#18 - ON THE WATERFRONT (1958)
Directed by - Elia Kazan (USA)
Unlike other representatives of the Hollywood community, Kazan did collaborate with the House of Un-American Activities, and did answer questions that led to the blacklisting of a number of people working in the film industry. On the Waterfront is as much related to Kazan as it is about a much bigger picture.
This hard-hitting drama is about the corruption in the Longshoremen's Union. It is now recognized as a major achievement in American film, and Marlon Brando's lead performance contributes a lot to its reputation.
Without losting any of its dramatic force, the film tackles serious and complex social, political and peronal issues. It also illustrated the dilemma of a young man, and his struggle to pick a definite side; the good side or the dark side. A timeless dilemma. Much like most of the films with a realist edge on the time, films that examined working class struggles on American cinema, On the Waterfront was based on a series of Pulitzer Prize winning articles by Malcolm Johnson, titled Crimes on the Waterfront, and focused on union violence and bad politics.
After looking at an empathetic take on unions and strikes, Kazan's film actually did the opposite, and made quite a strong argument for those who opposed it. The thing is that, had films from the other viewpoint been allowed to screen to, it would have led to some very interesting debates.