While Americans were celebrating independence on July 4, the great Eva Marie Saint turned 100. As fans may recall, back in 1954 she made her film debut in On the Waterfront playing Edie Doyle, sister of Joey Doyle, who was murdered by mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). Edie’s sometime boyfriend Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) must decide if he will testify against the mob.
“There’s more to this than I thought,” Terry tells brother Charley (Rod Steiger) in the famous scene. “I’m telling you, there’s lot more.” When Charley falls to the mob, Terry makes the call to testify. Accused of being a rat and a stoolie, Terry shoots back, “I’m glad what I done to you. Ya hear that? I’m glad what I done! And I’m gonna keep on doin’ it.”
On the Waterfront swept the Oscars, with Marlon Brando best actor and Eva Marie Saint best supporting actress. Elia Kazan took home best director, and as he explained in Elia Kazan: A Life, the film’s real back story was his battle with the screen Stalinists, a power in the dream factories since the 1930s. For the whole story, see Hollywood Party, and as Terry said, I’m glad what I done.
Eva Marie Saint, seen below chatting with Terry, moved on to roles in Raintree County (1957) and in the 1959 North by Northwest she gets to know Cary Grant. The next year she starred with Paul Newman in Exodus, which provides helpful background on current events in the Middle East.
Saint’s many screen credits stop in 2014, when she turned 90. Ten years later she continues her true-life role at 100. Here’s hoping that Eva outlasts Olivia de Havilland, who passed away in 2020 at 104. Fans know her as Melanie Hamilton from Gone With The Wind, but she should be remembered as a patriot, Ronald Reagan’s anti-Communist ally, and the woman who took on the studio system and emerged victorious.
