What is Man on a Tightrope / On the Waterfront about?

MAN ON A TIGHTROPE, 1953, 20th Century Fox, 105 min. Dir. Elia Kazan. Frederic March, Adolphe Menjou, Terry Moore and the underused noir darling Gloria Grahame star in Kazan’s film about an Eastern Bloc circus troupe trying to escape Communist domination during the Cold War. A subtle and sparse anti-Communist work that got lost amid the more gung-ho films of the 1950s McCarthy era. ON THE WATERFRONT, 1954, Sony Repertory, 108 min. Dir. Elia Kazan. Director Elia Kazan adapts Budd Schulberg’s grueling account of Hoboken dock-worker life. The film features a purely iconic Marlon Brando as a washed-up prize fighter who falls in love with the sister (Eva Marie Saint) of the "stool pigeon" he set up for a corrupt union organizer (Lee J. Cobb). Rod Steiger delivers a wrenching performance as the older brother who helped destroy Brando’s chances as a boxer, and Karl Malden is the tough-minded priest who serves as Brando’s conscience.

Man on a Tightrope / On the Waterfront

List

Theaters near

Loading format filters…

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Man on a Tightrope / On the Waterfront about?: MAN ON A TIGHTROPE, 1953, 20th Century Fox, 105 min. Dir. Elia Kazan. Frederic March, Adolphe Menjou, Terry Moore and the underused noir darling Gloria Grahame star in Kazan’s film about an Eastern Bloc circus troupe trying to escape Communist domination during the Cold War. A subtle and sparse anti-Communist work that got lost amid the more gung-ho films of the 1950s McCarthy era.
ON THE WATERFRONT, 1954, Sony Repertory, 108 min. Dir. Elia Kazan. Director Elia Kazan adapts Budd Schulberg’s grueling account of Hoboken dock-worker life. The film features a purely iconic Marlon Brando as a washed-up prize fighter who falls in love with the sister (Eva Marie Saint) of the "stool pigeon" he set up for a corrupt union organizer (Lee J. Cobb). Rod Steiger delivers a wrenching performance as the older brother who helped destroy Brando’s chances as a boxer, and Karl Malden is the tough-minded priest who serves as Brando’s conscience.