Marty

I think of this is a great rainy afternoon movie. You're flipping through the channels on one of those great lazy Saturdays...it's summer but it's raining outdoors and you're stuck inside. You come across a classic movie channel (AMC, TCM--take your pick) and pause. What's this? Ernest Borgnine? You always like him, why not stop for a moment and watch. It looks like it's just beginning. "Marty"? Yeah, you've heard of it, vaguely. Won the Oscar or something, but it's been kind of forgotten. So you start watching and before long you're totally enchanted, completely charmed, by the simple story and realistic characters. Who can't sympathize with Borgnine's sensitive butcher, hanging out with his Italian friends and their goofy conversations about Mickey Spillane, all the while pining away with his heart of gold for a girl that his buddies call a "dog"? The conversations have the kind of natural humor and warmth that remind you of the old days hanging out with your pals. As you watch the movie, you find yourself enthralled and you never change the channel, watching it till the end, realizing that you've seen this plot riffed on and spoofed on various TV shows, films, and cartoons over the years. When the movie's done, you're really excited--this is one of those films you discovered on your own and nothing can beat that thrill. Now, this isn't the way I saw "Marty"--I rented it and now own it on DVD--but it's the spirit I get from it. I love the conversation between Marty and his best friend, its street poetry that's entertaining without being false, in the diner as their Friday night lays out ahead of them. I love Marty and Clara's walk, their honesty and his enthusiasm; you worry is he going to far, being too gregarious for the shy Clara? Will it work? I love the preparations for Sunday Mass, the fight between the married couple, and Marty agonizing over standing up his girl while his friends have an amusingly banal and silly conversation in which they keep repeating themselves. It's really just a charming and wonderful film, joyful even in its sad moments. If you don't enjoy it, what can I say, but my recommendation comes completely honest and from the heart. This is one of those personal favorites that also happens to be an underrated classic--but just underrated enough so that the joy of discovering it on a rainy Saturday afternoon remains undiluted.

I have known, loved and seen this film many times in the past fifteen years and finally bought it recently on DVD in the UK. The story is timeless and I am very surprised that no-one has yet attempted a plausible re-make of it. Stangely made in black and white ( for economic reasons I suppose, as color was widespread enough in 1954 ), the film depicts the horrors of trying to find a soul-mate with family pressures on hand to boot. No doubt italo-Americans will appreciate even more. I found Betsy Blair extremely attractive although she is supposed to be portraying someone "ugly" - the subject is fascinating and endlessly complex as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The general impression given was one of a depiction of a real-life situation, which is of course to the credit of the film !! I remained hungry at the end and would have liked the film to continue just a little more to show the genesis of their amorous relationship !! But some would argue that at the end of a film you should be left wanting for more .......... I also loved the theme music which is actually sung at the end over the credits where they show the name of the actor plus a view of the actor from the film - this is a technique used all too little nowadays - and this absence is most regrettable as it enabled you to put a face to a name !! I was both surprised and amused that in the 1950's, ugly people were referred to as "dogs" - sounds so funny now - but I think the word "squares" or "cornballs" was also used disparagingly !! Definitely a most original film and which (exceptionally) seems to have attracted a unanimity of positive reviews on IMDb !!

Having just seen Jeff Garlin's charmingly lightweight "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With", I was curious to see its inspiration since there is constant reference to it throughout, including a scene where Gina Gershon and teen idol Aaron Carter are hilariously miscast in the leads of a stage version. Running only ninety minutes, the 1955 movie holds the distinction of being the shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar, and its scale is indeed very small – it covers a weekend in the life of a lonely, overweight Bronx butcher named Marty Piletti. The eldest of six children, the youngest of whom just got married, Marty lives a routine life living with his widowed mother and hanging out with best pal Angie (the source of a classically circular piece of dialogue - "What do you feel like doing tonight?" "I don't know, Ange. What do you feel like doing?"). Pushed by his mother to go to the Stardust Ballroom where there are a "lot of tomatoes", he inadvertently meets Clara, an equally lonely spinster schoolteacher from Brooklyn. It's intriguing to see how cultural mores have changed since both characters are considered over-the-hill for marriage even though he is only 34 and she 29. As they grapple toward intimacy, they face not only their own doubts but those of the people closest to Marty since they become aware how dependent they are on his constant availability.

Directed by Delbert Mann in his first time out at the helm, the production seems accurate in capturing the atmosphere of the mid-1950's lower middle class, and the dramatically effective setting allows Marty's story to take on a well-earned poignancy. This has primarily to do with the honest, unsentimental dialogue by Paddy Chavefsky (several years before "The Hospital" and "Network"). The observant performances complement the treatment with Ernest Borgnine giving his career-best performance in the title role. Even though he is sometimes too robust to be completely convincing as a socially defeated man, he brings surprising force to scenes when his self-awareness no longer can be hide his pain. Looking very much like Julie Harris at the time, Betsy Blair has a tougher role as Clara since her character is so withdrawn as to fade when Marty dominates the conversation. Even with her intentionally lank presence, Blair is too attractive to be considered mercilessly as a "dog". The rest of the cast takes more predictable turns – Esther Minciotti as Marty's clinging Italian mother, Joe Mantell as codependent Angie, Jerry Paris (a few years before his days as neighbor Jerry Helper on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") and Karen Steele constantly bickering as Marty's cousin and his wife. It's a solidly modest film with no pretensions. Other than the theatrical trailer featuring producer Burt Lancaster's glowing praises, the DVD has no significant extras.

Despite having only the most basic of story-lines, this is a nicely-crafted movie with a worthwhile story. Ernest Borgnine deserves the praise he has received for his performance as "Marty", and he seems very natural in the part, for all that it seems so different from most of his other roles. The other characters are also rendered believably, and events develop naturally. While the two main characters may think of themselves as failures, viewers can see that they are just ordinary persons trying to be honest and sensitive, and this makes it easy to identify with them.

The story efficiently introduces Marty and the other characters, showing how he interacts with them. Since the others are all so absorbed in their own concerns, they view Marty solely in terms of how he fits in with their own plans and desires, again making it easy for the viewer to relate to him. Joe Mantell, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli, and Jerry Paris make Marty's family and friends thoroughly believable, and they work well in their interactions with Borgnine. By the time that Marty meets Clara (Betsy Blair), everything is set up so as to get the most out of the possibilities.

Praise also goes to Delbert Mann and Paddy Chayefsky for being willing to make a movie out of such low-key material. It may not impress those who have become benumbed by the ostentation of present-day film-makers, since its quality is of a subtler, more unaffected kind. But it's a worthwhile achievement in its own right, a story about ordinary persons and everyday concerns, of the kind that takes skill and understanding to make well.

On the surface, 'Marty' appears to be a simple love story about a butcher and a school-teacher, but there are many more layers to this film, which manages to be simultaneously funny & deeply moving without ever getting corny.

There's so much about this film that stands the test of time half a century later. It's no wonder it won so many awards that year (including 4 Oscars.) In her autobiography, Betsy Blair mentions that 'Marty' was the high point of her career; it made her a movie star overnight and she was never again in anything as important (though I thought her performance in 'A Delicate Balance' with Katherine Hepburn years later was even better.) She won the BAFTA for her role here, as did Ernest Borgnine, who deservedly swept every award that year for his role as Marty, including the Oscar and the Golden Globe. Borgnine is flawless in his performance & lovable from the very first scene. Esther Monciotti as his mother also delivers a standout performance. Some of the funniest and most memorable lines in the film belong to her and her on-screen sister. The rest of the supporting cast are also great to watch. The frank dialogue and the humanity of the characters make this a film you want to watch more than once.