Terry could have been something if not for his brother Charley and the mob-connected union boss Friendly trying to make money off of him losing a boxing match. As just another worker down at the docks he feels like a bum, right up until he meets Edie. One he meets her however he starts getting asked to do more and more for Friendly, including beating someone within an inch of their lives. What he doesn’t know is that Friendly is using him to do his truly dirty work and become his hired dog to kill or maim on command. It’s the kind of story where you tend to think that the main protagonist is just made to suffer.
After all, he could have been a contender.
10. Marlon Brando would only work until 4 every day.
His mother had just passed away recently and he had to go see his analyst to deal with the issues that had cropped up between him and his parents.
9. After the film was released the longshoreman’s union was disbanded.
The issue was that it was still run by the mob and as a result it was disbanded to clean things up.
8. Marlon Brando initially refused the role.
When he was sent the script it was sent with small markers at certain spots. He didn’t even read it since the markers were still there.
7. The leading characters were based on real people.
The director took the lives of real people and made them into a movie that showcased what they went through on a regular basis.
6. The Oscar that Brando won for this was either lost or stolen.
It popped up later in a London auction where it was to be sold but no one really knows how it disappeared.
5. Getting the actors to the set on time was kind of a problem.
The set was so cold that the cast didn’t want to stand around all day waiting to run their lines.
4. Frank Sinatra was originally supposed to take the role of Terry.
He was all set to go and wanted the part but the director wanted Brando do to his ability to pull in an audience.
3. A lot of real longshoremen from Hoboken were used as extras.
It makes sense to get extras that know what they’re doing in order to make the film look a little more authentic. There were plenty of extras that wanted to be in the movie just for the experience.
2. Marlon Brando improvised a lot of his lines.
He would improvise a lot and as a result the director would take offense and tell him to knock it off.
1. The budget was just under a million.
The movie made about ten times its budget and is still considered to be a classic to this day.
The longshoremen were run primarily by the mob back then in what was labeled as legitimate business but in many cases was often quite shady as the mob had learned how to turn a huge profit by masquerading as honest businessmen.
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