On the Waterfront as reviewed by a dock mobster…
I coulda had class.
I coulda been a contender.
I coulda been somebody.
He took a dive for Johnny Friendly on his brothers advice and lost a shot at the title.
He coulda been somebody with a title.
Even as a contender, its better than never getting a shot at all.
Better than throwing fights for short-end cash.
That sticks in Terrys ass.
Thats all a cop needs to turn someone.
Terrys bombarded all over.
you might see hes not going to hold up to questioning.
Then he spills his own personal beef.
All those years ago in the Garden.
That fucking fight gets Terrys brother, Charlie, killed.
Charlie goes soft on account of that fight and lets Terry off, for old times sake.
That sort of thing gets you hung on a hook in a garage.
So thats enough to make Terry Malloy go rat.
Well, thats the way it usually happens.
Nothing sends you running to the warden faster than a shiv in the shower.
It was since the first time I saw it when I was three or four.
That andYellow Submarinewhich I saw when I was six.
I just lovedDead Endand no movie has ever supplanted it as my favorite.
Ive watched almost every film by every actor inDead End,just because they were in it.
But watching Sylvia Sidney inBeetlejuicewas a thrill.
Her Drina was one of American films first real strong, independent women.
And Dave never goes rat.
Sure, hed go on to kill Baby Face Martin, but he was no squealer.
The squealer is perennial Dead End Kid bad apple Leo Gorcey.
Gorcey had the chops and the background to go where the other Kids didnt.
They went because they wouldnt squeal.
It was important.Dead Endhad it all.
The social commentary, the pro-union, pro-left, anti-establishment posture.
Gabe Dell shooting out his crotch in an eat me gesture.
The little fucking hoodlums on the street.
They all knew one thing.
You cant trust a squealer.
You dont snitch in the playground.
You dont squeal to your teacher.
You dont drop a dime on your co-workers.
You dont narc on your friends and you never ever ever fucking say word one to the cops.
If they ask you what time it is the most you should muster is a gesture.
And not a helpful one.
Terry Malloy is a cheese-eating rat.
Isnt this a Warner Brothers movie?
You gave it to Charlie.
Who was one of your own.
This was the first era of the squealer.
The new lower case five families make sense under Omerta.
You think they were silent before?
Theyre never going to say another word again.
Forget about it and dont expect any tell-all books from the next Mafia generation either.
You know Johnny Tightlips onThe Simpsons?
Hes the new boss.
Johnny Friendly was loud and brash, but he kept a clean house.
Then that rodent fink fingered him on the stand and he lost his place at the big table.
That more than justifies taking him out.
Its on page three of that secret manual that you burned before reading, cos it was that secret.
More secret than the saints.
Okay, thats another thing that did happen a lot in the fifties.
When I mentioned Valachi, it was because the situations not that different.
It really is and was a mob catch-22 that was an unbreakable rule.
It happens over and over again in real life mob cases.
Its like a comedian who always takes it one step too far.
Its a bad game of chicken and its stacked in the Feds favor because they hate both sides.
The cop on the stairs calls Terry a squealer.
The kid kills every single pigeon in the coop.
That kid in the leather jacket.
Twisted the neck of every single pigeon that Terry took care of.
One at a time.
That kid loved Terry.
But Terry was a rat fuck.
Those pigeons had to die.
And then years later they honor these guys.
But hes a squealer.
And should wear the mark.
On The Waterfrontis a great movie, yeah.
From where youre standing.
But Im over here now.
A cheap, lousy, dirty, stinking mug.
From a mugs point of view the pic should a 2.0 tops.
And even that Im pushing.
AndGoogle+, if thats your thing!
Rating:
5 out of 5
