The Oscars 1999: Elia Kazan: Nominated for Benedict Arnold Award
Kazan – the Linda Tripp of the 50s
Don’t Whitewash the Blacklist
Why mention the Oscars?
Because this film renewed Elia Kazan’s stature in Hollywood. He would go on to direct such films as East of Eden (1955), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Splendor in the Grass (1961), and America, America (1963).
Prior to 1954, Kazan had made such films as Viva Zapata! (1952) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), both with Marlon Brando. Other notable films are Pinky (1949; about race) and Gentleman’s Agreement (1947; about anti-semitism).
Kazan also had a successful career as a stage director in New York, directing such plays as Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and Death of a Salesman on Broadway.
Miller wrote a screenplay “The Hook” (1950) about the docks and union trouble. This was supposed to be for Kazan to film.
Miller and Kazan both had a relationship with Marilyn Monroe.
They claimed to be “like brothers.” Until 1952.
Kazan was close friends with both Arthur Miller and Lillian Hellman until he gave testimony (twice) to HUAC.
Kazan testified to HUAC in 1952, the first time under subpoena and the second time voluntarily. Arthur Miller also came before HUAC as a witness (in 1955). The difference is that Kazan willingly gave names (e.g. he gave the name of Clifford Odets and when Odets testified he gave the name of Kazan), and Miller did not. Kazan saved his position in Hollywood and Miller went to jail.
Kazan made Man on a Tightrope in 1953. This was an overtly anti-Communist film about a circus troupe trying to escape Communist domination. This film was something of a public penance by Kazan. But it was not a success. Then along came On the Waterfront.
An Apology for Testifying:
-the film crew consisted of many people connected to the HUAC activities. The cinematographer is Russian immigrant, Boris Kauffman (who also photographed 12 Angry Men). The scriptwriter is Bud Schulberg who was also a HUAC witness. Lee. J. Cobb who plays Johnny Friendly was also a witness.
-the film is often cited as Kazan’s defense for having been a friendly witness.
Instead of Communists, we have the mob, but the principle of remaining D&D (deaf and dumb) or speaking up is similar. The early scene in the Church, when the workers meet, makes the obvious point. Father Barry (Karl Malden) tells the men that they should testify against the union boss because the truth is important for the public to know, and silence just protects the guilty.
The language is important: clearly the men have a discourse of shame. Words such as “canary,” stoolie,” “pigeon,” and “cheese-eater” signify weakness and disloyalty. The code of the docks calls for silence. Deviation is less than manly.
The masculine code of strength, suffering, and acceptance finds a counterpoint in a range of harsh and brutal images: the brick walls, the leafless trees, the iron fire-escapes, the iron fences with their sharp spiky bars, the metal antennae on the rooftops.
Throughout the film, Terry Malloy is referred to as a “bum.” Even Edie (Eva Maria Saint) calls him a “bum.” And finally Terry concludes, “let’s face it,” that he is a bum (“which is what I am”).
Then his brother, Charlie the Gent (Rod Steiger), ends on a hook in a seedy back alley with a couple of bullet holes in his chest. Terry decides, after a confrontation with Father Barry in a bar, to testify against Johnny Friendly.
The result of Terry’s testimony, initially, is his ostracism. Even his young friend with the Golden Warriors jacket thinks Terry has done the wrong thing, and he kills all Terry’s pigeons.
The film contains many visual images that remind us of Christianity and martyrdom. The rooftops show repeatedly pieces of wire and wood and metal in the shape of crosses. The church is a main setting, both inside and outside. Then we have verbal emphasis in much of what Father Barry says, especially his speech about crucifixion.
Clearly, what the men need is a leader, a messiah, someone willing to martyr himself for the greater good. A hero. This guy is, of course, Terry Malloy.
When Terry leaves Edie with his brother’s body and walks down the dark alley carrying a pistol at his side, the visual image reminds us of the lone cowboy setting out for the final duel.
But the Christian overtones of the film, suggest this heroic figure is a saviour. Take two items: the jacket Terry wears at the end and the hook that often rests on his shoulder.
The jacket:
Early in the film, Terry walks Edie home from the Church. She drops a glove and Terry picks it up. As he sits on a swing, he places the glove on his right hand. The gesture is important in that it signifies Terry’s desire to fit inside Edie’s life. (He also uses his hands a lot in the film, a sign of his nervousness and insecurity.) This is the first stage in Terry’s eventual transition from passive member of Johnny Friendly’s entourage to an active resistance fighter against the Friendly mob.
Then when Terry makes the decision to go down to the docks and claim his “rights,” he puts on Joey Doyle’s jacket. The jacket is like a sacred garment, having been worn by Joey and also by Dugan, both of whom have been “crucified” by the mob. When Terry wears it, he assumes the mantle of these martyrs. He accepts suffering as a necessary aspect of leading the men to freedom.
The hook:
The hook is akin to the cross these men must bear. Remember Edie’s father showing his daughter his right arm, two inches longer than his left one because of all the lifting with the hook he has done over the years.
The final walk with jacket and hook:
After the climactic battle between Terry and Johnny Friendly, Terry is beaten and broken. But he walks through the men stumbling and bleeding. I can’t believe that Kazan did not want to make a connection with the most famous martyr. Terry is the one who will lead the people/men to their promised land. Or will he?
The film is not so easily hopeful. The last thing we see before the door to the warehouse comes down to end the film is Johnny Friendly saying he will be back. The sound track here and right to the end of the film is dissonant. Here is an example of the importance of the sound track in a film because it counters the easy assumption that things will now be fine. The music in its dissonance reminds us that indeed Johnny or at least someone like him will re-emerge. The struggle is not over.
Summation:
Terry Malloy is a hero because he testifies. Sometimes the only way to defend liberty and right is to testify. At least this is what the film and Kazan would want us to believe.
The cagey thing here is that the film also suggests that words alone are insufficient. Terry’s testimony is not enough to convince his fellow workers that he is right. Only after he shows a willingness to fight with his fists do they follow him. Men admire action more than words.
And what of Edie Doyle in all this? She is the saintly woman. She tells Father Barry that there are no saints inside the church; they are outside working in the tough world. She is the woman who accompanies the saint. She comes from a Catholic school. She is pure and innocent, everything that Terry has not experienced.
The scene in which Terry confesses his part in Joey Doyle’s death is noteworthy. It takes place near the river with the New York skyline in the background (we can see here, as elsewhere in the film, the Empire State Building). We can barely hear what Terry is saying because of the loud sounds of horns in the background. The sounds are a metaphor for the emotional extremity the two characters feel. The ultimate point to all this is that Edie learns a horrible truth – that Terry set her brother up for death – and yet she is able to forgive him. Love wins out.
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