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I don't like 'On the Waterfront' at all. I think it overblown and melodramatic and extremely 'Method' indulgent. So I fail to see the obsession. A much more interesting film is the later 'The Hustler'(1961) which kinda rounds off the HUAC stuff and embraces a sort of nihilism. I think it's truer both of the writer/director , Robert Rossen, and the times than Waterfront's pretensions. (I also think Piper Laurie's perfomance/role is one of the great acting offerings in film drama.) There's' a brutal tragedy at the heart of 'The Hustler' (Rosen's for one) that 'Waterfront' tries to side step or dim by dint of rhetoric. Afterall, I think, 'Waterfront' self asserts the good life of good people doing good deeds when 'The Hustler' stays in struggling reality. If you want a handle on the period of the fifties I reckon the Film Noir stuff is much more reflective of the real world than a lot of the other films. Esp the B grade noir. Seriously folks -- when you get to 'East of Eden' -- his next film -- you have to wonder what planet Kazan was on. And if Kazan wasn't HUAC'ed who'd bother? Thats' it's marketing niche, right? Kazan gave the American people melodrama to suit the fifties backlash. Cross the Atlantic and instead you get burgeoning 'kitchen sink' stuff and the core dialogue in say, Osborne's 'Look Back in Anger' is at the heart of that fifties angst. <CLIP>"There aren't any good, brave causes left. If the big bang does come, and we all get killed off, it won't be in aid of the old-fashioned grand design. It'll just be for the Brave New-nothing-very-much-thank-you. About as pointless and inglorious as stepping in front of a bus. "</CLIP> 'This Sporting Life' , 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', 'A Taste of Honey' , 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner'... Even 'Sweet Smell of Success' (1957)-- classic US noir -- is much better at its business of judging capitalism than 'On the Waterfront'. dave riley ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
