James Sleigh Red Cinematic Analysis The film, On the Waterfront, follows the story of Terry Malloy, in his

struggle to do the right thing. Malloy is torn between reporting his union for murder, or keeping silent to keep the leaders away from harm. The film opens by introducing Malloy, a boy that runs petty errands for the union boss, Johnny Friendly. Although Malloy doesnt know it, he is instrumental in the killing of his childhood friend, Joey Doyle, who was suspecting for ratting on the union. Malloy promises his boss, Johnny Friendly that he would never rat on the union, because of what he saw happen to Doyle. Joey sister, Edie and the local priest are determined to get someone to testify against the union bosses, but everyone, including Malloy remains silent. Edie begins to develop a relationship with Malloy, going on dates which test her strictly catholic boundaries. Edie tries to convince Malloy to speak out against the union about her brothers death, but he cannot bring himself to do it. Meanwhile, at the docks, another longshoreman is killed for potentially testifying against the longshoremen union. Malloy is moved by the death of another one of his friends, and begins to consider taking action against the union boss. The union leaders, who have been observing Malloy for any unusual behavior, bring Malloys brother in to straighten him up. Malloy decides not to listen to his brother, and he later finds his brother killed. In a moment of vengeance, Malloy promises the priest that he will testify against the union boss. The following morning, Malloy testifies against the union bosses, but he finds out that testifying against the union leaders would have many consequences. Malloy finds himself out of work, and finds that his friends have abandoned him. Malloy races down to the dock, where he threatens to fight Johnny Friendly, the union boss who orders his gangsters to rough Malloy up. The priest convinces Malloy to stand up and show the longshoremen his strength,

who march behind him, leaving Johnny Friendly stranded on the docks utterly confused and helpless. The film On the Waterfront explores the question of morality, and doing the correct thing in the face of resistance. James Sleigh Red Cinematic Analysis B Although the film On the Waterfront follows the story of a fictional character, many of the events that took place in the movie were inspired by real life occurences. The film On the Waterfront is based off of a series of articles published in the New York Sun, revealing rampant bribery, extortions, kick backs to union officials, payoffs, theft, union-sponsored loan sharks, murder, and the mob's tyrannical influence on New York's waterfront(filmsite.org). The film which was inspired by Malcolm Johnsons articles entitled Crime on the Waterfront helped bring more attention to the mistreatment of working men across the country. The film On the Waterfront is set in the dismal port area of New York City, where workers and their families live in poverty, under mob controlled turf. The workers are constantly being watched and observed by the union leaders, to keep them from speaking out against the union. In the town, almost everyone develops a play dumb outlook on the business of the union, and how the union carries out its work. The film depicted the workers on the docks as being impoverished, and constantly oppressed by the wealthy union leaders, however the film also depicted a strong sense of resilience to oppression displayed by the workers. Marlon Brando, who played Terry Malloy, introduced the film audiences of the time period it just may be the most influential piece of screen acting in American cinema. His gritty and emotional charged performance was

something new to audiences in 1954 he had a spontaneity, looseness, and realism, and film acting was never quite the same afterwards. (Schulberg). The film On the Waterfront changed the movie industry, seeking out new breeds of actors that had realistic qualities to them, and although the film was fictional, it shed light on the hardships faced by working men and women throughout the nation. James Sleigh Red Group Cinematic Analysis Part C The film On the Waterfront includes many metaphors that enhance the meaning of the film. The metaphors were sometimes subtle or very deliberate and occur often throughout the film. The first metaphor that occurs is the