The Catered Affair (1956)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Paddy Chayefsky (play)
Gore Vidal (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

When you're in love, nothing else matters

Plot:

At breakfast, Jane announces that she and Ralph are getting married the next week. All Jane and Ralph...

Plot Keywords:

Family Drama | Husband Wife Relationship | Marriage | Family Conflict | Cab Driver

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Mrs. Agnes Hurley
Ernest Borgnine	...	Tom Hurley
Debbie Reynolds	...	Jane Hurley
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Uncle Jack Conlon
Rod Taylor	...	Ralph Halloran
Robert F. Simon	...	Mr. Halloran (as Robert Simon)
Madge Kennedy	...	Mrs. Halloran
Dorothy Stickney	...	Mrs. Rafferty
Carol Veazie	...	Mrs. Casey
Joan Camden	...	Alice Scanlon
Ray Stricklyn	...	Eddie Hurley
Jay Adler	...	Sam Leiter
Dan Tobin	...	Hotel Caterer
Paul Denton	...	Bill
Augusta Merighi	...	Mrs. Musso

Also Known As:

Wedding Breakfast (UK)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #17915)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Factual errors: Real-life radio soap opera "The Romance of Helen Trent" is heard on radio while members of Hurley family are waking up, eating breakfast and preparing to go off to work; in reality, radio soaps weren't broadcast until late mornings/ afternoons and/or evenings.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bridge Attendant: Boy, Tom how's the taxi business?
Tom Hurley: How's the bridge business?
Bridge Attendant: One more day like this, I'll own the bridge.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)

very good acting all around

This movie has an okay plot--a guy wants to buy a cab license and his wife is insistent that they instead use the money on an over-priced wedding. But the movie is more than just a tissue-thin plot. Instead, the real story is that the acting and writing for the characters are so good that these all seem like real-life people--not like people acting. Ernest Borgnine--just coming off his success in MARTY, does a great job as the husband. Bette Davis is also exceptional as the mom. Debbie Reynolds could have been over-shadowed by these two fine actors but she manages to also come across quite well. The story is a bit simple and slow-moving and some may cringe at the painful family squabbling (though it never degenerates to outright cruelty--you know down deep they do care about each other). But, the acting pulls it all together.