On the Waterfront Scene Analysis
On the Waterfront is a mob drama released in 1954 about corruption and violence among longshoremen. Directed by Elia Kazan, the film starred Marlon Brando as former boxer Terry Malloy and Eva Marie Saint as Edie Doyle the sister of a murdered dockworker. The film focuses on Terry who was unknowingly used by gangster union boss Johnny Friendly (played by Lee J. Cobb) to lure Joey Doyle to his death. Terry must then decide if he will break his loyalty and testify against Friendly. Edie is searching for her brothers killer and is unaware of Terry’s involvement. The extract I will be focusing on begins with Edie and Terry walking through the park and ends after Terry asks Edie out for a beer. The extract shows how Edie and Terry develop feelings for one another, it also shows the guilt Terry feels over the death of Joey which along with Edie’s support leads him to betraying Friendly.
At the beginning of the scene Edie asks Terry which side he is on and his response shows how naive Terry really is, he basically says that he is on no ones side which suggests that he does not yet realize that he is a pawn of Johnny Friendly’s. His response also shows how he is already trying to distant himself from that lifestyle. Edie and Terry are then confronted by a drunk old man who insinuates that Terry was there the night Joey died. After this there is a tracking shot that follows Terry and Edie through the park. The way the shot is framed suggests a connection between the characters. While walking Edie drops on of her mittens that Terry picks up for her. Instead of giving the mitten back Terry plays with it for awhile before putting it on - symbolic of his desire to get close to her. Their connection is confirmed when they reach a fence and discuss how they knew each other as children and how they remembered each other despite it being years since they last saw each other.
The next shot is very interesting, It is mostly shot through a window as if the viewer is spying on the Doyle’s home life. It is very confined and shows a close relationship between Edie and her father. When Edie arrives back home her father is packing her suitcase and preparing her trip back to St. Anne where her college is located. Her father witnessed her say goodbye to Terry from the window and immediately tells Edie that Terry is trouble. During her fathers speech Edie cuddles the deformed cat she adopted which is used as a comparison to Terry and Edie’s growing feelings for him. Edie tells her father that she sees beyond Terry’s tough persona "He tries to act tough, but there's a look in his eye.". Edie reveals to her father that Terry wants to see her again, when telling him this Edie shows that she wants to see him again as well. The camera switches to a two-shot of the characters as Edie’s father talks about the sacrifices he has made for her so she could have a good education and get a decent career. Edie doesn’t want her father to think she is ungrateful but she is determined to stay and try to find her brothers killer.
The last scene in this extract reveals the most about Terry and Edie. It begins on the rooftop where Joey was murdered. Edie is examining Joeys pigeon coop and the way she looks at his birds makes evident the remorse she feels over the lose of her brother and how much she misses him. She notices something in the distance and heads towards the object where she runs into Terry who is tending to his own pigeons. The first half of the scene is shot with Edie standing on a rooftop above, with Terry looking up at her suggesting she is morally above him. As the scene progresses Edie talks about how Joey used to tend pigeons and you can all but hear the guilt in Terry’s voice when he tells her that he has been taking care of Joeys coop.
This scene also shows the similarities between Joey and Terry, both men liked to use the rooftops as an escape from the world and both were into one of the movies major symbols the pigeon. Shortly after Edie comes down to Terry’s roof and he goes into the pigeons cage to show her his prized pigeon. The pigeon symbolizes Terry perfectly. They are cooped up in a cage with a desire to fly and be free. Throughout the film not once is Terry seen inside his apartment instead the rooftop seems to be his home and despite his tough history as a boxer Terry gives the birds excessive care showing that he feels a bond with the pigeons. The image of him in the cage with them displays a great connection between Terry and the birds, both trapped. Even his speech to Edie about hawks and pigeons can be translated to his feelings towards people. The pigeons could even be seen as foreshadowing of Terry’s eventual betrayal of Friendly - an informant is also known as a stool pigeon. This scene exposes Terry’s vulnerability and concretes the relationship between Terry and Edie. It ends with Terry asking Edie out for a beer, which is his way of asking her on a date and she accepts.
One of the films main themes is that faith can be transformative. There are only two characters in the film that have faith, Edie and Father Barry. It is through their support that Terry eventually informs on his mobster boss. Terry tries not to affiliate with either side at first but eventually is transformed by Edie’s faith in people which leads him to do the morally correct thing.