"The Use of Dignity" came out a short time before the film "On the Waterfront" and both are very similar...as they both attack organized crime among the longshoremen in New York.
Ed Begley plays Louis Giordano, a foreman on the docks. For some time, he's been shilling for gangsters...following their orders because he's afraid of them. However, as they push harder and harder, Giordano and his co-workers might just be pushed too far...and they're ready to fight.
While the story is well written and Begley is great, there is one problem with the story....it was on TV. What I mean by that is that the film lacks the large cast you'd see in "On the Waterfront". So, the big confrontation scene and subsequent fight occurs near the end, it seems almost claustrophobic because there are so few actors and they're crammed so close together. Such were the hazards of live teleplays back in the day. Still, it is a treat watching Begley and I strongly recommend it.