← Back

On the Waterfront

Turkish title: Rıhtımlar Üstünde

“The man lived by the jungle law of the docks!”

1954 · 1 h 48 min
Directed by Elia Kazan
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir

Cast

Marlon Brando Eva Marie Saint Karl Malden Lee J. Cobb Rod Steiger

Credits

Written by: Budd Schulberg

Plot

Terry Malloy, a former boxer turned dockworker, who once threw a fight for the benefit of the corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly, is pulled into a murder investigation. Encouraged by the dead man's sister, Edie, and a crusading priest, he must decide whether to testify against the mob and lose his friends. Elia Kazan's 1954 film, with a landmark performance by Marlon Brando, including the "I coulda been a contender" scene, won eight Academy Awards.

Sinekatalog’s take

A dockworker finds his conscience against a corrupt union. Marlon Brando's 'I coulda been a contender' scene is famous, and Kazan's film is gritty, though its stance on informing is shaped by his own HUAC history.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 8.1 / 10 (181,721 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

If you liked this

Picked by director, genre, era and shared cast. Titles only, no spoilers.