Marty (1955)

Two lonely people have almost resigned themselves to never being truly loved.

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writer:

Paddy Chayefsky (story)

Stars:

Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli, Betsy Blair

Won 4 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Esther Minciotti	...	Mrs. Piletti
Augusta Ciolli	...	Aunt Catherine
Joe Mantell	...	Angie
Karen Steele	...	Virginia
Jerry Paris	...	Tommy
Betsy Blair	...	Clara
Ernest Borgnine	...	Marty Piletti

Storyline

Marty is a 34-year-old butcher whose Italian family is constantly after him to get married. He meets plain-looking schoolteacher Clara. They are both lonely, unglamorous people who have resigned themselves to their unloved lives. But they manage, in time, to grope their way to love.

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Plot Keywords:

butcher | teacher | love | marriage | ed sullivan | 

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Taglines:

EVERYBODY'S RAVING ABOUT "MARTY" . . . The year's BIG entertainment surprise a warm and human story with characters you'll love and remember!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 1955 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Marty - Vita di un timido

Filming Locations:

The Grand Councourse, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$343,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hecht-Lancaster Productions, Steven Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 94 min (alternate)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 90 minutes long, this is the shortest of all films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

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Goofs

When Marty rushes into the street to hail a cab after taking Clara home, he ends up facing the camera on the near side of the street, waving for a taxi while facing away from the oncoming traffic.

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Quotes

Marty Pilletti: All my brothers and brothers-in-laws tell me what a good-hearted guy I am. You don't get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.

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Connections

Referenced in Indie Sex: Censored (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Marty"
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Paddy Chayefsky (uncredited)
Played during the opening credits and throughout the picture
Sung by male voices during the closing cast credits

User Reviews

Nicely-Crafted, With a Worthwhile Story

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.