 The idea for the film began with an expose series written for The  New York Sun by reporter Malcolm Johnson. The 24 articles won him a  Pulitzer Prize and were reinforced by the 1948 murder of a New York  dock hiring boss which woke America to the killings, graft and  extortion that were endemic on the New York waterfront. Budd  Schulberg was captivated by the subject matter, devoting years of  his life to absorbing everything he could about the milieu. He  became a regular fixture on the waterfront, hanging out in West Side  Manhattan and Long Island bars, interviewing longshore