[Flamesguy_SJ]

In the Pre-60s category, Direct2Video selects On The Waterfront



A really interesting film, and one that i thoroughly enjoyed the first time I watched it. Some background to put it into context (from Wikipedia):

In 1952, director Elia Kazan was a "friendly" witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), in which he identified many alleged Communists in the film industry. That brought him severe criticism.[1] Being "friendly" before the HUAC could be a possible clue towards the name of the mob boss in the movie, Johnny Friendly.

The original screenplay (called "The Hook") was written by renowned playwright Arthur Miller, who was blacklisted as an alleged Communist. He was replaced by Budd Schulberg, also a "friendly" witness before HUAC.[2]

On the Waterfront, being about a heroic mob informer, is widely considered to be Kazan's answer to his critics (including his former friend and collaborator Miller), showing that there could be nobility in a man who "named names." In the movie, variations of that phrase are repeatedly used by Terry Malloy. The film also repeatedly emphasizes the waterfront's code of "D and D" or "Deaf and Dumb," remaining silent at all costs and not "ratting out" one's friends. In the end, Malloy does just that and his doing so is depicted sympathetically. Miller's response to the movie's message is contained in his own play, A View from the Bridge, which presents a contrasting view of those who inform on others.