Once Controversial On The Waterfront Screens Saturday

OFS Welcomes Parents With Landmark Film

Elia Kazan, a Greek immigrant from Turkey and director of such cinematic masterpieces as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and East of Eden, became one of the most hated figures of the American film industry in the 1950s. He publicly denounced many of his fellow filmmakers in testifying before Senator Joseph McCarthy's Unamerican Activities committee.

Many have interpreted On The Waterfront (1954), ‹ playing this Saturday at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. in Kettering ‹ as Kazan's justification of these actions.

The third in a series of collaborations between director Elia Kazan and actor Marlon Brando, the most well-known of which is A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront revolves around a working class aspiring prizefighter named Terry Molloy, played by Brandon. In order to pay the bills, he takes a job running errands for Johnny Friendly, the viciously corrupt boss of the docker's union. Terry is witness to a murder carried out by two of Johnny's men, and, after meeting the slain man's beautiful sister, he experiences a deep sense of guilt for the actions of his boss. He is introduced to Father Barry (Karl Malden of A Streetcar Named Desire and Pollyanna fame), who encourages the beefy boy with a heart of gold to expose the crime and assist the courts in allowing justice to take place.

Initially critics predicted the film would be a disaster, as moviegoers of the 1950's would not be interested in such a plot. The character of Terry Molloy is encouraged to stand up for his own morals and reveal the wrongdoings of others, a trait not entirely valued by 1950's materialistic society ‹ whose members, for the most part, had been swept away by commercial culture and in the process, tended to push aside issues of social welfare.

Upon reception, the film was extremely controversial, as many felt it promoted anti-American sentiment and Communism. The mafia also did not look fondly upon Kazan's film, not only for its subject matter but also for the location the director chose. It was filmed in Hoboken, New Jersey, which is not just known for being the birthplace of baseball and Frank Sinatra (although Ol' Blue Eyes does bring the mafia to mind). On the Waterfront was more than a direct reference to Hoboken's main source of employment.

OFS is bringing On The Waterfront in honor of Parents' Weekend, as this is a film that spoke to our parents' generation, and also tends to be shown in religion classes at all-girls' Catholic high schools. However, this film speaks to individuals of all audiences and displays some of Marlon Brando's best acting, not to mention beautiful shots of Hoboken when the waterfront still existed.