On The Waterfront: "Boxing, outside the ring"

 Elia Kazan's On The Waterfront bucks boxing film convention and presents the story of a group of longshoremen victimized by a criminal union. It is a complex film, striking at the heart of many issues of varying scope. From the broad perspective of the working classes and the various economic issues that afflict them, to the intensely personal demons that haunted Kazan after his encounters with the HUAC. 

Portrayed by Marlon Brando, our protagonist Terry Malloy is a young dockworker, hero to the local youth, and the brother of Charley Malloy, a member of Johnny Friendly's crime organization/union. It is on him that the action of the film is centered. If On The Waterfront is at heart a boxing film, then Terry Malloy is our boxer, both literally and figuratively, as he was once a boxer in the films back story. Originally under the thumb of the criminal elements in the film, Malloy meets a girl, releases himself from criminal influence, becomes the underdog, and strikes a blow for the working man. He is an archetypal working-class hero.

 

In any other film, that is all he would be, but through the use of the crowd and the environment, Kazan is able to frame Malloy as a working-class-hero of biblical proportions. In the above scene Malloy's walk back to work is visually very similar to Christ carrying the cross. The film is littered with Christian influences, with a priest being one of the important supporting roles, Edie having been educated in a convent, the "miracle" that Terry performs by curing the longshoremen of being "Deaf and Dumb". 

 The criminal element is also similarly complex, representing many corrupting influences in society. A common trend in these early cold-war movies is to have a corrupt, capitalist element. Perhaps unwisely lending some credibility to the HUAC's persecution of Hollywood, it is nevertheless an important aspect of these movies. Unions are supposed to protect their workers. To have an exploitative union at the center of the main conflict of the film exposes the filmmakers distrust of the economic system around them.

Another angle from which to examine the corrupt union is through the perspective of the films own director, Elia Kazan. As Michael Almereyda says in his post about the film: "Terry’s sense of being split, his vulnerability and defiance, were intensely felt by Kazan and can hardly be deducted from a consideration of the film". The corruption of the union, the persecution Terry and his fellow longshoremen endure under the union closely mirrors what filmmakers experienced during the early cold war.

 A perfect example of Grindon's Family Values vs Market Values conflict, and rounding off the biblical analogies, the scene where Charley pulls a gun on Terry is a very emotional and subtle scenes. Brotherly betrayal is as old as Cain and Abel, and it is always accompanied by immense corruption, greed and other nasty things. Having Charley threaten Terry is underlines the evil residing within the organization, bringing out the absolute worst in people.Nevertheless, in true boxing fashion, after the big fight, our hero prevails, battered, but having proven something. To himself, to his lover, his family, and his community.