Magic Lantern to play 1954’s ‘On the Waterfront’

Above : Rod Steiger and Marlon Brando star in “On the Waterfront,” a restored print of which opens Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre. (Photo/Columbia Pictures)

When it premiered in the summer of 1954, Elia Kazan’s film “On the Waterfront” earned rave reviews for its lead actor, Marlon Brando.

Writing in the New York Times, critic A.H. Weiler wrote that under Kazan’s “expert guidance … Brando’s Terry Malloy is a shatteringly poignant portrait of an amoral, confused, illiterate citizen of the lower depths who is goaded into decency by love, hate and murder.”

“Illiterate citizen of the lower depths”? Kind of grates to hear such an elitist attitude, doesn’t it? But … let’s not digress.

Brando’s “groping for words,” Weiler continued, not to mention his “use of the vernacular, care of his beloved pigeons, pugilist’s walk and gestures and his discoveries of love and the immensity of the crimes surrounding him are highlights of a beautiful and moving portrayal.”

I didn’t get to see the film until five years later when my father, in a rare Saturday-afternoon trek to the movies, took my brothers and me to see it. And while my father was dismissive of Brando’s acting, scoffing at the same “use of the vernacular” that Weiler admired, I was entranced.

Yes, it seemed weird that he kept looking off to the side – a habit that was likely due to his use of cue cards – but in the end his stylistic quirks made him seem less like an actor than the character he was trying to portray: an ex-boxer who’d taken a few too many punches to the head.

It was the late Roger Ebert , in a 1999 essay, who addressed the movie’s influence, especially Brando’s acting. He mentioned, too, how Kazan used “One the Waterfront” as a justification for his agreeing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, during which he became a friendly witness.

But it was Brando’s acting, along with Kazan’s direction, that Ebert most admired.

“Today the story no longer seems as fresh; both the fight against corruption and the romance fall well within ancient movie conventions,” he wrote. “But the acting and the best dialogue passages have an impact that has not dimmed; it is still possible to feel the power of the film and of Brando and Kazan, who changed American movie acting forever.”

Beginning Friday, you’ll be able to judge for yourself. A restored version of “On the Waterfront,” which won eight of the 12 Oscars for which it was nominated (including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor), will open at the Magic Lantern Theatre .

Go and see what made Brando – and, yes, Kazan – well … contenders.