Plot summary (with spoilers): Tough guy Terry Malloy works down at the docks and is very manly and blue collar-y. He approaches an apartment building, and yells up to his friend Joey. Terry is too macho for sissy telephones. Joey comes to the window and Terry yells that he found one of Joey's racing pigeons, which he then reveals he has palmed in his hands. Joey says he'll meet Terry on the roof, where he keeps the pigeons. As soon as Joey disappears back into his apartment, Terry lets the pigeon go. The music is all intense and wonky, so we know shit's about to go down. Indeed, while Terry stares from the ground, several tough guys push Joey off the roof. The music goes apeshit. Like, cymbals and drums and all that.
Terry goes to the guys afterwards and complains that he didn't know they were gonna kill Joey, he just thought they were gonna rough him up a bit. The guys are like, "what part of 'mobsters' don't you understand"? For indeed, they are union leaders and mobster who control the docks and rough up/kill anyone who gets out of line. You see what happens, Tom Joad, you godless infidel? Not so keen on unions now, are you?
The next day at the docks, the union leaders are deciding who works that day and who doesn't. Joey's sister Edie shows up and starts screaming at everyone, demanding to know who killed her brother. She complains about the workers playing "D and D", which sounds funny now, but means "deaf and dumb". Everyone ignores her, except for Terry, who probably feels guilty and that guilt manifests itself by him asking her out. You know, like a total sociopath would. And indeed, the go out for coffee and get flirty. We learn Terry used to be an amateur boxer, but missed his chance at the big time when he lost a crucial match early on.
Also moved by Edie, is local priest Father Barry, aka the Most Awesome Priest In All Of Cinema. Father Barry is a tough, angry Irishman. He calls all the dock workers to his church to grill them all what they know about Joey's death. The union leader, absurdly named Johnny Friendly, sends Terry to the church to act as their spy and find out of anyone squeals. But its all for not, for no matter how much Father Barry rants and raves at them, they all play dumb. Everyone's too afraid the mobsters will keep them from working again if they name names. Terry goes back to the mobsters, which we learn include his brother Charlie, and tells them no one is stupid enough to talk. Then he goes on another date with Edie, and they open up to each other more and get all schmoopy and stuff.
But then Father Barry has another meeting, and it's interrupted by some goons who proceed to beat up several dock workers. One of them, Dugan, changes his mind and tells Father Barry he'll testify against Friendly and his goons. But sure enough, the next day, Dugan is supervising another guy who is moving a pallet full of whiskey with a forklift, and darn it all, the pallet falls apart while in the air and comes crashing down on Dugan, killing him. Father Barry makes another angry, impassioned, totally badass speech calling all the dockworkers cowards while Friendly and the other mobsters literally throw garbage on him from above. Terry watches all this go down, and is moved. It's a pretty great scene and Karl Malden kills it.
He confesses to Edie, whom he now loves, (because they've really fast-tracked the romance stuff) that he lured Joey on the roof that night but swears he didn't know what they were going to do. Edie races off, terrified and disgusted.
Then word gets out that Terry's been talking too much to Father Barry and Friendly instructs Charlie to learn from Terry if he plans on testifying or not. He tells Charlie that if Terry seems like he's wavering at all, to kill him.
Charlie confronts Terry and asks him what he plans to do. Terry says he doesn't know yet. But then he has some past shit to dredge up. He reveals to we the audience that it was at Charlie's request that he lost that boxing match all those years ago. He took a dive in order to allow Friendly to beat the odds and get a huge payout. Terry aches, physically aches, with regret and the fantasies what might've been. He could've been a contender. He could've been somebody. If you've never said that speech to yourself before, you've a lucky soul. Or under 30. Charlie's as moved as I am, and out of guilt, promises to tell Friendly that he looked for Terry and couldn't find him, but Terry has to go and hide, now!
But Friendly and the other mobsters don't buy Charlie's story, and he's promptly killed. Terry goes berserk and decides to kill Friendly, or else go down in a hail of bullets. Father Barry gets all Hardcore Badass once again, says the answer is not a gun, you fucking idiot, it's the court of law! So Terry says he'll testify. In court he stammers through a confession of his part in Joey's death, while Friendly and the others glare.
The next day, he shows up at the docks, and none of the workers speak to him. But Edie's there, looking all proud and radiant and female and supportive. The Crazytown music starts up again, as Terry protests that he did what was right, dammit! The mobsters show up and allow everyone but Terry to work. Terry yells at them. A brawl breaks out, and they all begin beating the shit out of Terry. The other workers start to feel guilty. They demand Friendly stop the beating. Friendly does, then orders everyone in to work. But the workers have finally had enough. They say they won't work unless Terry does too.
The music is fucking losing its mind again BONG BONG BONG CRASH CRASH COWBELL!!!!
Not since Meet Joe Black has a musical score been so unrelentingly annoying and ostentatious.
Terry slowly gets to his feet, kisses Edie, then walks walks onto the docks, the other men following him. It would've been quite touching if I had been able to fucking hear anything.
Review: There's definitely some good stuff, here. The general story was pretty interesting, and several scenes stood out as particularly great. The scene where Father Barry is pelted with garbage and the scene where he convinces Terry that vigilante justice is not the answer were very compelling, and the famous "I coulda been a contender" scene earns its place in movie history. But there's also some boring stuff, like everything between Terry and Edie and their alleged love. Having gotten used to anti-heroes like Don Draper and Walter White, I was legitimately surprised at Terry's third act redemption and conversion, even though in retrospect, I obviously shouldn't have been. I think I would've liked it more if Terry was the unrepentant bad guy that was still partially sympathetic and Father Barry was the hero. It's also pretty interesting that the director Elia Kazan is one of the most famous tattlers in American history, ratting on other supposed dangerous Communists in the 50's and getting them blacklisted. This could easily be scene as his response to people's perception of him as a rat, even though Terry testified against murderers and Kazan testified against people who attended meetings. Not really the same, Kazan. At any rate, the scenes that were good were really good and the scenes that here kinda boring went by rather quickly, so I can't complain too much. And as I said, the character of Father Barry is unlike I've ever seen a priest portrayed before and Karl Malden does a fantastic job. Brando was also very good, though still my favorite of his is Apocalypse Now.
Stars: Three and half out of five.
Next, silence is once again golden. But this time, it's not The Little Tramp, but that other silent film star Buster Keaton, in "The General", and then Mrs. Robinson tries to seduce us all in "The Graduate".
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