History Awesome / OnTheWaterfront

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[[caption-width-right:350:Bet you never thought [[MundaneMadeAwesome you'd cheer for a man walking to work, now did you?]]]]

* The closing shot of Friendly, screaming death threats at every worker who now ignores him as they walk past, demonstrates [[NotAfraidOfYouAnymore how nobody on the waterfront fears him anymore]].

** He's willing to risk his life for the sake of the people, encouraged Kayo Dugan to rat to the union goons, and vowed to be stand up with him and finished what he started if Friendly managed to kill him, [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim and managed to persuade Terry out of shooting Friendly when he got upset over his brother's death.]]

* The closing shot of Friendly, screaming death threats at every worker who now ignores him as they walk past, demonstrating how nobody on the waterfront fears him anymore.

* Just the entire taxicab scene with Terry and Charley. It's not just a CMOA for the Malloy brothers, it's one for their actors as well. Both Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/RobSteiger are so in the moment and so emotional, you'll completely forget either of them are acting. [[SignatureScene There's a reason it's one of the most iconic scenes in all of cinema.]]

* You've got give props to Joel Doyle, who was at the time, [[HeroOfAnotherStory the only person who the bravery to stand up to Father's gang before even Father Barry got involved.]] Plus it's even stated the Joey was a great guy and that everyone in the town loved him, including his own sister and father. Considering he risked his life to help the people, this is very likely true. [[WeHardlyKnewYe Too bad he had to get pushed off his roof towards the beginning of the story.]]

* Say what you want about Johnny Friendly, but he's a pretty effective and smart antagonist. He puts on a charmful act and convinces his people that he's a reasonable man and cares about the person's interests. And if the person insists on telling on them, Johnny sends one of his men to find a why to catch the person of guard and beat the person up and/or kill them.

* Edie's EstablishingCharacterMoment. When she and Father Barry find out Edie's brother Joey had been murdered, Edie wastes absolutely no time trying to vowing to find her brother's murderer and preventing people for doing anymore damage to him. She even ignored Father Barry's request to go to church with him just so she could continue look for the murderer. Within those few mintues, we get to find out about her determination, bravery and loyalty to her brother. No DamselInDistress here.
* Terry breaking down Edie's door to getting into her place and apologize for getting her brother killed. People really will do crazy things for love.
* Just, the entire taxicab scene with Terry and Charley. It's not just a CMOA for the Malloy brothers, it's one for their actors as well. Both Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/RobSteiger are so in the moment and so emotional, you'll completely forget either of them are acting. [[SignatureScene There's a reason it's one of the most iconic scenes in all of cinema.]]
** This scene is a moment of awesome for Terry because as Charley tried and failed to persuade Terry to stay quiet about the union, including pulling a gun on Terry, he's not scared of any of the threats and manages to show his disappointment of how low his brother was willing to snoop. Then, when Charley brought up the boxing incident and blamed Terry's downfall on a manager, Terry had the courage to tell his brother that he was the one who rigged the fight, and ruined his chances of being a talented boxer. It's the first time we ever saw Terry stand up to his older brother, and it's even enough to shame Charley for real, and make him regret what he did.
** It's also an MOA for his brother Charley because of his redemption. He knew that Johnny wouldn't be happy to find out Charley failed to get Terry to stay quiet, but rather than get mad over it, he chose to make up for his actions in the boxing round. He handed his gun over to Terry and hoped for the best. Too bad the driver turned out to be one of Friendly's goons and drove Charley back to get killed. RedemptionEqualsDeath, indeed.
* Terry's epic ReasonYouSuckSpeech to Friendly during the climax. It's even more impactful because the town thought Terry was hating on Johnny for a pity reason and turned against him before this moment.

** And then there's Kayo Dugan. Initially he wanted to stay quiet about Johnny, but after Johnny's goons brake into the church and beat him up, Kayo realized how dangerous Friendly was and -- after a pep-talk from Father Barry --started his own secret meeting offscreen. Plus he wrote a 39-page deposition targeted at Friendly's mob.

* Just the entire taxicab scene with Terry and Charley. It's not just a CMOA for the Malloy brothers, it's one of their actors as well. Both Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/RobSteiger are so in the moment and so emotional, you'll completely forget either of them are acting. [[SignatureScene There's a reason it's one of the most iconic scenes in all of cinema.]]

** [[FridgeBrillance This makes sense, considering he used to be a boxer, and he's used to getting beaten up by others.]]

* Terry stumbling up to the hiring boss at the docks after a vicious beatdown by Friendly's goons, refusing to stay intimidated, and demanding that he go in for work that day despite the likelihood he won't be able to stand another minute. When the rest of the workers insist they won't go to work without him, the boss relents.
* The closing shot of Friendly, screaming death threats at every worker who now ignores him as they walk past, demonstrating how nobody on the waterfront fears him anymore.
* A meta example for Creator/MarlonBrando. His performance as Terry is considered by critics as one of the greatest in film history.