On the Waterfront

Matt Roush says...

Today would have been screen legend Marlon Brandon’s 100^th birthday, a fitting kickoff to Turner Classic Movies’ “Star of the Month” tributes on Wednesdays through April. The daylong marathon begins early at 6 am/5c with 1960’s The Fugitive Kind, with the prime-time lineup devoted to early performances that made Brando an instant pop-culture icon. In 1954’s On the Waterfront, he’s the brooding longshoreman Terry Malloy, who could have been a contender. From the same year, he oozes sensual menace as bad boy motorcycle-gang rebel Johnny Straibler in the influential The Wild One (10/9c), followed by his landmark performance as brutish Stanley Kowalski in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire (11:30/10:30c), reprising his Broadway breakthrough role opposite Vivien Leigh.

What's Worth Watching (Apr 3)