MovieChat Forums > On the Waterfront (1954) Discussion > Is There Anyone Whose Favorite Scene is ...

Is There Anyone Whose Favorite Scene is NOT the Taxi Cab Scene?


First off I just want to say that this movie is my favorite movie of all time. However as brilliant as the taxi cab scene is, it is not my fav scene in this movie. I have two favorites actually. The first one being the scene between Edie and Terry at the docks, fighting for the chip. I had never seen Brando in anything before I saw this movie several years ago. I started watching it randomly and I was intrigued by the film but when the scene came where Terry and Edie were fighting over the chip (at the docks and Edie hits Terry and he laughs and they spin around) - that one moment completely changed by life. It was in that instant that I fell in love with Brando and his acting and realized what treue acting is all about - and what makes a great actor. I had never seen such acting before - it was with such a natural ease - WOW!
My second favorite scene occurs when Brando is talking to the cop on the roof about how he botched that fight at the Gardens - his demonstration of the punches, etc and his explanation about how he was "holding that bum up for half a round." was so unbelievably amazing. Words cannot even describe how much of an impact Brando's acting in this film had on me.
Brando's sensitivity just grabs you - like during the scene with Edie in the Park with the glove, etc and when he asks her to dance at the bar, etc - wow. Ok maybe I shouldn't have said I have just two favorite scenes LOL because obviously the entire film grabs me. But those two scenes in particular stand out to me.
But basically the point I am trying to make is that the taxi cab scene is not in MY top favorite scenes of this film - I think of many other memorable scenes from the movie before that one.
I was wondering if anyone else shares this opinion? Please remember that in no way am I saying I didn't like the taxi scene - of course it is brilliant - I am just saying that in my opinion I like several other scenes better. It is interesting how one particular scene in a movie can have such a lasting impression over the years - you wonder why that scene was chosen above all the rest.
But in closing I just want to say that overall this film changed my life - I finally realized what real film and real acting was all about and it made me appreciate and get into watching classic film and collecting vintage 1950s movie memoribilia.
Performances like Brando in Streetcar and Waterfront are unlike any other and that is why I believe he is he greatest actor ever.

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I loved the scenes with Edie in the park and at the bar.

Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from.

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[deleted]

The priest's sermon in the hold of the ship is my favorite.

Another lesser known one I like is when Johnny Friendly tells Terry "Remember, you've got a FRIEND down here" and makes it sound like the threat it really is.

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Defini-ly.

Karl Malden's "eulogy" over the dead Kayo Dugan. A masterpiece.

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I wasn't really impressed by the taxi cab scene. Sure, it's great acting, but from a cinematographic point of view it's nothing special.

What I really liked was the very short scene at the end of the priest's speech. After his speech, he is hoisted up from the ship, together with a longshoreman who is sitting next to him. What makes this scene special, is that te camera is static but the men move up, so at the end of the scene the camera looks up to them. On the way up the camera reveals a group of longshoremen sitting on the ship and watching the men go up. Wonderful cinema.

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[deleted]

The 'It's a crucifixion!' speech by the Father. More of a scolding though... but still riveting.

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Yes.

"Sermon on the Docks." Greatest speech EVAH! Malden, if he never did another scene ever would be remembered as brilliant, just for that scene.

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Karl Malden speech. It's fascinating to watch.

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