Marty (film)

Last updated
Marty
Marty (1955 film poster).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Delbert Mann
Written by Paddy Chayefsky
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Joseph LaShelle
Edited by Alan Crosland, Jr.
(editorial supervision)
Music by Roy Webb
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • April 11, 1955 (1955-04-11)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$350,000 [1] [2]
Box office$2,000,000 (U.S./Canada rentals) [3]
$1,500,000 (overseas rentals) [1]

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 of the same name, which was broadcast on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse and starred Rod Steiger in the title role. [4] [5]

Contents

The film stars Ernest Borgnine, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance, and Betsy Blair. In addition to also winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, the film enjoyed international success, becoming the first film to win the Palme d'Or. Marty, The Lost Weekend (1945) and Parasite (2019) are the only three films to win both organizations' grand prizes.

In 1994, Marty was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. [6]

Plot

Marty Piletti is an Italian-American butcher who lives in The Bronx with his mother. Unmarried at 34, the good-natured but socially awkward Marty faces constant badgering from family and friends to settle down, as they point out that all his brothers and sisters are already married, most of them with children. Not averse to marriage but disheartened by his lack of prospects, Marty has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood.

After being harassed by his mother into going to the Stardust Ballroom one Saturday night, Marty connects with Clara, a plain high school science teacher, who is weeping outside on the roof after being abandoned by her blind date. Marty and Clara spend the evening together dancing, walking the busy streets, and talking in a diner. Marty eagerly spills out his life story and ambitions, and they encourage each other. He takes Clara to his house, where he awkwardly tries to kiss her and is rebuffed. Clara then explains that she just didn't know how to handle the situation, and she does like him. At this point, Marty's mother returns.

Marty takes Clara home by bus, promising to call her at 2:30 the next afternoon, after Mass. Overjoyed on his way back home, he punches the bus stop sign and weaves between the cars, looking for a cab instead.

Meanwhile, Marty's Aunt Catherine moves in to live with Marty and his mother. She warns his mother that Marty will soon marry and cast her aside. Fearing that Marty's new romance could spell her abandonment, his mother belittles Clara. Marty's friends, with an undercurrent of envy, deride Clara for her plainness and try to convince him to forget her and to remain with them, unmarried, in their fading youth. Harangued into submission by the pull of his friends, Marty fails to call Clara.

That night, back in the same lonely rut, Marty realizes that he is giving up a woman whom he not only likes but who makes him happy. Over the objections of his friends, he dashes to a phone booth to call Clara, who is disconsolately watching television with her parents. When his friend asks what he's doing, Marty bursts out saying:

You don't like her, my mother don't like her, she's a dog and I'm a fat, ugly man! Well, all I know is I had a good time last night! I'm gonna have a good time tonight! If we have enough good times together, I'm gonna get down on my knees and I'm gonna beg that girl to marry me! If we make a party on New Year's, I got a date for that party. You don't like her? That's too bad!

Marty closes the phone booth door when Clara answers the phone. In the last line of the film, he says, "Hello...Hello, Clara?"

Cast

Ernest Borgnine with Betsy Blair in the trailer for Marty, 1955 Ernest Borgnine-Betsy Blair in Marty trailer.jpg
Ernest Borgnine with Betsy Blair in the trailer for Marty, 1955

Production

For the film, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli and Joe Mantell reprised their roles from the live television production. The screenplay changed the name of the Waverly Ballroom to the Stardust Ballroom. The film expanded the role of Clara, and added subplots about Marty's career, his mother, and her sister. [7]

Rod Steiger, who had played Marty in the teleplay, initially declined an offer to reprise the role after Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster, the film's producers, demanded Steiger sign a multiple-picture commitment as a condition of retaining his role. [8] Ernest Borgnine assumed the title role in Steiger's stead.

Shooting for the film began on September 7, 1954, in The Bronx and included many aspects of the borough into the film, such as Grand Concourse, Arthur Avenue, Gun Hill Road, White Plains Road, and several Bronx subway and elevated train lines, including the Concourse, Third Avenue, White Plains Road, and Jerome Avenue lines. On-set filming took place at Samuel Goldwyn Studios on November 1, 1954. Bronx native Jerry Orbach made his film debut in an uncredited role as a ballroom patron. Chayefsky had an uncredited cameo as Leo.

The role of Clara initially was going to be reprised by actress Nancy Marchand, later of Lou Grant and The Sopranos fame, who had portrayed the character in the television version. However, actress Betsy Blair was interested in playing the role and lobbied for it. At the time, Blair, who was married to actor Gene Kelly, had been blacklisted due to her Marxist and Communist sympathies. It was only through the lobbying of Kelly, who used his major star status and connections at MGM to pressure United Artists, that Blair got the role. Reportedly, Kelly threatened to withdraw from the film It's Always Fair Weather if Blair did not get the role of Clara. [9] [10]

Mann shot the film in sixteen days and an additional three days for retakes. [11]

Reception

Upon its premiere on April 11, 1955 (followed by a wide release on July 15), Marty received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. [12] Ronald Holloway of Variety wrote "If Marty is an example of the type of material that can be gleaned, then studio story editors better spend more time at home looking at television." [13] Time described the film as "wonderful". [14] Louella Parsons enjoyed the film, but she felt that it would not likely be nominated for Oscars. [15] At a budget of $343,000, the film generated revenues of $3 million in the U.S., making it a box-office success. [16]

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 96% rating based on 77 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's consensus reads: "Scriptwriter Paddy Chayefsky's solid dialogue is bolstered by strong performances from Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair in this appealingly low-key character study." [12]

The film is recognized by the American Film Institute.

Awards and nominations

Award [17] CategoryNominee(s)Result
Academy Awards Best Motion Picture Harold Hecht Won
Best Director Delbert Mann Won
Best Actor Ernest Borgnine Won
Best Supporting Actor Joe Mantell Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Betsy Blair Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Paddy Chayefsky Won
Best Art Direction – Black-and-White Art Direction: Ted Haworth and Walter M. Simonds;
Set Decoration: Robert Priestley
Nominated
Best Cinematography – Black-and-White Joseph LaShelle Nominated
Bodil Awards Best American Film Delbert MannWon
British Academy Film Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Foreign Actor Ernest BorgnineWon
Best Foreign Actress Betsy BlairWon
Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Delbert MannWon
OCIC Award Won
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Ernest BorgnineWon
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Film Delbert MannNominated
National Board of Review Awards Best Film Won
Top Ten Films Won
Best Actor Ernest BorgnineWon
National Film Preservation Board National Film Registry Inducted
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Film Won
Best Actor Ernest BorgnineWon
Online Film & Television Association AwardsHall of Fame – Motion PictureWon
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Written American Drama Paddy ChayefskyWon

Marty received the first Palme d'Or ever awarded. [18] Marty, The Lost Weekend and Parasite are the only films ever to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival (Marty and Parasite both received the Palme d'Or, which, beginning at the 1955 festival, replaced the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film as the highest award). [19] [20] [21] Marty is the shortest film ever to win Best Picture, at only 90 minutes.

See also

Related Research Articles

Marty (<i>The Philco Television Playhouse</i>) 23rd episode of the 5th season of The Philco Television Playhouse

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Steiger</span> American actor (1925–2002)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Borgnine</span> American actor (1917–2012)

Ernest Borgnine was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he also appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddy Chayefsky</span> American playwright, screenwriter and novelist (1923–1981)

Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays.

Arthur Avenue is a street in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, which serves as the center of the Bronx's "Little Italy". Although the historical and commercial center of Little Italy is Arthur Avenue itself, the area stretches across East 187th Street from Arthur Avenue to Beaumont Avenue, and is similarly lined with delis, bakeries, cafes and various Italian merchants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delbert Mann</span> American television and film director (1920–2007)

Delbert Martin Mann Jr. was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film Marty (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which he had also directed. From 1967 to 1971, he was president of the Directors Guild of America. In 2002, he received the DGA's honorary life member award. Mann was credited to have "helped bring TV techniques to the film world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Palmer</span> American actress (1926–2015)

Betsy Palmer was an American actress known for her many film and Broadway roles, television guest-starring appearances, as a panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing the antagonist and mother of Jason Voorhees, Pamela Voorhees, in the first Friday the 13th film (1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Mantell</span> American film and television actor

Joe Mantell was an American film and television actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as best friend Angie in the 1955 film Marty, which he reprised from the original live teleplay with the same creative team. The teleplay was a surprise hit and the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

<i>The Bachelor Party</i> 1957 American film

"The Bachelor Party" is a 1953 television play by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a 1957 film. The play premiered to critical acclaim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Blair</span> American actress (1923–2009)

Betsy Blair was an American actress of film and stage, long based in London.

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.

The 28th Academy Awards were held on March 21, 1956 to honor the films of 1955, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California. In this year, Jerry Lewis became the host, replacing Bob Hope.

Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television.

<i>The Catered Affair</i> 1956 film by Richard Brooks

The Catered Affair is a 1956 American comedy drama film directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a screenplay by Gore Vidal, based on a 1955 television play by Paddy Chayefsky. The film stars Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald and Rod Taylor. It was Taylor's first film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after signing a long-term contract with the studio. The film score was by André Previn and the cinematographer was John Alton.

The 9th British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1956, honoured the best films of 1955.

<i>Jubal</i> (film) 1956 film by Delmer Daves

Jubal is a 1956 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Valerie French, and Felicia Farr. Shot in CinemaScope, it was one of the few adult westerns in the 1950s and is described as Othello on the Range. The supporting cast features Noah Beery Jr., Charles Bronson and Jack Elam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Cannes Film Festival</span>

The 8th Cannes Film Festival was held from 26 April to 10 May 1955. The Golden Palm went to the US film Marty by Delbert Mann. The festival opened with Du rififi chez les hommes by Jules Dassin and closed with Carmen Jones by Otto Preminger.

<i>Middle of the Night</i> 1959 film

Middle of the Night is a 1959 American drama film directed by Delbert Mann, and released by Columbia Pictures. It was entered into the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. It stars Fredric March and Kim Novak. The screenplay was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from his Broadway play of the same name.

The Concourse Plaza Hotel was a luxury hotel at Grand Concourse and East 161st Street in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Once the site of presidential campaign stops and host to major sports stars, it is now a senior citizens' residence owned and operated by the government of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Minciotti</span> Italian actress

Esther Cunico Minciotti was an Italian actress.

References

  1. 1 2 Godbout, Oscar (September 11, 1955). "HOLLYWOOD DOSSIER: 'Marty' Hits Jackpot – Team-– On the Set" . The New York Times . p. X7.
  2. Balio, Tino (1987). United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-2991-1440-4.
  3. "1955's Top Film Grossers". Variety . Vol. 201, no. 8. January 25, 1956. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  4. "LIVE: The Golden Age of TV Drama". That's Entertainment. September 23, 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. "Marty". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. "25 Films Added to National Registry". The New York Times. 15 November 1994. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. Chayefsky, Paddy (1955). "Two Choices of Material". Television Plays. Simon & Schuster. p. 183. ISBN   978-1-55783-191-0 . Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  8. Schmidt, M.A. (January 29, 1956). "Rod Steiger: From V.A. to V.I.P. on Screen". The New York Times.
  9. Multiple sources:
  10. Blair, Betsy (2004). The Memory of All That. London: Elliott & Thompson. ISBN   978-1-9040-2730-0.
  11. "Delbert Mann". Rome News-Tribune . 13 November 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Marty (1955)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  13. Holloway, Ronald (March 23, 1055). "Film Reviews: Marty". Variety. March 23, 1955.
  14. "The New Pictures". Time . April 18, 1955.
  15. Mann, Delbert; Skutch, Ira (1998). Looking Back, at Live Television and Other Matters. Directors Guild of America. ISBN   978-1-8827-6605-5.
  16. "Marty (1955) – Box office / business". IMDb . Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  17. "Marty". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. February 12, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  18. "Marty". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  19. "The Lost Weekend Awards". IMDb.
  20. "Marty Awards". IMDb.
  21. "A Brief History Of The Palme D'Or". Festival De Cannes.