A 1954 American crime drama about a former boxer turned dockworker who must decide whether to testify against the mob-tied union running his New Jersey waterfront.
Production
Elia Kazan directed Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, and Eva Marie Saint on Hoboken locations in late 1953. Budd Schulberg’s script drew on Malcolm Johnson’s Pulitzer-winning newspaper series about racketeering on the New York docks.
Reception
The film earned $9.5 million on a $900,000 budget and swept eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Brando’s first Best Actor win. Reviews were broadly enthusiastic.
Legacy
Kazan and Schulberg’s decision to make a film about informing followed their own cooperation with the House Un-American Activities Committee, a context that has shadowed its reception ever since. Brando’s “I coulda been a contender” monologue is among the most quoted in American film.
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