On the Waterfront (1954), the Academy Award–winning drama directed by Elia Kazan (1909–) and starring Marlon Brando (1924–), is a classic American film. It is also noted for being a thinly veiled allegory (a story that disguises yet another story): On the Waterfront symbolically describes the blacklisting (see entry under 1950s—The Way We Lived in volume 3) activities in Hollywood (see entry under 1930s—Film and Theater in volume 2) at the time and mirrors the era in which it was produced.

Marlon Brando as dockworker Terry Malloy in 1954's On the Waterfront. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

On the Waterfront is the story of Terry Malloy (Brando), a young ex-boxer and dockworker. Malloy's older brother Charley (Rod Steiger, 1925–) is the lawyer and mouthpiece for the corrupt labor union that rules the waterfront. The union is headed by racketeer Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb, 1911–1976). (A...