On the Waterfront

"I coulda been a contender" and "Palookaville" entered the lexicon via this outstanding drama of labor relations, dashed hopes and personal redemption. Marlon Brando won his first Academy Award® as the washed-up-boxer-turned-longshoreman who finds himself in the middle of a battle he can never hope to win. His scene in the back of the taxicab with Rod Steiger as his older brother has been imitated many times (most notably in RAGING BULL), but it has never lost a bit of its power. The extraordinary cast also includes Lee J. Cobb as the evil labor boss whose corruption drives the story, Karl Malden as the tough but kindly priest who tries to make sense of it all, plus Leif Erickson, Nehemiah Persoff and John Hamilton. Four young stars-to-be made their motion picture debuts: Eva Marie Saint (who won an Oscar® for Supporting Actress), Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne and Pat Hingle. Filmed on location in Hoboken, it was brilliantly realized by director Elia Kazan and scripter Budd Schulberg, with major contributions from composer Leonard Bernstein, designer Richard Day and cinematographer Boris Kaufman. Sam Spiegel personally produced the film after it had been rejected by every other studio; it won eight Oscars® in all, including Best Picture, Director and Screenplay.