The New Yorker called On the Waterfront "the sort of galvanic movie we used to get when the Warner Brothers were riding herd on Al Capone and his associates."

The Hollywood Reporter concluded, "After so many costume dramas, it may be just what the box office needs, for On the Waterfront is so stark and gripping that it can only be compared with Little Caesar (1931) and The Public Enemy (1931)."

Time raved that, "Brando in this show is one glorious meathead. The gone look, the...vocabulary and the sexual arrogance are still the Brando brand of behavior. But for once the mannerism converge, like symptoms to point out the nature of the man who has them. The audience may never forget that Brando is acting, but it will know that he is doing a powerful acting job."

Life also sang the film's praises, writing "On the Waterfront is the most brutal movie of the year but it also contains the year's tenderest love scenes. Responsible for both is Marlon Brando."

The New York Times hailed it as "moviemaking of a rare and high order."

Along with Mrs. Miniver (1942), All About Eve (1950), and From Here to Eternity (1953), On the Waterfront captured Oscar nominations in all five acting categories. The film also became the first movie to have three people competing in the same Oscar category, Best Supporting Actor. Unfortunately, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, and Lee J. Cobb all lost to Edmond O'Brien for The Barefoot Contessa (1954).

Many critics and industry insiders felt that Eva Marie Saint deserved a Best Actress nomination, but producer Sam Spiegel listed his leading lady as a supporting actress, in order to pull her out of the tight Best Actress race which included such likely winners as Grace Kelly and Judy Garland.

In addition to winning Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Story and Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction (Black and White), and Best Editing, On the Waterfront also garnered awards from the New York Film Critics, National Board of Review, and the Golden Globes.

On the Waterfront received the Golden Cup at the Venice Film Festival.

Danny Peary in Guide for the Film Fanatic wrote that On the Waterfront "had been criticized on several fronts: by those who are angered by its contention that the longshoremen's union was corrupt in 1954 (as suggested by the film's source, newspaper articles by Malcolm Johnson); by those who consider it anti-union; and by those who are angered by how Kazan and Schulberg, two HUAC informers, manipulate viewers into admiring those who inform to the police and the government."

Author and film scholar Robert Sklar wrote "Critics continue to debate whether On the Waterfront conveys democratic values or an image of dockworkers who are passive followers of whoever leads them - the tyrannical boss or the informer. Is it a true expos¿r one that leaves the actual holders of corrupt power (briefly glimpsed in a quick shot of "Mr. Upstairs" during Terry's testimony) untouched? If nothing else, On the Waterfront is a monument to the artistic aspirations and the political compromises of its time."

by Scott McGee and Jeff Stafford