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Ambivalence As a Theme in "On the Waterfront" (1954): an Interdisciplinary Approach to Film Study Author(S): Kenneth Hey Source: American Quarterly, Vol

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Ambivalence As a Theme in Ambivalence as a Theme in "On the Waterfront" (1954): An Interdisciplinary Approach to Film Study Author(s): Kenneth Hey Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 5, Special Issue: Film and American Studies (Winter, 1979), pp. 666-696 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2712431 Accessed: 02/07/2010 10:41 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. 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The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org AMBIVALENCE AS A THEME IN ON THE WATERFRONT (1954): AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO FILM STUDY KENNETH HEY BrooklynCollege of theCity University of New York THE STUDY OF FILM IN AMERICAN CULTURE POSES SOME INTERESTING challengesto theperson using an interdisciplinarymethod. First, as an historicaldocument, film has contextualconnections with the contempor- ary world.The people who makea filmbring to the projecttheir own interestsand attitudes, and these various perspectives, when added to the collaborativeprocess, forge a productwhich resonates in someway with society.Second, as a workof art, film requires textual analysis similar to drama,photography, painting, and music. But as an aestheticobject whichcombines different artistic media into a singleexperience, film requiresan analyticalmethod which considers all contributingdisciplines. Finally,as an arthistorical object, film stands at theintersection of on- goingtraditions in themedium's own historyand of theoreticalinterests alive at the timethe film is made. To singleout one featureof thefilm (e.g., its historicalcontext or a self-containedmeaning in thetext) is to sacrificethe filmfor somethingless. To avoid examiningthe relative contributionsof all themajor participants is to missthe unique feature of thiscollaborative art form. As an exampleof the collaborativefilm process and as an objectof culturalsignificance, On the Waterfront(1954) has few competitors. Bringingtogether some of the best and mostinnovative artists in theirre- spectivemedia, the film was an attemptto weavetogether the threads of two contemporaryevents with the strandsof aestheticthemes derived fromseveral different artistic media. Unlike many intriguing films which lose theirappeal as societychanges, this twenty-five-year-old film con- tinuesto evincethe intended moral outrage from viewers ignorant of its On the Waterfront 667 co '4M - 4) 0>>i-~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -~ .~ | R 4)4 41 > or~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~o~ Q ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- wI o 4U 4) I0 * 1 | 1 ; 1 4 | E g E Q~~ * A hi~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _4XQ 668 American Quarterly historicalbackground and to receive harshcriticism from detractors awareof thefilm's origins.' On the Waterfronttells of TerryMalloy (played by MarlonBrando) whobegins as an ignorantand complacentmember of a corruptgang that controlsthe longshoreman'sunion. Terry previously boxed profession- allyfor the mob and obedientlytook "a dive" so themobsters could win bigon theopponent. He now contentshimself with a "cushy" dockjob and a "littleextra change on the side." The mob, headed by Johnny Friendly(played by Lee J. Cobb) withthe assistance of Terry's brother, Charley"the Gent"(played by Rod Steiger),applies "muscle" discipline wherenecessary; when a dissidentmember breaks the "D and D" rule ("Deaf and Dumb") and talksto the CrimeCommission, the mobsters have himkilled. Edie Doyle (playedby Eva Marie Saint),sister of the film'sfirst murder victim, Joey Doyle, triesto unravelthe mysteryof unioncorruption, hoping to uncoverthe identityof her brother'smur- derer.Joined by Father Barry (played by Karl Malden),she soonconcen- tratesher attentionson Terry,whose basic philosophy("Do it to him beforehe does itto you") clasheswith the Christian morality ("Aren't we all partof each other") she has absorbedat a conventschool. Terry's indifferenceto Edie's pleas eventuallyleads to the murderof "Kayo" Dugan(played by Pat Henning), whose violent death extracts an emotional eulogyfrom Father Barry. After the mob kills Charleyfor protecting his brother,the younger Malloy seeks revenge.Father Barry convinces Terryto vent his anger in open testimonybefore the State Water- frontCrime Commission. But the impersonality of formaltestimony fails to appease Terry's desire for vengeance,and he confrontsJohnny Friendlydirectly. Although he loses theensuing fist fight, he seemsto win a "battle" by circumventingFriendly's authority and personallyleading the men back to work.(See Figure1.) The followingstudy will seek to explainhow and whyOn the Water- frontcame to be. As a methodof explaining the film's origins and mean- ing,each collaborator'scareer, point of view, and majorinterests will be discussedbriefly and fittedinto the evolvingproduct. When all of the artists'efforts are consideredas partof the whole,a singletheme pre- dominates:ambivalence. The filmargues openly that injustice can be remediedthrough existing political institutions; but it graftsonto this basicliberal position the suggestion that individuals are frequently casual- tiesof theconflict between right and wrongin societyand thatthe indi- vidual'sresponse to theclash ofabsolute moral standards is ambivalent. In the film,the "thesis" of evil (JohnnyFriendly) is confrontedby its I For example, see Roger Tailleur, "Elia Kazan and the House Un-AmericanActivities Committee,"Film Comment,2 (Fall 1966), 43-59. On the Waterfront 669 "antithesis"of good (FatherBarry and Christianmorality); the new "synthesis"(Terry Malloy) miraculously fuses selfishness and selfless- ness, but as an individualstaggering beneath the burdenof moraldeci- sions,he remainsunconvinced of therightness of eitherextreme. The idea fora waterfrontdrama came from a personwho had nothing to do withthe final product. In 1949,Arthur Miller, flushed with the success of two Broadway plays (All My Sons, 1947; Death of a Salesman, 1949), directedhis considerabletalent toward the social strugglethen being wagedon the Brooklyndocks. His play,The Bottomof theRiver (also titledThe Hook) toldof the misadventures of Peter Panto who in thelate 1930stried to organizedissident longshoremen in Brooklyn'sRed Hook district.According to the longshoremenwith whom Miller talked, mobstersfeared Panto's rapid rise to popularityand had him killed, dump- inghis body in theEast River.In 1951,when the first script was finished, Millercontacted colleague Elia Kazan, suggestingthat they work jointly on thefilm.2 Kazan, aftercompleting his studiesat the Yale School of Drama in 1932,had joined boththe innovativeGroup Theatre and the energetic CommunistParty, but his radical fervor soon waned and he severedParty affiliationsbecause of a conflictover artists' prerogatives and freedoms. Fromhis 1930sexperiences in dramaticart and radicalpolitics, Kazan developedan aesthetictheory which favored optimistic realism and as- sumeda politicalposture "left of center and to theright of the Communist Party."3 A deftcreator of dramatictension on stage,Kazan usuallydi- rectedBroadway plays thatprojected his liberalideas. Fromhis work on the GroupTheatre's Golden Boy to his directionof TennesseeWil- liams'A StreetcarNamed Desire (play, 1947;film, 1951) and of Arthur Miller's All My Sons and Death of a Salesman, Kazan had helped shape studies of inhumanexploitation, bestial degradation,and aimless materialism,as well as statementsconcerning moral responsibility. But the pessimismwhich often infused these social dramaswas not wholly suitedto the optimismof a scrappingand successfulimmigrant like Kazan. In On theWaterfront, he wouldresurrect Clifford Odets' "golden boy" and make his own "originalgolden warrior," Terry Malloy, rise fromhis beatingand depose momentarilyhis corruptadversary. Kazan would also revive Tennessee Williams'characters from A Streetcar Named Desire. In the play, Kazan had directedVivien Leigh to play 2 ArthurMiller, "The Year It Came Apart," New York(Dec. 30, 1974-Jan.6, 1975), 42. For Peter Panto's story,see Allen Raymond, WaterfrontPriest (New York: Henry Holt, 1955), 65-66. 3Elia Kazan, cited in Michel Ciment,Kazan on Kazan (New York: Viking, 1974), 20; quote in followingparagraph, 71. 670 American Quarterly BlancheDuBois as "an ambivalentfigure who is attractedto theharsh- ness and vulgarity"surrounding her at the same time she fearsand rejectsit. For thewaterfront drama, Kazan wouldtransfer the character ambivalenceto TerryMalloy, converting Blanche DuBois intoan effec- tive Edie Doyle, and the befuddledMitch into a forcefulFather
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