On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront (1954)

Timing: 1:48 (108 min)

7.87/10
1747

7.61/10
12777

8.1/10
176000

All about film

Video 10

Photo 93

Actors and characters

Release date

1954-06-22

Country

United States

Production

Columbia Pictures, Horizon Pictures, Horizon Pictures

Genre

Crime, Drama, Romance

Budget

$910 000

Revenue

$9 600 631

Website

Director

Elia Kazan

Actors

Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, Leif Erickson, James Westerfield, Tony Galento, Tami Mauriello
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Sam Spiegel

Operator

Boris Kaufman

Composer

Leonard Bernstein

Artist

Audition

Editing

Gene Milford
All team (19)

• The plot of the film is based on a series of articles published by Malcolm Johnson in 'The New York Sun' under the general title 'A Crime on the Waterfront'. In 1949, Johnson received the Pulitzer Prize for this series (a total of 24 articles were published).
• Director Elia Kazan initially approved Frank Sinatra for the lead role. However, the film's producer, Sam Spiegel, believed it would be more advantageous to cast the successful Marlon Brando. Despite a signed agreement with Sinatra, Spiegel sent the script to Brando, who initially refused. But when sending the script, Spiegel resorted to a trick, inserting several newspaper clippings between the pages. When the producer found them in the same place, he realized that Brando hadn't even read the script and therefore didn't dismiss his candidacy. It later became clear that the actor did not want to work with Kazan, disagreeing with his loyal position towards the authorities during the McCarthy era in the United States. Spiegel insisted and convinced Brando to take on the role of Terry Malloy, and the rejected Sinatra even sued the producer for breach of contract.
• The film was shot in 36 days.
• Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Montgomery both auditioned for the role of Edie Doyle.
• This was Eva Marie Saint's debut in a major film; prior to this, the actress had appeared on television.
• The American Film Institute ranked the film 'On the Waterfront' eighth on its list of '100 Greatest American Movies of All Time'.
• Director Elia Kazan initially approved Frank Sinatra for the lead role. But producer Sam Spiegel believed it would be more advantageous to cast the successful Marlon Brando. Despite a signed agreement with Sinatra, Spiegel sent the script to Brando, but the actor refused. Spiegel resorted to trickery, placing several newspaper clippings between the pages, and when he found them in the same place, he realized that Brando hadn't even read the script. It later turned out that the actor did not want to work with Kazan, disagreeing with his loyal stance towards the authorities during the McCarthy era in the United States. Spiegel insisted and convinced Brando to take on the role, and the rejected Sinatra even sued the producer for breach of contract.
• Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Montgomery both auditioned for the role of Edie Doyle.