brother got thrown off it. In fact let's do the love scene there. Then Brando, the only decent acting, somehow doesn't notice the ship's horn during his big explanation, hands in pockets, did his very best. Laughably Stupid.

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Landon J

@Minxsykitty Aug 19

Really good! Pretty gripping and efficient runtime. Really liked the message, and Brando is of course the highlight. Would recommend highly as an entry to the black and white genre.

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Dominic B

@RT83360345 Aug 19

Very melodromatic, nailbiting finale and a great music score. I didn't buy the lovestory, though.

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bruce F

@bruce999 Aug 15

overall, a fantastic movie. a movie of power on the docks. and corruption. a must see.

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Pat B

@pbabinchs Jul 18

This is the greatest movie ever made. Perfection on screen.

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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!

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

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On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Present from Uncle Johnny

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On the Waterfront: Official Clip - They Got Charley

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On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry's Conscience

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On the Waterfront: Official Clip - This Is My Church

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

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On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry Asks Edie Out

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On the Waterfront: Trailer 1

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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

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