I coulda had class

On The Waterfront (1954)

Directed by Elia Kazan this film stars Marlon Brando, Eva Maria Saint, Rod Steiger and Lee J. Cobb. A young dock worker gets caught up in the actions of a corrupt union and it's attempts to extort the workers.

While the plot of this film is inspired by real events it is hard not to see this film in the context of Kazan's own testimony on communists in the film industry to the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The film does a really good job of capturing the workings of a corrupt union while balancing that against a personal story that engages the audience. On it's release this film won 8 Academy Awards and it is not hard to see why with a really good performance from Brando in particular.

5/5