Marty

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Marty
Directed by	Delbert Mann
Produced by	Harold Hecht
Written by	Paddy Chayefsky
Starring	Ernest Borgnine Betsy Blair Frank Sutton Karen Steele Esther Minciotti Augusta Ciolli
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	April 11, 1955 (NYC premiere)
Running time	94 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$343,000 (US)

Marty is a teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky which was telecast live May 24, 1953, on The Goodyear Television Playhouse with Rod Steiger in the title role. The 1955 film adaptation was directed by Delbert Mann, and starred Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair.

The film enjoyed international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and becoming the second American film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Marty and The Lost Weekend (1945) are the only two films to win both organizations' grand prizes.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 TV to film 4 Cultural legacy 5 Awards and recognition 5.1 Academy Awards 5.2 Cannes Film Festival 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot

The film stars Borgnine as Marty Piletti, a heavy-set Italian-American butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother. Unmarried at 34, the good-natured but socially awkward man faces constant badgering from family and friends to get married. Not averse to marriage but disheartened by his lack of prospects, Marty has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood.

“

Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain't got it.

”

After being importuned by his mother into going to the Stardust Ballroom one Saturday night, Marty connects with Clara—a plain school teacher who has been nastily abandoned by her blind date. Spending the evening together, Clara and Marty realize their emotional connection. The two part with Marty's promise to call the next day.

Fearing the romance could spell her abandonment, Marty's mother belittles Clara. Likewise, Marty's friends are unimpressed with her plainness, and try to convince Marty to forget about her. Harangued into submission, Marty doesn't call Clara.

Back in the same lonely rut, Marty realizes that he is giving up a chance at love with a wonderful woman. Over the objections of his friends, he impulsively dashes to a phone booth to give Clara a call.

“

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. 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.

”

[edit] Reception

Critical opinion was positive. 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."^[1] Time described the film as "wonderful".^[2] Louella Parsons enjoyed the film, although she felt that it would not likely be nominated for Oscars.^[3] At a budget of $343,000 (USD) the film generated revenues of $3,000,000 in the USA alone, making it a box office success.

[edit] TV to film

Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli and others repeated their roles from the live television production. Jerry Orbach made his debut in an uncredited role as a ballroom guest. For the film adaptation, the role of Clara was expanded, and subplots about Marty's career and his mother and her sister were added.

[edit] Cultural legacy

One line of dialogue, "So what do you feel like doing tonight?", was often satirized and became a catch phrase during the 1950s. Marty is referenced in the movie Quiz Show as the answer to the question "Which movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture for 1955?". Herb Stempel is strong-armed into answering it incorrectly though it was one of his favorite films.

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

[edit] Awards and recognition

[edit] Academy Awards

Award[4]	Result	Winner
Best Motion Picture	Won	United Artists (Harold Hecht, producer)
Best Director	Won	Delbert Mann
Best Actor	Won	Ernest Borgnine
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay	Won	Paddy Chayefsky
Best Supporting Actor	Nominated	Joe Mantell Winner was Jack Lemmon – Mister Roberts
Best Supporting Actress	Nominated	Betsy Blair Winner was Jo Van Fleet – East of Eden
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White	Nominated	Ted Haworth Robert Priestley Walter M. Simonds Winner was Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Samuel M. Comer, Arthur Krams – The Rose Tattoo
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White	Nominated	Joseph LaShelle Winner was James Wong Howe – The Rose Tattoo

[edit] Cannes Film Festival

Winner Palme d'Or^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Marty (1955) at IMDB
• Marty (1953 TV production) at IMDB
• Marty at Allmovie
• Marty at the TCM Movie Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by On the Waterfront	Academy Award for Best Picture 1955	Succeeded by Around the World in Eighty Days

v • d • e The films of Delbert Mann 1950s Marty • The Bachelor Party • Desire Under the Elms • Separate Tables • Middle of the Night 1960s The Dark at the Top of the Stairs • Lover Come Back • The Outsider • That Touch of Mink • A Gathering of Eagles • Quick, Before It Melts • Dear Heart • Mister Buddwing • Fitzwilly • The Pink Jungle 1970s Kidnapped • Birch Interval • Love's Dark Ride 1980s Brontë Television "Lights Out" (1949) • "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1949 - 1955) • "Goodyear Television Playhouse" (1951 - 1955) • "Producers' Showcase" (1955) • "Playwrights '56" (1955 - 1956) • "Ford Star Jubilee" (1956) • "Omnibus" (1956 - 1957) • "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1958) • "Playhouse 90" (1958 - 1959) • "NBC Sunday Showcase" (1959) • "Startime" (1960) • Heidi (1968) • "CBS Playhouse" (1968) • David Copperfield (1969) • Jane Eyre (1970) • She Waits (1972) • No Place to Run (1972) • The Man Without a Country (1973) • The First Woman President (1974) • The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond (1975) • A Girl Named Sooner (1975) • Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976) • Tell Me My Name (1977) • Breaking Up (1978) • Home to Stay (1978) • Tom and Joann (1978) • Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (1978) • Torn Between Two Lovers (1979) • All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) • To Find My Son (1980) • "Insight" (1981) • All the Way Home (1981) • The Member of the Wedding (1982) • The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983) • Love Leads the Way: A True Story (1984) • A Death in California (1985) • The Last Days of Patton (1986) • The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story (1976) • Tell Me My Name (1977) • Breaking Up (1986) • April Morning (1988) • Ironclads (1991) • Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992) • Incident in a Small Town (1994) • Lily in Winter (1994)

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Picture How Green Was My Valley (1941) · Mrs. Miniver (1942) · Casablanca (1943) · Going My Way (1944) · The Lost Weekend (1945) · The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) · Gentleman's Agreement (1947) · Hamlet (1948) · All the King's Men (1949) · All About Eve (1950) · An American in Paris (1951) · The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) · From Here to Eternity (1953) · On the Waterfront (1954) · Marty (1955) · Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) · The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) · Gigi (1958) · Ben-Hur (1959) · The Apartment (1960) Complete List · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)

v • d • e Palme d'Or winning films – 1939–1959 Union Pacific (1939) · Torment (1946) · The Lost Weekend (1946) · The Red Meadows (1946) · Brief Encounter (1946) · Maria Candelaria (1946) · Neecha Nagar (1946) · The Turning Point (1946) · La Symphonie Pastorale (1946) · The Last Chance (1946) · Men Without Wings (1946) · Rome, Open City (1946) · The Third Man (1949) · Miss Julie (1951) · Miracle in Milan (1951) · The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952) · Two Cents Worth of Hope (1952) · The Wages of Fear (1953) · Gate of Hell (1954) · Marty (1955) · The Silent World (1956) · Friendly Persuasion (1957) · The Cranes Are Flying (1958) · Black Orpheus (1959) Complete List · (1939–1959) · (1960–1979) · (1980–1999) · (2000–present)