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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 19, No. 1. March 2, 1955

Too Much Variety

Too Much Variety

Nevertheless, if Kazan's sympathy is remote and his talent just short of greatness, for a director being paid 50,000 dollars per film he does a first-rate job, even if he leaves the job of moving an audience to his players. Kazan's contribution to the entertainment is certainly exciting and within limits, masterly. He makes full use of his location—from the busy docks to the wintry park outside the church. The background of the story, the atmosphere and the setting is taken from a world of butchers and camel-hair coats, drunken women, dark alleys and Are escapes. And he tells his story with pace and terseness: but with perhaps (I say it again) a little too much striving for variety of effect.

He is generally happy with his casting. Karl Maiden is not the stereotype priest, but has a high-pitched voice with traces of human anger, pettiness and disillusionment—and an oddly-shaped nose. Eva Marie Saint happily has not a high-pitched voice, nor in she the sickly sterotyped heroine. Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly is the only stumbling actor. He has played thin kind of role so often and in so many second-rate films that "On the Waterfront" seems to drop whenever he takes centre-stage. And Kazan should have controlled his inaudible shouting near the end of the film.

"On The Waterfront" is a first-rate film, but not a great one. Acting from a great actor; direction from a first-rate director. Who is going to dispute the meaning of these two terms?