The Philippe Halsman Archive: Halsman Archive File 12 -Eva Marie Saint 1954

Old photographs of NYC are time machines. Halsman took Eva Marie Saint to the Manhattan bridge for a photo shoot in June 1954. We see a confident young woman on a summer’s day, on the cusp of a transformation. LIFE magazine had assigned Halsman to shoot a story on the young actress, who was about to become a huge star only a month later. Her film debut was in Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront, playing the female lead opposite Marlon Brando (who had starred in Kazan’s “Streetcar Named Desire” a few years earlier). The film was about murder, corruption, morality, and faith, and took place in Hoboken’s longshoremen community. Docks, warehouses, rooftops, boats, and bars were the stages where the blue collar drama unfolded, with New York City’s skyline as a silent co-star.  The afternoon photoshoot resulted in Halsman’s 68th LIFE cover (“Eva Marie Saint From TV to Stardom in movie “Waterfront”). The issue was released on July 19th, nine days before the film was released.  The film would go on to win 12 Academy Awards, including Eva Marie Saint for best supporting actress. A few years later she would star in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classic North By NorthWest opposite Carry Grant. Her career would stretch decades, starring in roles opposite Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor. In the 2000s she became a vocal actress and played roles in the Legend of Kora, and Avatar The Last Airbender.  When we look at the skyline today from the same viewpoint, we can see how much NYC has evolved. The dreams and hopes from the 1950s have come to fruition, and the city has been re-filled with new views, hopes, aspirations, and surprises.