Interactive Revision
You will need a pen and
paper to participate in this
interactive revision.
Write an answer to these questions.
When was On the Waterfront first shown?
Who directed On the Waterfront?
What was the name of the journalist who
wrote the series of articles that On the
Waterfront was based on?
 On
the Waterfront was produced and shown
for the first time in 1954. The film was directed
by Elia Kazan; and the script was written by
Budd Schulberg from stories by a New York
journalist, Malcolm Johnson, based on events
on the New York waterfront in 1949.
 On
the Waterfront is a film about a
particular location, a place different from the
rest of America. Elia Kazan sets himself the
task of creating an enclosed, harsh,
frighteningly unpredictable world where
good and evil are clearly recognisable.
Write down as many characters as you can and
make brief notes about them.
For example: Terry Malloy – brother of Charlie
(the gent) Malloy – former prizefighter – falls in
love with Edie Doyle.
Charlie
Malloy – brother of Terry right hand man to Johnny Friendly
– is murdered by
Friendly’s goons.
 Edie
Doyle – daughter of Pop Doyle &
sister of Joey Doyle - Catholic teacher-intraining - helps Terry to reclaim his
conscience
Edie’s loyalty to her brother is the driving
motivation for all her actions - sexuality is
crucial in her involvement with Terry, and
their attraction grows, in part, because they
are physical opposites.
 Joey
Doyle – killed by Johnny Friendly’s
thugs
 Father Barry – catholic priest – the
waterfront is his parish
 Johnny
Friendly - Corrupt leader of the Longshoreman Local
Union
Money and power are his motivations
Initially, Friendly comes across as powerful
After Terry Malloy speaks out to the Waterfront Crime
Commission and effectively
strips Friendly of all his power,
Friendly becomes pitiable.
Write down some of the
themes present in On the
Waterfront.
On the Waterfront tells the story of the
emotional and moral growth of Terry
Malloy:
how he becomes someone who can
‘speak the truth as he knows it’ and
who can get his rights.
 Terry
Malloy obeys
moral authority by
choosing to inform
on the corrupt union
officials—that is, he clearly makes the morally
correct decision.
Edie
and Father Barry, the two
characters who most help Terry figure
things out, have faith in something
intangible.
Edie maintains faith in her belief that
people care about the well-being of others
and
want to do the right
thing.
Father
Barry maintains faith that
acting as a representative of God can
help
others do the
right thing.
In
the game of power there are
no true friends, just the
acquisition of more power and
the defence of that power
 Johnny
Friendly’s taste for power has left
him morally bankrupt
 Mr. Upstairs
turns on
Johnny Friendly
in an instant
 The
film shows us a world controlled by
powerful criminals who use threat and bullying
to achieve power over people
 Friendly is the one in control of the workers
 In reality he is a coward who uses brute force to
gain control
Friendly
is defeated by Terry’s
courageous stance
at the
conclusion
Terry’s
attitude to life changes when he
falls in love with Edie
Formerly Terry
was indecisive
and weak
 It
is love for his brother Terry and the desire to
protect him from danger that costs Charley his life
 Love and loyalty to his brother Charley moves Terry
to take a firm
and final stance
against Johnny Friendly
 Edie’s
loyalty to her dead brother Joey is the
main driving force motivating all her actions in
the film
 Her loyalty to Joey’s memory contributes in
many ways to the final destruction of Friendly’s
corrupt tactics
 Friendly
gets Terry to betray Joey by luring him
out on to the roof at the beginning of the film
 Out of loyalty to his dead brother Charley, to
Joey and the workers, Terry boldly confronts
Friendly and defeats him at the conclusion
You
know, I seen you a lot of times
before. Remember parochial school
out on Paluski Street?
Terry Malloy
Some
people think the Crucifixion
only took place on Calvary. Well, they
better wise up!
Father Barry
You want to know what's wrong with our
waterfront? It's the love of a lousy buck.
It's making love of a buck - -the cushy job
- -more important than the love of man!
Father Barry
Shouldn't
everybody care about
everybody else?
Edie Doyle
 Isn't
it simple as one, two, three? One: The
working conditions are bad. Two: They're
bad because the mob does the hiring. And
three: The only way we can break the mob is
to stop letting them get away with murder.
Father Barry
The
only arithmetic he ever got was
hearing the referee count up to ten.
Father Barry
Look,
kid, I - how much you weigh,
son? When you weighed one hundred
and sixty-eight pounds you were
beautiful.
Charlie Malloy
 You
think you're God Almighty, but you
know what you are? You're a cheap, lousy,
dirty, stinkin' mug! And I'm glad what I
done to you, ya hear that? I'm glad what I
done!
Terry Malloy
 Where
you guys going? Wait a minute! I'll
remember this! I'll remember every one of
you! I'll be back! Don't you forget that! I'll
be back!
Johnny Friendly
I
didn't say I didn't love you. I
said, "Stay away from me."
Edie Doyle
Conscience...
you nuts!
that stuff can drive
Terry Malloy
What
kind of saint hides in a
church?
Edie Doyle
You're
getting on. You're pushing 30.
You know, it's time to think about
getting some ambition.
Charlie Malloy
 You
know this city's full of hawks? That's
a fact. They hang around on the top of the
big hotels. And they spot a pigeon in the
park. Right down on him.
Terry Malloy
 Isn't
it simple as one, two, three? One: The
working conditions are bad. Two: They're bad
because the mob does the hiring. And three:
The only way we can break the mob is to stop
letting them get away with murder.
Father Barry
The
End