On the Waterfront Resources

If you like tables and lists and stuff—not necessarily the superb in-depth analysis provided by your trusty and scholarly guides at Shmoop—you maybe should kind of be slightly interested in checking out IMDB. It is the "internet movie database" after all, and it's got some serious data on On the Waterfront.

Look at the name of the site—"Filmsite." Clearly, it's a site about films. Clearly, it's going to have info about On the Waterfront…

No one would throw rotten tomatoes at On the Waterfront. They would serve it delicious hipster heirloom tomatoes because it's just so good. And that's what most of the critics on here did, through their positive reviews.

The Criterion Collection's criterion for including it in its collection is that the movie be awesome. On the Waterfront is awesome, so it's in the collection. There's also lots of cool interviews and clips on here.

Decode the acronym: TCM means "Turner Classic Movies." And On the Waterfront is a classic—so the good folks over at TCM have something to say about it. Probably something like, "It is a classic."

This has a cast list and other info, courtesy of the AFI. 'Nuff said.

Like Rotten Tomatoes, this page offers a collection of reviews from critics. Like on the Rotten Tomatoes page, they usually like On the Waterfront.

After writing the script for On the Waterfront, Schulberg wrote this novel—which isn't exactly a "novelization" of the movie. It changes the plot, and goes more deeply into the social and cultural realities of life on the docks.

The New York Times liked On the Waterfront. How couldn't you? But they also said it "oversimplified" the nature of life on the docks. A little nit-picky, perhaps?

Ebert re-reviewed the movie in 1999 and found that it was still fresh. No surprise there. He also talks a little about how it was Kazan's justification of his own testimony to Congress.

These film notes focus on the controversy of Kazan's stand—or snitching, depending on your perspective.

This re-appraisal—like Ebert's—also concludes that the movie is still awesome. And like some of the other movies on here, it discusses the snitching controversy that followed Kazan around.

Schulberg dishes on how Frank Sinatra was promised Terry's role and then denied it. He also discusses the actual priest who inspired Father Barry's character and what life on the Hoboken docks was really like.

Like everyone else, the Variety reviewer also thought On the Waterfront was the bee's knees. (Bee's have very attractive knees, if you didn't know).

Kazan talks about making On the Waterfront and also goes into how he was ostracized for testifying against his former Communist associates. He strongly holds to the idea that his testimony was based on principle.

Capote—famous author of In Cold Blood—and fan of Studio 54's disco scene, chats with Brando about acting, movies, and so on.

Eva Marie Saint, well into her 80's, looks back at the experience of making On the Waterfront and what it was like to play Edie.

Eva Marie Saint talks about what it was like to work with Kazan and Hitchcock, and why she still keeps up on the lives of longshoremen.

Spiegel was both a blessing in the making of On the Waterfront—he produced it, after all—and a manipulator, who tried to play Schulberg and Kazan off each other, without much success. This is an interesting look into the man behind the men.

The opening part of the trailer basically says, "This is an amazing movie, Marlon Brando's a great actor, and you must love this." It's not wrong.

This has been parodied so many times, you forget how moving and real-feeling the actual scene is.

Scorsese (director of Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street) absolutely loves Elia Kazan and his movies. He's not blaming him for testifying against his former Communist comrades.

A nice little walk in the park between two soon-to-be lovers—but little does Edie know that Terry (inadvertently) helped kill her brother.

Terry gets a licking, but—in true form—keeps on ticking.

This is one of the movie's most famous speeches. Father Barry gives an impassioned speech on how any injustice against innocent people is the same as the crucifixion.

Barry has to bellow some sense into poor Terry. It's the only way to reach his conscience.

This creepy scene shows Terry and Edie finding Charley's dead body. It's almost like something the killer from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre would've cooked up—Charley's hanging on a meat hook, or appears to be.

Kazan and Saint Marie discuss their movie on a radio broadcast from 1954. Kazan also mentions working on East of Eden with a famous (though doomed) young actor by the name of James Dean.

Bernstein's suite covers a wide range of emotions, from dramatic violence to tender feelings. It's got a lot going on.

This is a cool poster, but it makes it look like Terry and Edie are being menaced by some sort of glowing radioactive monster.

This poster has a scared-looking Terry, who also looks like a vampire. Nice.

Marlon Brando, playing Terry, pops his collar way up down at the docks. It's cold.

Man, that's low—pulling a gun on your own brother. We're shaking our heads at the Shmoop offices. Just a shame. (Rod Steiger is the actor playing Charley).

Terry looks pretty rough. He's got blood pouring out of his nose, and a cut above his eyebrow. Of course, it's probably just ketchup.

Here's Eva Marie Saint as Edie, giving a half-smile and wearing a coat.

Barry's smoking a droopy cigarette in this picture. A smoking priest…shaking our heads.

Lee J. Cobb is gesturing in a very threatening fashion, pointing an angry finger.

This is Kazan—the great director, the controversial foe of Communism, the man with the awesome "Method" actors.

Those are some cool tinted glasses. Schulberg's looking pretty slick in this picture—indeed, dapper.