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Director: Elia Kazan Screenwriter: Budd Schulberg. On The Waterfront Information sourced from Kafka, R., (2009), Neap: On the waterfront, National Education Advancement Programs, NSW. Elia Kazan 1909-2003. Born to Greek parents, in Kadi-Keu, a suburb of Istanbul (Turkey).
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Director: Elia KazanScreenwriter: Budd Schulberg On The Waterfront Information sourced from Kafka, R., (2009), Neap: On the waterfront, National Education Advancement Programs, NSW.
Elia Kazan 1909-2003 • Born to Greek parents, in Kadi-Keu, a suburb of Istanbul (Turkey). • Family moved to New York when Kazan was four. • The Great Depression greatly affected his parents – the foundations for the anger he felt at the inequalities in American society. • It was this anger that led him to join the American Communist Party for nearly two years in 1934.
Kazan cont… • At 22 he was a member of the Group Theatre (a left-wing theatre group). • It was in this group that Kazan realised that he wanted to be a producer. • By the late 1940’s Kazan was successfully producing both theatre and film.
Left wing: A political term used for those who desire a more equal allocation of wealth and civil liberties. The term originated with the French Revolution (1789) when supporters of change from a monarch to a republic sat on the left side of parliament.
Kazan cont… • The films A streetcar named desire and On the waterfront earned Kazan 12 Oscars. • He is recognised as one of America’s greatest directors. • But his previous involvement in the Communist Party continued to follow him.
Kazan cont… • In 1952 Kazan was required to report to the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee). • He admitted to his own involvement in the Group Theatre and implicated eight other people. • In 1999 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award (with protestors outside the theatre questioning his testimony to the HUAC).
Budd Schulberg, screenwriter • Born in 1914 in New York City, grew up in Hollywood. • He was a Communist party member from 1936-40. • He met Kazan through the HUAC’s investigation and they became friends.
The original ideas • Kazan originally wanted to create a piece about the “Trenton six” – six African American men who were accused of the murder of William Horner. • Schulberg wanted to rework a piece he had written called “Crime on the Waterfront”
The deciding factor • Kazan was introduced to Tony Mike deVincenzo, a member of the corrupt waterfront local who testified against the Mob. • The decision was made to make a film that would echo Kazan and Schulberg’s choice to inform to HUAC.
