This film remains relevant more than sixty years after it was released in theaters.
Terry Malloy (the excellent Marlon Brando) is a former fighter who has always lived on the waterfront. The waterfront is ruled by the nasty Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) so of course corruption and money laundering occur along with murdering those who darn to speak their own minds.
The film begins with Terry unknowingly sending a man to his death and though he does feel guilty and upset about the whole thing, he won't testify in court because he values his own skin more than the truth.
That doesn't stop him from falling in love with the dead man's sister, Edie Doyle (Eva Marie Saint, brilliant in her debut) and eventually, through the help and influence of Edie, who is the strongest character in the film, and Father Barry (Karl Malden), and the tragic murder of his own brother, Friendly's right hand man Charley (Rod Steiger), he chances his tune and testifies in court and is brutally beaten as a result.
While Edie is a strong character, Terry becomes no slouch. He doesn't give in and after testifying, goes back to the waterfront for work, as that is his right. As Father Barry says, he does have a chance to win the war and that is all we can hope for, that right wins out in the end.
This could easily be applied to the women who finally came out and admitted that powerful men were actually sexual predators, though there are definitely parts of this film that are horribly dated, but that doesn't make it any less important.
However, despite the strong story, this film is also anchored but its solid performances and brilliant score. Both Brando and Saint won Oscars for their performances and fully deserved to. This film remains one of the best of all time and should be seen and enjoyed by all. Grade: A
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