Marlon Brando, a very impressive actor. Whether you know him from the Godfather (of course his most famous role) or Apocalypse now, the way he acted isn’t comparable to other actors. He was very different in his mannerisms and the way he talked. In “On the waterfront”, based on the story of a dockworker and his struggle with organised crime, we see the story of Terry Malloy. He’s a former boxer who helps the mob by doing small jobs for them.
Karl Malden plays a priest who tries to motivate the dock workers to stand up against the mob and to break their silence in order to change their own situation. The mob decides who gets to work at the docks, which makes it very hard to get any work once you have done something wrong in their eyes.
Malden and Lee J. Cobb (as Johny Friendly, the mob boss), who i saw some weeks ago in 12 Angry Men are very impressive in their roles. Together with Brando they all play extremely well thought out characters that you will not forget soon. According to Roger Ebert the story lost a lot of it’s power over the years, but the movie still has enough classic scenes (“i could have been a contender”) and great actors to still be enjoyable. It’s a piece of cinematic history that you shouldn’t miss.
Score: 8