"Marty" is a 1953 television play by Paddy Chayefsky. It was telecast live May 24, 1953, on The Philco Television Playhouse with Rod Steiger in the title role and Nancy Marchand, in her television debut, playing opposite him as Clara. Chayefsky's story of a decent, hard-working Bronx butcher, pining for the company of a woman in his life but despairing of ever finding true love in a relationship, was produced by Fred Coe with associate producer Gordon Duff.
Rodney Stephen Steiger was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associated with the art of method acting, embodying the characters he played, which at times led to clashes with directors and co-stars. He starred as Marlon Brando's mobster brother Charley in On the Waterfront (1954), the title character Sol Nazerman in The Pawnbroker (1964) which won him the Silver Bear for Best Actor, and as police chief Bill Gillespie opposite Sidney Poitier in the film In the Heat of the Night (1967) which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
The following is an overview of 1956 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Western film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson and Jack Elam. Set during the Franco-Mexican War, the film centers on a group of American mercenaries tasked with transporting a large shipment of Imperial gold to the port of Veracruz, but begin to have second thoughts about their allegiances. It was produced by Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists on 25 December 1954.
Gilda is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.
Noah Lindsey Beery was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, Beery Jr. seldom broke away from playing supporting roles. Active as an actor in films or television for well over half a century, he was best known for playing James Garner's character's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, in the NBC television series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). His father, Noah Beery, enjoyed a similarly lengthy film career as an extremely prominent supporting actor in major films, although the elder Beery was also frequently a leading man during the silent film era.
Lux Video Theatre is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
3:10 to Yuma is a 1957 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. Based on a 1953 short story of the same name by Elmore Leonard, the plot concerns an impoverished rancher who takes on the risky job of escorting a notorious outlaw to justice.
Delmer Lawrence Daves was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He worked in many genres, including film noir and warfare, but he is best known for his Western movies, especially Broken Arrow (1950), The Last Wagon (1956), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and The Hanging Tree (1959). He was required to work exclusively on studio-based films after heart trouble in 1959, one of which, A Summer Place, was a huge commercial success.
The Badlanders is a 1958 American western caper film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Alan Ladd and Ernest Borgnine. Based on the 1949 novel The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett, the story was given an 1898 setting by screenwriter Richard Collins.
The Last Wagon is a 1956 American CinemaScope western film starring Richard Widmark. It was co-written and directed by Delmer Daves and tells a story set during the American Indian Wars: the survivors of an Indian massacre must rely on a man wanted for several murders to lead them out of danger.
Felicia Farr is an American former actress and model
Oklahoma! is a 1955 American musical film based on the 1943 musical of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, which in turn was based on the 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs written by Lynn Riggs. It stars Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Charlotte Greenwood, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, James Whitmore, and Eddie Albert. The production was the only musical directed by Fred Zinnemann. Oklahoma! was the first feature film photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process.
Cowboy is a 1958 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi and Brian Donlevy. This film is an adaptation of Frank Harris's 1930 semi-autobiographical novel My Reminiscences as a Cowboy. Lemmon's character is based on Harris. The opening animated title sequence was created by Saul Bass. The screenwriters were Edmund H. North and Dalton Trumbo - the latter received no screen credit at the time because he had been blacklisted as one of the Hollywood Ten.
Torpedo Run is a 1958 American war film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Glenn Ford as a World War II submarine commander in the Pacific who is obsessed with sinking a particular Japanese aircraft carrier. The film's working title was Hell Below. It was filmed in CinemaScope and Metrocolor.
Marty is a 1955 American romantic drama film directed by Delbert Mann in his directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay, which was broadcast on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse and starred Rod Steiger in the title role.
No Way to Treat a Lady is a 1968 American psychological thriller film with elements of black comedy, directed by Jack Smight, and starring Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, George Segal, and Eileen Heckart. Adapted by John Gay from William Goldman's 1964 novel of the same name, it follows a serial killer in New York City who impersonates various characters in order to gain the trust of women before murdering them.
Cattle Annie and Little Britches is a 1981 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, John Savage, Rod Steiger, Diane Lane, and Amanda Plummer, based on the lives of two adolescent girls in late 19th-century Oklahoma Territory, who became infatuated with the Western outlaws they had read about in Ned Buntline's stories, and left their homes to join the criminals. It was scripted by David Eyre and Robert Ward from Ward's book, and directed by Lamont Johnson.
The First Texan is a 1956 American CinemaScope and Technicolor western film directed by Byron Haskin and starring Joel McCrea, Felicia Farr and Jeff Morrow. Produced by Walter Mirisch, it was shot in CinemaScope and distributed by Allied Artists. It is set during the Texas Revolution of the 1830s.
The Blue Knight is a 1973 television miniseries and theatrical film adapted from Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 novel The Blue Knight. It inspired the 1975 TV series also titled The Blue Knight. The miniseries was broadcast on NBC TV in November 1973, consisted of four one-hour episodes, was directed by Robert Butler, and featured an all star cast headed by William Holden as Police Officer Bumper Morgan. The additional cast includes Lee Remick, Anne Archer, Sam Elliott, Joe Santos, and Vic Tayback. It was later released as a film in condensed form.
