Father Corridan - The Real Waterfront Priest

The photo above is of John "Pete" Corridan, the "Waterfront Priest,” testifying before a Senate Commerce Committee investigating waterfront crime in the late 1940’s.

If you have ever seen the film “On the Waterfront” with Karl Malden as the crusading Priest Father Barry, then you need to know that he was not a totally fictitious character. As a matter of fact, that soliloquy which he gives in the hold of the ship where Dugan is killed by the falling cargo was actually spoken by a Father Corridan who was the real life inspiration for the film version of the Priest.

Here is the portion of one of Father Corridan’s addresses to the men which inspired Bud Schulberg’s version;

“I suppose some people would smirk at the thought of Christ in the shape-up. It is about as absurd as the fact that He carried carpenter’s tools in His hands and earned His bread by the sweat of His brow. As absurd as the fact that Christ redeemed all men irrespective of their race, color, or station in life. It can be absurd only to those of whom Christ has said, ‘Having eyes, they see not; and having ears, they hear not.’ Because they don’t want to see or hear. Christ also said, ‘If you do it to the least of mine, you do it to me.’ So Christ is in the shape-up.”

Father Corridan gave the speech at a meeting in the Union trade school across the river in New Jersey, not in the hold of a cargo ship. But his words were almost identical. "The speech was written more by Father Corridan than me," writer Bud Schulberg said. "Eighty percent of it was his words."

Schulberg was soon treated to a tour of the waterfront by one of Corridan's longshoremen, a man named Arthur "Brownie" Brown. Schulberg became an admirer of the Priest and described him as “the greatest individual I have ever known.”

For more about Father Corridan use this link;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Corridan

And here is Karl Malden delivering Bud Schulberg's version of Father Corridan's speech in the film "On the Waterfront";

Karl Malden in "On the Waterfront"

In one of the most poignant scenes from the film “On the Waterfront”, Karl Malden delivers one of the all-time great sermons ever captured on screen. Father Barry, portrayed by Malden in the film, has taken an oath to stand by one of the men who has agreed to testify against the mobsters who control the waterfront. When that man is killed Father Barry steps up to the plate and tells the truth about the corruption that mires the world all around him.

In the 6 decades since this film was released many things have changed. Technologically we have eclipsed some of our wildest dreams, yet there is still a vacant spot in our hearts and souls. And the problems always come back to the same point of origin; greed and vanity. 

That’s right, vanity. For what can be more vain than to think that your life; your needs, your desires; are more worthy of fulfillment than another’s? Until you can answer that question honestly, and without prevarication, then we will never grow to our true height as a civilized society. 

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" with Dana Andrews (1950)

Dana Andrews plays a detective who accidently kills a murder suspect he believes to be innocent. Now, he finds himself in the awkward position of trying to prove the dead man guilty of a murder which he never did, even while trying to cover up the crime he himself has committed.

When he falls in love with the dead man’s widow, played by Gene Tierney, things get even more complicated. This is one of those truly underrated film noir classics with a great storyline and some serious acting, including Karl Malden as the new chief of Detectives, who has his doubts about the methods his men use, but still must answer to his own higher ups in order to justify his job.

Dana Andrews acts with a rare intensity in this film, opposite a sizzling Gene Tierney as they take you back to the days when detectives were “gumshoes” and the gals were “dames”. Round it out with some good old fashioned detective work, and it all adds up to a great viewing experience.