The legendary scene Marlon Brando wanted to cut from ‘On the Waterfront’
One of the truly immortal stars of film history, Marlon Brando not only changed the way in which actors approached the medium but he also mesmerised multiple generations of audiences. Among the most well-known pioneers of method acting, Brando’s decades-spanning filmography is undeniable proof of his brilliance and versatility through very different cinematic eras. It is because of his unimaginable range that almost everything he touched worked so effortlessly.
While countless examples are routinely brought up during discussions about Brando’s greatness, one unavoidable masterpiece that always gets mentioned is Elia Kazan’s 1954 film, On the Waterfront. Religiously studied by aspiring actors and scholars to this day, Brando’s collaboration with Kazan was one of the first major projects that introduced method acting techniques to the consciousness of mainstream audiences.
On the Waterfront’s examination of organised crime and the shady political structures of the region is definitely memorable, strengthened by Brando’s magical portrayal of an ex-fighter named Terry Molloy. It is further complemented by Budd Schulberg’s powerful screenplay, which was a result of the writer’s dedicated research of the area. According to an interview with The Independent, he spent “more than a year” on the waterfront while investigating its shady practices.
When asked about the process, Schulberg said: “Corruption on the waterfront became a cause for me. There was a priest on the West Side, Father Jack Corridan, who opposed the influence of organised crime. He said: ‘Be our messenger’… I’d go from bar to bar with Brownie, a longshoreman who was my guide. He told me to listen but never speak. I had to drink like the workers. That meant boilermakers: beer and whiskey chasers.”
The writer also revealed that Brando was against the most iconic scene in the film: “Brando believed it was unplayable. The first day’s shooting, I was on the roof of the tenement in Hoboken, New Jersey, with Kazan and Brando. I said: ‘Marlon, everybody loves that scene except you. Why?’ He said: ‘Steiger has a gun. If someone is pointing a gun at you, you’re not going to make a long speech like that.’ Kazan said, ‘Why don’t you just push his gun aside?’ That was the end of the argument. Apart from that, Marlon was very amenable.”
The scene in question, of course, is the pivotal moment when Terry’s brother Charley threatens him with a gun and tries to force him to accept a job offer. Disappointed by the turn of events and letting his resentment bubble to the surface, Terry laments about his wasted potential in an emotionally devastating manner, giving a voice to everyone who has ever felt that way.
Watch the most iconic scene from the film below.
