On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

99% Tomatometer 117 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about Friendly's control of the Hoboken waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and the streetwise priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) to testify himself, against the advice of Friendly's lawyer, Terry's older brother Charley (Rod Steiger).

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Critics Consensus

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.

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On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Ed Potton Times (UK) Malloy makes an unlikely proxy for Kazan, though. A former boxer with the eyes of a showgirl, he was the role of a lifetime for Brando, whose Method-schooled blend of machismo and vulnerability redefined acting for a generation. Rated: 5/5 Apr 5, 2024 Full Review On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Chris Bennion Times (UK) The supporting cast is wonderful, but it’s Brando who lights up every part of this film. Apr 4, 2024 Full Review On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Peter Bradshaw Guardian The performances in the film have a magnificent intelligence and strength, shaped and guided incomparably by Kazan, a master of Broadway and Hollywood. Rated: 5/5 Apr 3, 2024 Full Review On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies On the Waterfront is a film that would change cinema for years to come. Rated: 5/5 Jul 4, 2024 Full Review On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Vernon Young Arts Digest It has a persuasiveness of characterization, for the most part, rare on the American screen, not because actors are lacking to convey it but because it is so seldom elicited either by their material or their directors. Jan 17, 2024 Full Review On the Waterfront | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Mark Johnson Awards Daily Known for the powerful portrayal of anguish that permanently changed acting, Marlon Brando gives one of – if not THE – greatest performances of all time. Jun 8, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Matt Fabulous movie. It seems like Brando's right and left hand are always in different worlds from each other. When he goes to confront Johnny Friendly about (SPOILER ALERT), his right hand is vice-tight around a revolver, while the other is frozen into a tense openness. This is thematically resonant, signaling the two worlds Brando straddles. And Kazan earns that clich label, "the actor's director," by choosing the wide frame to capture it. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/04/21 Full Review Hao Ian L With the influence of the countless films that followed, the film's impact on cinema is undeniable, the social commentary of corruption, betrayal, and redemption is ever so effective, in addition to Brando's tour de force of a performance, <i>On the Waterfront</i> is much more than just the regular crime drama. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/10/24 Full Review Lanfranco C After so many years it is still touching and powerful. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/30/24 Full Review Regina P I finally got around to seeing the movie where Brando says, "I could've been a contender." Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/24/24 Full Review Chris H A masterpiece about dockside corruption and intimidation and what it does to its victims. Any review of this film will tell you that Marlon Brando's performance was game changing for the film industry and I can see why - anguished, inarticulate, often looking somewhere away from the action - it feels like he's in a different film from the rest of the characters, but somehow he connects all the same.Brando is fascinating every minute he's on the screen but all the cast are terrific, especially Karl Malden, whose priest burns with righteous anger, and Eva Marie Saint, winning an Oscar in her film debut. Lee J Cobb (the chief villain) could have carried the film on his own, but with a film this good, he's surrounded by talent. There's a real ex-boxer turned actor in here, too - Tony Galento - very appropriate. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/04/24 Full Review Domenick I defy anyone to watch this movie without being blown away by the story, the directing, the script, the acting and the social commentary. One of maybe 10 must-watch movies of the 20th Century. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Elia Kazan Director Marlon Brando Terry Malloy Eva Marie Saint Edie Doyle Karl Malden Father Barry Lee J. Cobb Johnny Friendly Rod Steiger Charley
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On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Let's Go to Work! On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Let's Go to Work! 2:13 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - I Coulda Been a Contender On the Waterfront: Official Clip - I Coulda Been a Contender 2:13 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Present from Uncle Johnny On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Present from Uncle Johnny 2:13 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - They Got Charley On the Waterfront: Official Clip - They Got Charley 2:10 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry's Conscience On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry's Conscience 2:10 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - This Is My Church On the Waterfront: Official Clip - This Is My Church 2:12 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Am I Gonna See You Again? On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Am I Gonna See You Again? 2:10 On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry Asks Edie Out On the Waterfront: Official Clip - Terry Asks Edie Out 2:11 View more videos

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On the Waterfront

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On the Waterfront

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Synopsis Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about Friendly's control of the Hoboken waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and the streetwise priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) to testify himself, against the advice of Friendly's lawyer, Terry's older brother Charley (Rod Steiger).

Director
Elia Kazan

Producer
Sam Spiegel

Screenwriter
Budd Schulberg, Budd Schulberg

Distributor
Columbia Pictures

Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 28, 1954, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 14, 2014

Runtime
1h 48m

Sound Mix
Mono

Aspect Ratio
35mm
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