On the Waterfront

1954: Elia Kazan, director; starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb. Kazan and Brando’s noir take on the Mob-corrupted Longshoremen’s Union of dockworkers and others who suffered under the thumb of gangsters. Brando’s tortured quote from the movie, “I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it,” is a searing testament to the casualties of criminal influence.