On the Waterfront Page #11

Synopsis: Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about Friendly's control of the Hoboken waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and the streetwise priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) to testify himself, against the advice of Friendly's lawyer, Terry's older brother Charley (Rod Steiger).
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Production: Sony Pictures
  Won 8 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 9 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.2
Metacritic:
88
Rotten Tomatoes:
98%
NOT RATED
Year:
1954
108 min
3,867 Views


TERRY:

(pent up with his guilt and his frustrated feeling

for her)

Okay, get in hot water. But don't come hollerin' to

me when you get burned.

EDIE:

Why should I come hollering to you at all?

TERRY:

Because... because...

(apologetically, as if this were a sign of weakness)

Listen Edie, don't get sore now—

but I think we're getting in love with each other.

EDIE:

(really fighting against it)

I can't let myself fall in love with you.

TERRY:

(fervently)

That goes double for me.

As they stare at each other in entangled hostility and love, a man

turns from the food counter behind them, just finishing a hot dog and

steps into Terry's path. It is Mr. Glover, the Commission investigator.

In the B.G. is Gillette.

GLOVER:

Mr. Malloy, I was hoping I might find you here.

Terry turns as if to dart off. Glover puts a restraining hand on his

arm.

GLOVER:

You're being served with a subpoena, Mr. Malloy.

TERRY:

What?

GLOVER:

(reaching quickly into his briefcase)

Be at the State House, Courtroom Nine, at ten o'clock

tomorrow.

TERRY:

I told you I don't know nothin' and I ain't

saying nothin'.

GLOVER:

You can bring a lawyer if you wish. And you're privileged

under the Constitution to protect yourself against

questions

that might implicate you in any crimes.

TERRY:

(more in pain than anger now)

You know what you're askin'? You're askin'—

GILLETTE:

(stepping in from B.G.) (sternly)

Mr. Malloy, all we're asking you to do is tell the truth.

GLOVER:

(more gently)

Goodnight, kid.

Terry looks at the subpoena in tortured confusion.

EDIE:

(softly)

What are you going to do?

TERRY:

(viciously reverting to type)

I won't eat cheese for no cops, that's for sure.

EDIE:

(with sudden intuition)

It was Johnny Friendly who killed Joey, wasn't it?

Terry looks off and then looks down, unable to speak.

EDIE:

He had him killed or had something to do with it,

Didn't he? He and your brother Charley?

Terry drops his eyes again; he can say nothing.

You can't tell me, can you? Because you're a part

of it. You're as bad as the worst of them, aren't

you, Terry? Aren't you? Tell me the truth!

TERRY:

Edie, your old man's right, go back to

that school out in daisyland. You're driving yourself

nuts— you're driving me nuts— stop worrying

about the truth— worry about yourself.

EDIE:

Look out for number one. Always number

one.

(her voice rising in anger)

I should've known you wouldn't tell me.

Pop said Johnny Friendly used

to own you. I think he still owns you.

(then gently, and hating to have to say it)

No wonder everybody calls you a bum.

TERRY:

(as if struck)

Don't say that, Edie, don't...

Edie is crying softly, without sobs.

EDIE:

(with a half-sob)

It's true.

TERRY:

I'm tryin' to keep you from being hurt—

What more do you want?

EDIE:

Much more, Terry. Much, much more!

She runs off. Terry looks after her, pained; the subpoena weighs in his

hand. He stares at it in agony, while the party swirls around him. Then

the blare of an auto horn cuts through the music.

VOICE OF JOHNNY:

(O.S.)

Hey, genius.

Terry looks up.

MEDIUM LONG SHOT

Johnny Friendly's black Cadillac parked across the street. A driver,

Sonny, Truck, Big Mac, and Charley are in it. Terry hurries up to them.

TERRY:

(lamely)

I— I was just on my way up, Johnny.

JOHNNY:

By way of Chicago?

Sonny starts to laugh but Johnny cuts him short .

How many times you been knocked out, Terry?

TERRY:

(surprised)

Only two times, why, Johnny?

Throughout the following tirade, Charley would like to intervene in

Terry's behalf, but Johnny roughly nudges him into silence.

JOHNNY:

It must have been once too often. I

think your brains come apart. What you got up

there, Chinese bells?

TERRY:

Aw, Johnny... .

JOHNNY:

I thought you were gonna keep an eye

on that church meeting.

TERRY:

Nothing happened, Johnny.

JOHNNY:

Nothing happened, he says. Some operator

you got yourself there, Charley. One more

like him and we'll all be wearing striped pajamas.

TERRY:

(turning to Charley for help)

It was a big nothing! The Father did all the talking.

JOHNNY:

Oh, he did. Half an hour later a certain

Timothy J. Nolan went into secret session with

the Commission and he did all the talking.

TERRY:

You mean Kayo Nolan, the old timer? He

doesn't know much.

JOHNNY:

He don't, huh?

(produces a bound folder of testimony

from his pocket and slams it on the fender)

Well, he knows thirty-nine pages worth of our operation.

TERRY:

How'd you get that.

JOHNNY:

(thumbing 'upstairs)

I got it. Hot off the press.

CHARLEY:

The complete works of Timothy J. Nolan.

TERRY:

Nolan? I knew he had guts but—

JOHNNY:

Guts! A crummy pigeon who's looking

to get his neck wrung! (to Charley) You should have

(to Charley)

You should have known better than to trust this

punched out brother of yours.

He was all right hanging around

for laughs. But this is business. I don't like goofoffs

messing in our business.

TERRY:

Now just a minute, I—

CHARLEY:

(suddenly)

What the hell are you doing with his sister?

(then turning to Johnny)

It's that girl, Johnny, the little Doyle broad has him out

on his

feet. An unhealthy relationship.

SONNY:

Definitely!

JOHNNY:

Don't see her no more. Unless you're

both tired of living. Barney, you got her address?

(then to others, businesslike)

Now listen, if we don't muzzle Nolan, we're into the

biggest stink this town ever seen. We got the best

muscle on the waterfront. The time to use it is now—

pronto— if not sooner.

(to Terry, as he climbs in the car)

And you know where you're going? Back in the hold—

no more cushy job in the loft. It's down the hold

with the sweat gang till you learn your lesson.

Johnny twists Terry's cheek, but not in fun this time, as he has often

done before. Now it is hard enough to draw blood. Then he turns to the

driver.

JOHNNY:

Let's go!

The car drives off fast, almost running Terry down. He stands there

looking after it, alone in the street, feeling his wounded cheek and

then scowling as he looks down at the subpoena in his hand.

DISSOLVE:

EXT—FREIGHTER—DAY

The ship is being unloaded. An empty pallet is swung from the pier and

lowered into the open hatch by the up-and-down-fall tackle. Our CAMERA

rides the pallet down into the hatch, to the second level, where Terry

is working. A little removed from him are Pop, Moose and Nolan. They

are unloading Irish whiskey.

NOLAN:

(lifting a case onto the pallet joyously)

An Ir-rish ship loaded to the gunnels with foine Ir-rish

whiskey!

He does a little jig and kisses the case as he sets it on the pallet.

Pop and Moose laugh. But Terry looks over at Nolan tensely. Then he

looks up out of the hatch.

EXT—DOCK—DAY

Johnny Friendly comes up to the edge of the dock with Sonny and Truck.

Johnny mumbles something under his hand to Sonny and Sonny nods and

jumps down onto the deck of the ship.

MEDIUM CLOSE—ON DECK—NEAR HATCH—DAY

Sonny motions to Specs Donahue, glimpsed as Joey's killer at the

opening. Specs nods and goes over to the winchman guiding the tackle

over the hatch. He nods to him, and takes his place. Then he catches

the eye of—

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes

Budd Schulberg

Budd Schulberg (March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy Award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the Crowd. more…

All Budd Schulberg scripts | Budd Schulberg Scripts

1 fan

Submitted by aviv on November 01, 2016

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "On the Waterfront" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 4 Jan. 2025. <https://www.scripts.com/script/on_the_waterfront_372>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    On the Waterfront

    On the Waterfront

    Soundtrack

    »

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    Which film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2018?
    A La La Land
    B Moonlight
    C Green Book
    D The Shape of Water