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The Catered Affair (1956)

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21 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Bette Davis' personal favorite -- One of her very best!, 5 October 2004

Author: mdm-11 (mdm@thursdays.com) from Liverpool Twp., Ohio

Bette Davis plays loyal wife to hard-working NYC cabby Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine is very close to realizing his dream to actually own his own taxi cab, complete with special licence, at last being his own boss.

All would be well, if not their young daughter Debbie Reynolds had announced her sudden plans to marry blue-blood Rod Taylor. Davis, unphased by the limited financial means, is determined to "give" their daughter a big wedding. The figures to foot the bill reach astronomical proportions, making everyone but Davis nervous.

The not entirely predictable outcome is one of the most satisfying Hollywood movie endings ever. -- This film was Bette Davis' personal favorite; she called her performance "my proudest effort". As a fan of all 4 stars, I agree that "A Catered Affair" is one of the very best films Bette Davis has ever starred in. "Cinema Candy" all the way through!

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17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Small & memorable drama, 25 August 1999
Author: Boyo-2

I enjoyed this movie very much. It seems like it was originally done as a television drama and ended up being released theatrically. The cast, screenwriter and director are all top of the line and they all did very good work in this little seen movie. I believed in each character and the drama is not overdone at all.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Intense Drama Skillfully Acted, 25 November 2003
Author: builder6 from Indiana, US

This delightful production is full of life; a vignette which cuts deep to reveal the quiet despair, sullen defeat, and ultimate triumph of a marriage which had always looked back at its shameful beginning, but finally is freed to discover itself anew.

Davis' mastery of the Brooklyn tone and colloquialisms is uncanny. Her "Aggie" is real, and sympathetic, if not admirable. Her pain from the awakening knowledge of having only lived with, but not shared life with her daughter and husband touches us where it hurts. The fix of manipulating a "big" (but unaffordable) wedding for her daughter falls flat, forcing Aggie to grapple with the real issues of her life.

Her bachelor brother "Uncle Jack" (Barry Fitzgerald) is Aggie's counterpoint, full of Blarney, enjoying every moment to its fullest, as when he playfully informs delightful Mrs. Rafferty (his future bride) of her debt in their running game of Cannasta: $24,700.

Debbie Reynolds is lovely, earnest, in character and hard-hitting as Aggie's daughter Jane, sacrificing her own wishes, and torn between the conflicting needs of her mother and father.

Borgnine is the under-appreciated, self-sacrificing husband, giving up his long held dream of owning a taxicab if it would satisfy his wife, finally pleading his own case, and finding joy in his marriage.

A compelling story with excellent acting and staging.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Touching, nuanced, 29 January 2005

Author: luciferjohnson from NYC

An unjustly neglected "kitchen sink" movie from the fifties, with fine performances by all and intriguing New York locations.

Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine portray the very much working-class parents of a young woman who is about to get married, and just wants a quick ceremony with no reception. But the mother, guilty about "not giving her daughter anything" over the years, pushes for an expensive "catered affair" that her husband cannot afford, and would use money he planned to devote to buying a taxicab license.

Davis' brassy performance has received the most attention, but Borgnine's subtle, nuanced portrayal of the father is what really sustains this movie. Barry Fitzgerald provides comic relief as a "oirish" uncle. Altogether a charming and touching film that is very much a slice of life of NYC in the fifties. Like the other Chayefsky scripts of this era, it explores themes that would have been unpalatable or mawkish for any other writer.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
I'd RSVP, 23 September 2004
Author: BumpyRide from TCM's Basement

"The Catered Affair" is a great little movie filled with real life heartache and genuine emotion. Bette gives a strong performance as the matriarch of the family determined to give her only daughter a proper wedding even though the family can't afford to do so. Ernest B. is perfectly cast as the slovenly, hard working taxi cab driver. In fact everyone is up to par in this film, but it's the real life situations that tug at your heart strings. Agnes' brother who sleeps on the couch in the living room, preparing a dinner to impress the future in-laws, Agnes' realization that one day it will be only her and Tom living in the apartment. An especially touching scene takes place in the bedroom as Agnes brushes her hair as Tom gives her many reasons why they can't afford the cost of the wedding, both financially and emotionally.

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13 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
a beautiful film of lost dreams and illusions, 28 April 2005

Author: lynandlaurent2002 from United Kingdom

I have loved this film for years and it gets so rarely shown. No need to explain what it is about as others have done it so much better than I could. The performances are all superb (especially the supporting players) and it stands today as much as a social document as it does a piece of film. I used to love DAVIS years back and then went off her somewhat as I kept thinking she was all too exaggerated, too theatrical, too mannered. In this film I would disagree with someone who said it is LA DAVIS as usual. I would say it is not. She is miles away from MARGO CHANNING and CHARLOTTE VALE in this. I don't know the background of the characters for "real" but she sounds "real", no effort in glamorizing the character either The one bit that gets to me every time last about 10 seconds and is right at the end. It is the look of a new proprietor (wont tell why so as not to spoil it) on a face of a woman who never had anything, and whose dreams have all but disappeared. She looks around and the pride and gladness felt by her character AGGIE is all in there.No words. Just a glance, a look. As I write this I get goose pimples just thinking about it. This should be shown to kids today as part of "living history", a history not so far gone. If you like your movies with action and pretty blondes by pass this. If you like to know about people and the human condition don't miss it..It is all in there.Beautifully and heartfeltingly done.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Could be my relatives!, 13 May 2007

Author: sharkey197 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

In a world where weddings have gotten out of control, this film shines like a diamond. The people here are so real to me, they are so typical of the working class Irish of the time that I felt immediately close to them. Some has been made of the lack of communication between them, but these sort of people never talked about their feelings. Which is why the acting is outstanding, because they had to convey with a look or glance a whole range of emotions.

Bette Davis is brilliant and Ernest Borgnine is outstanding. Watching his horror as the cost of the wedding mounts up, I wanted to clutch my own checkbook. While the prices seem small to us today, back then, it was a lot of money for that class of people. Debby Reynolds is wonderful and I only regret she didn't go on to do more drama. She was completely at home in it.

I never fail to cry at the end. As two people who have lived together for years come to value each other and begin again. It's a wonderful message--hey, it's not the sort of wedding you have; it's what you bring to the marriage after the guests leave. In our age, we seem to have forgotten this.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
poignant and superbly acted, 5 August 2004
Author: robr29 from usa

I happened upon A Catered Affair on TCM recently by chance upon hearing the channels announcement it was written by Paddy Chayefsky; I was knocked out by Network, so I gave this one a chance. I recommend you do too. Wow! This film is real, gritty, poignant. It demands your intelligent attention, as every moment counts. I agree with Wayne Malin's overall review here, but would rate Debbie Reynolds performance more highly. I experienced her portrayal as a true rendering of a vulnerable, sensitive young woman coming of age. We empathize with the characters, who are given due weight throughout the story's development. We care and see the motivations of each person as they struggle to come to terms with complex issues that overwhelm them. Layers of competing interests collide with depth and resonance. Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine are magnificent, as are the supporting actors, most notably the grooms father and the brides best friend/maid of honor. As far as the ending, I found it a bit more believable than Mr Malin; the mom is faced with the realization that she's always had generations of family around her, who are all now leaving. She is about to live the rest of her life with the husband she has denegrated all their married life, the circumstances of which make us empathize with her meanness. Mom is faced with unwanted choices placed upon her. Instead of blaming others for her fate, a lifetime habit, she must choose either to leave the marriage, live in misery and loneliness which she now suspects has been somewhat self imposed, or admit some things about herself and open up a little, allowing for the possibility of some joy between them in their remaining years.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
very good acting all around, 26 February 2006

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

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.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Simple, intense drama with a great Bette Davis, 3 December 2001
Author: luigina.ciolfi from Limerick, Ireland

The plot of "The Catered Affair" is extremely simple, and the action develops all around the plans for the wedding. It's the actors that make this little movie truly remarkable. Bette Davis is just great as Agnes, the mother who wants her daughter to have a grand wedding even if, doing this, compromises the family's finances and her husband's dream of buying his own cab. She is just amazing in portraying a simple and strong woman who ran the family through tough times and got used to a marriage of sacrifices and hard work. Her dreams, hopes and aspirations are all coming back in the occasion of her daughter's wedding. No matter what the rest of the family really want. Ernest Borgnine is as good in the role of Tom, Agnes' husband and father of the bride, especially in the scenes in which faces his wife. A simple, intense drama with excellent actors.

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