I’m going to take a break from complaining about the state of public media and podcasting (which is a lot of what I do here) and reflect on a wonderful film I rewatched recently.
I attended the 70th Anniversary Screening of Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, CA. It was a powerful screening, with an excellent print and I walked out emotionally raw. It was perfect for a Friday night after a long week. I just wanted to go home and snuggle up and fall asleep thinking about the movie.
After the lights came up in the theater, one old man, walking on two canes, said “I’d sit down and watch it again right now.” Was he involved in the original production? The thing about Los Angeles is you never know what old man might actually have acted in a 70 year old film at such a screening.
Much has been written about the film and it was my second time watching, but a couple of small observations, and one big point.
Small observations
Marlon Brando is perfectly suited for “brutal but sensitive” characters. Somehow, he looks like a prizefighter, but also manages to convey a deep sensitivity, kindness, and sadness. Are those hoods over his eyes his real face? Or makeup? There’s a moment in which Eva Marie Sainte urges him to listen to his conscious and he says “Conscience. That stuff will drive you crazy.” The line got a laugh in the theater, 70 years after release.
Many of the actors in the movie were actual boxers, and that gives the film a feeling of authenticity. The hulking Abe Simon is only one of several retired boxers with life stories not unlike that ofBrando’s character Terry Malloy. I think sometimes, you can sense when the actors feel invested in the story, even if they’re playing bit parts or villians. It can create a lightning intensity that explodes off the screen, and I can feel it in this film.
Rob Steiger’s performance as Terry’s brother Charlie doesn’t draw attention to itself, but it’s perfect. If you remember Steiger from in The Heat of the Night, you expect him to have the tough guy swagger of that character, but Charlie Malloy’s greatest moment is quiet. He’s in the taxi with Terry, who gives the famous “I could have been a contender.” speech. Terry directs the speech to Charlie, his brother. “You should have looked out for me a little, Charlie.” Charlie confesses that he’s been ordered to kill Terry if he can’t persuade him from testifying. Terry’s hurt and vulnerability convinces Charlie that he has to protect his brother at all costs. And he pays the ultimate cost fof that decision. To convey that momentous decision, all Steiger does is say “Ok, Terry. OK,” and then kind of swallow. You know that’s he’s given up trying to talk his brother out of testifying, and that he’s not going to kill him. He’s going to protect his brother and take the consequences, whatever they may be. It’s a very subtle and convincing moment.
Big ObservationOn the Waterfront is clearly the primary DNA for Rocky (1977). Yes, Stallone wrote the screenplay based on the boxing match between Chuck Wepner and Muhammad Ali, but so much of Rocky’s character is taken from Terry Malloy. He’s a washed up boxer doing jobs for the mob, and he is angry at himself and his handlers (including Mickey, his trainer) for letting him down. Even the language of contenders vs. bums is appropriated in Rocky. Terry is constantly wrestling with the idea that he’s become a “bum”. He doesn’t mean it in the sense of being street homeless (and in fact, such a “bum” refers to Terry as a “bum”)
So much of Rocky’s character derives from Brando’s performance as Terry Malloy: The vulnerability combined with toughness, the deep anger and resentment at giving up on his dreams, the tender kindness towards animals and kids, the sort of good natured simplicity with which he wooes the object of his affection.
If you’re fascinated by movies, watching the older ones is important. You start to notice how they inform more recent films, which in turn inform the films Hollywood is cranking out now. We all need to know where we come from.
Thanks for reading. On an unrelated note, if you appreciated my memories and observations on the WBEZ’s layoffs, please consider signing this petition, sponsored by the Chicago Public Media union, a Sag-Aftra local.