Research with boilermakers

Today’s Times carries an interesting account of the Catholic priest on whom Budd Schulberg modeled Father Barry in “On the Waterfront.” At one time, religiously inspired “social justice” advocates like Father Barry and his real-life role model actually had the gall to take on corrupt unions. The story by Times religion writer Peter Steinfels has many interesting details, including Schulberg’s research methods while working on the screenplay for the movie: “A good deal of Mr. Schulberg’s research was conducted in West Side bars, drinking boilermakers