Editing On the Waterfront

{{short description|1954 film by Elia Kazan}}
{{other uses}}
{{redirect|Terry Malloy|the English actor|Terry Molloy}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| image          = On the Waterfront (1954 poster).jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Elia Kazan]]
| producer       = [[Sam Spiegel]]
| writer         = [[Budd Schulberg]]{{Infobox | decat = yes | child = yes | label1= Suggested by | data1 = {{Based on|"Crime on the Waterfront"|[[Malcolm Johnson (journalist)|Malcolm Johnson]]}}}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Marlon Brando]]
* [[Karl Malden]]
* [[Lee J. Cobb]]
* [[Rod Steiger]]
* [[Pat Henning]]
* [[Eva Marie Saint]]
}}
| music          = [[Leonard Bernstein]]
| cinematography = [[Boris Kaufman]]
| editing        = [[Gene Milford]]
| studio         = [[Horizon Pictures]]
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1954|7|28}}
| runtime        = 108 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $910,000<!-- ''(est.)'' -->
| gross          = $9.6 million
}}

'''''On the Waterfront''''' is a 1954 American [[crime drama]] film, directed by [[Elia Kazan]] and written by [[Budd Schulberg]]. It stars [[Marlon Brando]], and features [[Karl Malden]], [[Lee J. Cobb]], [[Rod Steiger]], [[Pat Henning]] and [[Eva Marie Saint]] in her film debut. The musical score was composed by [[Leonard Bernstein]]. The black-and-white film was inspired by "Crime on the Waterfront" by [[Malcolm Johnson (journalist)|Malcolm Johnson]], a series of articles published in November–December 1948 in the ''[[The New York Sun (historical)|New York Sun]]'' which won the 1949 [[Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting]], but the screenplay by [[Budd Schulberg]] is directly based on his own original story.<ref name=afi>{{AFI film|51286}}</ref> The film focuses on union violence and corruption among [[Stevedore|longshoremen]], while detailing widespread corruption, extortion, and racketeering on the waterfronts of [[Hoboken, New Jersey]].

''On the Waterfront'' was a critical and commercial success and is considered [[List of films considered the best|one of the greatest films ever made]]. It received twelve [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations and won eight, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for Brando, [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for Saint, and [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for Kazan. In 1997, it was ranked by the [[American Film Institute]] as [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies|the eighth-greatest American movie of all time]]; in AFI's 2007 list, it was ranked 19th. It is Bernstein's only original film score not adapted from a stage production with songs.

In 1989, ''On the Waterfront'' was one of the first 25 films to be deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/91732574/|title=On the waterfront|website=Library of Congress|access-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref> and selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |website=Library of Congress|access-date=April 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=September 19, 1989|title=ENTERTAINMENT: Film Registry Picks First 25 Movies|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-19-mn-347-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 to 700 words. -->New York [[Professional boxing|prizefighter]] Terry Malloy's career was cut short when he [[Match fixing|purposely lost a fight]] at the request of mob boss Johnny Friendly. Terry now works for Friendly's [[labor union]] as a [[Dockworker|longshoreman]] while his older, more educated brother Charley is Friendly's right-hand man. Terry is coerced into luring fellow worker Joey Doyle onto a rooftop, where he believes Friendly's henchmen want to talk Joey out of testifying to the [[Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor|Waterfront Crime Commission]]. When they instead murder Joey by throwing him off the roof, Terry confronts Friendly, but is threatened and bribed into acquiescence.

Joey's sister Edie and priest Father Barry try to inspire the dockworkers to stand up to Friendly. Terry attends the meeting as a snitch, but when it is violently broken up by Friendly's men, he helps Edie escape and misses Father Barry convincing one worker to testify. After the testimony, the worker is killed in a staged workplace accident.

Terry's unwillingness to testify is softened by his growing feelings for Edie, and her and Father Barry’s pursuit of justice. He confesses his role in Joey's death to both. Shocked by this, Edie distances herself from him.

Friendly sends Charley with a job offer to keep Terry quiet. Knowing refusal will get Terry killed, Charley urges him to comply. When Terry expresses regret about throwing his best fight and blames Charley for setting up the fix, Charley hands him a gun and tells him to run. Terry finds Edie and they kiss. After hearing someone in the street, they find Charley murdered.

Determined to kill Friendly, Terry is convinced by Father Barry to instead testify in court. Following the hearing, Friendly loses his powerful connections and faces [[indictment]].

When he is excluded from the next hiring call at the harbor, Terry confronts Friendly together with the other workers, saying that he is proud of testifying and no longer betraying himself. After seeing Terry get beaten severely by Friendly’s thugs, the longshoremen refuse to work without him and renounce Friendly, wishing to run the union "on the up-and-up". Encouraged by Edie and Father Barry, Terry stumbles to the warehouse. The men follow him inside and the door closes, leaving Friendly outside, ignored by the workers and shippers.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[Marlon Brando]] as Terry Malloy
* [[Eva Marie Saint]] as Edie Doyle
* [[Karl Malden]] as Father Pete Barry 
* [[Lee J. Cobb]] as Michael J. Skelly aka "Johnny Friendly"
* [[Rod Steiger]] as Charley "the Gent" Malloy
* [[Pat Henning]] as Timothy J. "Kayo" Dugan
* [[Leif Erickson (actor)|Leif Erickson]] as Lead Investigator for Crime Commission
* [[James Westerfield]] as Big Mac
* [[Tony Galento]] as Truck
* [[Tami Mauriello]] as Tillio
* [[John F. Hamilton]] as "Pop" Doyle
* John Heldabrand as Mott
* [[Rudy Bond]] as Moose
* Don Blackman as Luke
* Arthur Keegan as Jimmy
* [[Abe Simon]] as Barney
* [[Fred Gwynne]] as Mladen "Slim" Sekulovich (uncredited)
* [[Martin Balsam]] as Gillette, Secondary Investigator for Crime Commission (uncredited)<ref name="TCM"/>
* [[Katherine "Scottie" MacGregor|Katherine MacGregor]] as a longshoreman's mother (uncredited)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Katherine MacGregor, the scheming Mrs. Oleson of 'Little House,' dies at 93 |first=Matt |last=Schudel |date=2018-11-14 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/katherine-macgregor-the-scheming-mrs-oleson-of-little-house-dies-at-93/2018/11/14/7b2a6146-e826-11e8-a939-9469f1166f9d_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2022-03-27 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115030601/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/katherine-macgregor-the-scheming-mrs-oleson-of-little-house-dies-at-93/2018/11/14/7b2a6146-e826-11e8-a939-9469f1166f9d_story.html |archive-date=2018-11-15 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Pat Hingle]] as Jocko (uncredited)<ref>{{cite news| title=Pat Hingle, Versatile Actor With Recurring Role in Batman Movies, Dies at 84| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/arts/05hingle.html| last=Severo| first=Richard| date=January 5, 2009| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| access-date=July 11, 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* [[Nehemiah Persoff]] as Cab Driver (uncredited)<ref name="TCM"/>
* Thomas Hanley as Tommy (credited as Thomas Handley)<ref name="TCM">{{Cite web|title=On the Waterfront – Credits|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4749/on-the-waterfront#credits|access-date=December 12, 2021|website=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref>
}}

==Production==
[[Image:Eva marie saint marlon brando waterfront 1.jpg|thumb|Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy and Eva Marie Saint as Edie Doyle in the film's trailer]]
[[File:Eva marie saint marlon brando waterfront 14 (edit).jpg|thumb|Eva Marie Saint as Edie Doyle and Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy]]
[[Image:Karl malden eva marie saint waterfront 4.jpg|thumb|Karl Malden as Father Barry, with Eva Marie Saint]]

===Screenplay and political context===
{{further|McCarthyism}}

The film is widely considered to be [[Elia Kazan]]'s answer to those who criticized him for identifying eight Communists in the film industry before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee|House Committee on Un-American Activities]] (HUAC) in 1952. One of Kazan's critics was his friend and collaborator, the noted playwright [[Arthur Miller]], who had earlier written the first version of the script, originally titled ''The Hook''. Kazan had agreed to direct it, and in 1951 they met with [[Harry Cohn]] at [[Columbia Pictures]] about making the picture. Cohn agreed in principle to make ''The Hook'', but there were concerns about the portrayal of corrupt union officials.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/tales-from-development-hell-the-hook | title=Tales from Development Hell: The Hook | date=January 12, 2024 }}</ref> When Cohn asked that the antagonists be changed to Communists, Miller refused. Cohn sent a letter telling Miller it was interesting he had resisted Columbia's desire to make the movie "pro-American". Kazan asked Miller to rewrite the script; Miller declined due to his disenchantment with Kazan's friendly testimony before the HUAC. Kazan then replaced Miller with [[Budd Schulberg]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Geneveive | last=Haas | title=Dartmouth acquires Budd Schulberg '36 papers | date=November 21, 2006 | url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2006/11/21a.html | work=Dartmouth News | access-date=January 6, 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206144751/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2006/11/21a.html | archive-date=February 6, 2007 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> The screenwriter later recalled how he had researched the story on the docks: "I spent two years down there. I sat in on meetings the rebels held and roamed about the waterfront bars. I saw what a shapeup was like. I would report back to Kazan on what I had seen. Kazan made many suggestions in the course of my writing."<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Legends Interviews..... Budd Schulberg -On the Waterfront |url=https://americanlegends.com/Interviews/budd_schulberg.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=americanlegends.com}}</ref>

Cobb's character of Johnny Friendly was partly modeled on [[Johnny Dio]], a real-life mobster known for involvement in labor racketeering.<ref>Russell, Thaddeus ''Out of the Jungle: Jimmy Hoffa and the Remaking of the American Working Class.'' Rev. ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|1-59213-027-5}}</ref>

===Casting===
According to [[Richard Schickel]] in his biography of Kazan, Marlon Brando initially declined the role of Terry Malloy, and [[Frank Sinatra]] (a native of [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]], where the film was being made) then had "a handshake deal"{{spnd}}but no formally signed contract{{spnd}}to play the part, even attending an initial costume fitting. But Kazan still favored Brando for the role, partly because casting Brando would assure a larger budget for the picture. While Brando's agent, Jay Kanter, attempted to persuade Brando to change his mind, Kazan enlisted actor Karl Malden, whom Kazan considered more suited to a career as a director than as an actor, to direct and film a screen test of a "more Brando-like" actor as Terry Malloy, to persuade producer [[Sam Spiegel]] that "an actor like Marlon Brando" could perform the role more forcefully than Sinatra. To that end, Malden filmed a screen test of [[Actors Studio]] members [[Paul Newman]] and [[Joanne Woodward]] performing the love scene between Terry and Edie. Persuaded by the Newman/Woodward screen test, Spiegel agreed to reconsider Brando for the role, and shortly afterward, Kanter convinced Brando to reconsider his refusal. Within a week, Brando signed a contract to perform in the film. At that point, a furious Sinatra demanded to be cast in the role of Father Barry, the waterfront priest. It was left to Spiegel to break the news to Sinatra that Malden had been signed for this role.

===Filming locations===
''On the Waterfront'' was filmed over 36 days on location in various places in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], including the docks, workers' slum dwellings, bars, littered alleys, and rooftops. The church used for exterior scenes in the film was the historic [[Church of Our Lady of Grace (Hoboken, New Jersey)|Our Lady of Grace]], built in 1874, while the interiors were shot at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at 400 Hudson Street.<ref name=movielove>{{cite movielove}}, p. 10-11</ref>

==Reception==
Upon its release, the film received positive reviews from critics, and was a commercial success, earning an estimated $4.2 million at the North American box office in 1954.<ref>'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1954', ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' (January 5, 1955)</ref> In his July 29, 1954, review, ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' critic A. H. Weiler called the film "an uncommonly powerful, exciting, and imaginative use of the screen by gifted professionals".<ref>Weiler, A. H. [https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/29/movies/19540729waterfront.html?_r=0 "Movie Review: On the Waterfront"] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 29, 1954)</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a score of 99% from 111 reviews, with an average rating of 9.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "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".<ref name="RT">{{cite web |title=On the Waterfront |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/on_the_waterfront/ |access-date=August 13, 2023 |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film holds a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{Cite web |title=On the Waterfront Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/on-the-waterfront |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Fandom, Inc.]]}}</ref>

Gaining the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] and being named the greatest and second-greatest film performance of all time by Aaron West of [[The Criterion Collection|Criterion]] and by ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'' respectively,<ref>{{cite news|last=Pryor |first=Thomas M. |title='Waterfront,' Brando, Grace Kelly Win 'Oscars' |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/specials/oscars/flashback-1954.html |access-date=August 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |location=Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States |date=March 31, 1955}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=West |first=Aaron |title=On the Waterfront: The Great Performances |url=https://criterioncloseup.com/2015/05/15/on-the-waterfront-the-great-performances/ |access-date=August 24, 2020 |work=Criterion Close-Up |date=May 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=100 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time by Premiere Magazine § Part 4 |url=https://www.filmsite.org/100greatperformances4.html |access-date=August 1, 2020 |website=[[Filmsite.org]] }}</ref> Brando's performance is regarded as one of the watershed moments in the history of movies.<ref>Khairy, Wael. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-on-the-waterfront-1954 "Review: On the Waterfront'(1954)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314131915/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-on-the-waterfront-1954 |date=March 14, 2014 }} ''Roger Ebert.com'', March 21, 1999. Retrieved April 5, 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Khairy |first=Wael |title=He coulda been a contender |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/he-coulda-been-a-contender |access-date=August 18, 2020 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |date=September 21, 2011}}</ref> Through his portrayal of Terry Malloy, Brando popularized [[method acting]] and conclusively exemplified the power of Stanislavski-based approach in cinema. Praising Brando in 2004, director [[Martin Scorsese]] noted: "Everything that we know about the power of great screen acting relates back to him: when you watch his work in ''On the Waterfront'' ... you're watching the purest poetry imaginable, in dynamic motion".<ref>{{cite web|agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Marlon Brando redefined acting |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/marlon-brando-redefined-acting-wbna5354214 |access-date=July 20, 2020 |work=Official website of The Today Show |date=July 3, 2004}}</ref> Kazan, the director of the film, would later write in his book, "If there is a better performance by a man in the [[history of film]] in America, I don't know what it is."{{sfn|Girgus|1998|p=175}}

[[Al Pacino]], recounting his own memories on first seeing ''On the Waterfront'', told ''[[Playboy]]'' in a 1979 interview that he concentrated more on the lead actor than the film itself, "I couldn't move. I couldn't leave the theatre. I'd never seen the like of it."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hunter|first=Allan|url=https://archive.list.co.uk/the-list/1994-07-29/71/|title=Wild at heart|date=July 29, 1994|issue=232|work=[[The List (magazine)|The List]]|page=69|access-date=August 18, 2020}}</ref> [[Anthony Hopkins]] said, "When you see Brando in the famous cab scene in ''On the Waterfront'', it's still breathtaking."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/altoona-mirror-apr-09-1998-p-23/|title=NEA Crossword|date=April 9, 1998|work=[[Altoona Mirror]]|page=23|access-date=August 18, 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In a eulogy for Brando, [[Jack Nicholson]] described his display "probably the height of any age", and added that, "You just couldn't take your eyes off the guy. He was spellbinding."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nicholson |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Nicholson |title=Remembering Marlon Brando, by Jack Nicholson |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/remembering-marlon-brando-by-jack-nicholson-187366/ |access-date=August 1, 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 19, 2004}}</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="12"| [[27th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Motion Picture]]
| [[Sam Spiegel]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="12"| <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955 |title=The 27th Academy Awards (1955) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 20, 2011 |publisher=Oscars.org ([[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]])}}</ref> <br /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36311/On-the-Waterfront/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429083620/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36311/On-the-Waterfront/awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 29, 2009 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2009 |title=On the Waterfront |access-date=December 21, 2008}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Elia Kazan]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Marlon Brando]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Lee J. Cobb]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Karl Malden]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Rod Steiger]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Eva Marie Saint]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay]]
| [[Budd Schulberg]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction – Black-and-White]]
| [[Richard Day (art director)|Richard Day]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography – Black-and-White]]
| [[Boris Kaufman]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Gene Milford]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture]]
| [[Leonard Bernstein]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Bambi Award]]s
| colspan="2"| Best Film – International
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| 
|-
| Best Actor – International
| Marlon Brando
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Bodil Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Bodil Award for Best American Film|Best American Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |title=1955 |website=Bodilprisen |date=October 19, 2015 |url=http://www.bodilprisen.dk/aar-for-aar/1955-2/ |language=Danish |access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[8th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film from any Source]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1955/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1955 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1955 |access-date=September 16, 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1955}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Foreign Actor]]
| Marlon Brando
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|Most Promising Newcomer to Film]]
| Eva Marie Saint
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[7th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1950s/1954.aspx?value=1954 |title=7th DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[12th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/waterfront |title=On the Waterfront – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1955}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Marlon Brando
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Cinematography – Black and White
| Boris Kaufman
| {{won}}
|-
| [[International Film Music Critics Association|International Film Music Critics Association Awards]]
| [[International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best New Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording|Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – <br /> Re-Release or Re-Recording]]
| Leonard Bernstein, Douglass Fake, <br /> Frank K. DeWald, and Joe Sikoryak
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/ifmca-awards-2014/ |title=2014 IFMCA Awards |author=[[International Film Music Critics Association|IFMCA]] |date= 2015 | website= IFMCA |accessdate= May 1, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| Best Foreign Film
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1954|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1954/ |title=1954 Award Winners |website=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[1954 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1954 |title=1954 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |website=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Marlon Brando
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Eva Marie Saint
| {{nom}}
|-
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-hall-of-fame/film-hall-of-fame-productions/ |title=Film Hall of Fame Inductees: Productions |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[15th Venice International Film Festival|Venice International Film Festival]]
| [[Golden Lion]]
| rowspan="4"| Elia Kazan
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| 
|-
| [[Silver Lion]]
| {{won}}
|-
| OCIC Award
| {{won}}
|-
| Pasinetti Award
| {{won}}
|-
| [[7th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Drama|Best Written American Drama]]
| Budd Schulberg
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |work=wga.org |publisher=Writers Guild of America |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|}

In 1989, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]], and selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]].

In 1995, it made it on the [[Vatican's list of films|Vatican's list of 45 important films]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |title=Vatican Best Films List |publisher=USCCB |access-date=March 7, 2010 |archive-date=April 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418125227/http://www.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''American Film Institute recognition'''
* [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies]] – #8
* [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains]]:
** Terry Malloy – #23 Hero
* [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes]]:
** "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum, which is what I am." – #3
* [[AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores]] – #22
* [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers]] – #36
* [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] – #19

==Home media==
{{Anchor|Video|DVD|DVD release}}
The first home video release of the film was by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment]] in 1982, on VHS and Beta. RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video later re-released it in 1984, 1986, and 1990, respectively, the latter being a part of the [[Columbia Classics]] line-up. Columbia TriStar later reissued the film on VHS in 1995 as part of the line-up's "Studio Heritage Collection", and the first DVD version was released in 2001. Among the special features is the featurette "Contender: Mastering the Method", a video photo gallery, an interview with Elia Kazan, an audio commentary, filmographies, production notes, and theatrical trailers. The film has been added to the [[Criterion Collection]].

The 2013 Criterion Collection release presents the film in three aspect ratios: 1.66:1, 1.85:1, and 1.33:1. The accompanying booklet explains the reasoning behind this choice: "In 1953, Columbia Pictures was transitioning to the new widescreen format and declared that all its upcoming films, including ''On The Waterfront'', would be suitable for projection in any aspect ratio from the full frame of 1.33:1 to the then widest standard of 1.85:1. The customary frame of European cinematographer Boris Kaufman (''Twelve Angry Men'', ''Baby Doll'') split the difference at 1.66:1, so that all that was required was for him to leave extra room at the top and bottom of the frame and make sure that nothing essential would be lost in the widescreen presentation. At its premiere in 1954, ''On The Waterfront'' was projected at 1.85:1. Over subsequent decades, millions of television viewers became accustomed to seeing the film with the open-matte 1.33:1 framing, a presentation that has carried over into the home video era. Here, for the first time, Criterion is presenting the film in all three aspect ratios so that viewers can compare and choose the version they prefer."

==Adaptations==
In the same year that the film was released, Budd Schulberg published a novel simply entitled ''Waterfront'' based on his script. In the novel Terry Malloy dies. It is  more heavily focused on the priest who stands up to the mob, and narrated in first person by him.

In 1984, the film script was adapted to stage by Schulberg, opening on Broadway in November. It had several technical innovations for the time, including lasers, filmlike scenic dissolves and sounds that enveloped the audience. As with Schulberg's earlier novel, the motivations of Father Barry are made more explicit, and the ending is less happy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/20/theater/on-the-waterfront-adapted-for-stage.html |title=On the Waterfront adapted for stage |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Eleanor Blau |date=March 20, 1984 |access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref> It was revised in 1995 and lasted for only 8 performances, losing $2.6 million, a record on Broadway for a non-musical at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 8, 1995|page=8|title=Broadway's Bombs}}</ref>

The Indian films ''[[Kabzaa (1988 film)|Kabzaa]]'' (1988), ''[[Ghulam (film)|Ghulam]]'' (1998) and ''[[Sudhandhiram]]'' (2000) are inspired by ''On the Waterfront''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/may/19copy.htm|title=Whose movie is it anyway?|date=19 May 2003|website=[[rediff.com]]}}</ref>

A 2009 British stage production was directed by [[Steven Berkoff]], who also played Johnny Friendly, with Simon Merrells as Terry.  It played at the [[Theatre Royal, Haymarket]] in London, after the [[Nottingham Playhouse]] and the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/waterfrontTRH-rev | title=Theatre review: On the Waterfront at Theatre Royal, Haymarket }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://playbill.com/article/on-the-waterfront-makes-west-end-stage-premiere-jan-28-com-157389 | title=On the Waterfront Makes West End Stage Premiere Jan. 28 }}</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book|last1=Girgus|first1=Sam B.|author-link1=Sam B. Girgus|title=Hollywood Renaissance: The Cinema of Democracy in the Era of Ford, Kapra, and Kazan|location=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-521-62552-4}}

==Further reading==
* Raymond, Allen, ''Waterfront Priest'' (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1955); foreword by ''On the Waterfront'' screenwriter [[Budd Schulberg]]
* {{cite book |last= Clark |first= Neil G. |title= Dock Boss: Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront |publisher= Barricade Books |location= New Jersey |year=2017 |isbn=978-1569808139}}
* {{cite book |last= Rapf |first= Joanna E. |title= On the Waterfront |publisher= Cambridge University Press |location= Cambridge, UK |year=2003 |isbn=0-521-79400-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|On the Waterfront (1954 film)}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/on_the_waterfront.pdf ''On the Waterfront''] essay by [[Robert Sklar]] on the [[National Film Registry]] website 
* {{AFI film|51286}}
* {{IMDb title|0047296}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/on-the-waterfront-am6629 ''On the Waterfront'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|4749}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|on_the_waterfront}}
* [http://www.filmsite.org/onth.html filmsite.org]
* [https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/search/google?keys=On%20the%20waterfront Bibliography of articles and books about On the Waterfront] via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2663-on-the-waterfront-everybody-part-of-everybody-else ''On the Waterfront: Everybody Part of Everybody Else''] an essay by [[Michael Almereyda]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [https://books.google.com/books/about/America_s_Film_Legacy.html?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''On the Waterfront''] essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 488–490

{{Elia Kazan}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''On the Waterfront''
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestPicture 1941-1960}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestMotionPictureDrama 1951-1960}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Film}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}
{{Silver Lion (1953–1994)}}
}}

{{Portal bar|Film|United States|1950s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:On The Waterfront}}
[[Category:1954 films]]
[[Category:1954 crime drama films]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American crime drama films]]
[[Category:Best Drama Picture Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
[[Category:Films about brothers]]
[[Category:Films about Irish-American culture]]
[[Category:Films about the Irish Mob]]
[[Category:Films about the labor movement]]
[[Category:Films about McCarthyism]]
[[Category:Films about whistleblowing]]
[[Category:Films based on newspaper and magazine articles]]
[[Category:Films directed by Elia Kazan]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films produced by Sam Spiegel]]
[[Category:Films scored by Leonard Bernstein]]
[[Category:Films set in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe]]
[[Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Budd Schulberg]]
[[Category:Mafia films]]
[[Category:Union violence]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]