At the time of ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), director Elia Kazan was at the height of his career in stage and screen. Several years earlier, he had co-founded The Actor’s Studio in New York, whose members included the film’s stars—Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb—as well as Eva Marie Saint, who made her feature film debut, for which she received an Oscar^® for Best Supporting Actress. However, Kazan had been highly criticized for testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1952, and producer Sam Spiegel struggled to convince Brando to work with the director… Learn more at the AFI Catalog