The Bachelor Party (1957)

Five office friends meet up for a night on the town to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of one of them. As the night wears on and the drink starts to tell, they become more confidential ... See full summary »

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Paddy Chayefsky (screenplay), Paddy Chayefsky (story "The Bachelor Party")

Stars:

Don Murray, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Don Murray	...	Charlie Samson
E.G. Marshall	...	Walter
Jack Warden	...	Eddie Watkins
Philip Abbott	...	Arnold Craig
Larry Blyden	...	Kenneth
Patricia Smith	...	Helen Samson
Carolyn Jones	...	The Existentialist
Nancy Marchand	...	Mrs. Julie Samson

Storyline

Five office friends meet up for a night on the town to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of one of them. As the night wears on and the drink starts to tell, they become more confidential in expressing their concerns and hopes.

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Plot Keywords:

bachelor | pregnant | friend | pregnant wife | bachelor party | 

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Taglines:

Just say you love me...you don't have to mean it! You meet a girl on the street. First she laughs. Then she takes you to a party...and before you know it she's telling you how she hates to be alone at night. Yes it could only have happened the night of...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Despedida de Solteiro

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions, Norma Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Features Carolyn Jones's only Oscar nominated performance.

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Goofs

In the subway scene, the moving image through the window behind the actors is not synchronized with the images seen through the windows further down the train.

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Quotes

Charlie Samson: Life is nothing if you don't love somebody.

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Connections

Featured in Playboy: The Story of X (1998)

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Soundtracks

The Kentuckian Song
(uncredited)
from The Kentuckian (1955)
Written by Irving Gordon

User Reviews

Wow! A Must See!

Please don't think I'm exaggerating when I call this movie a "must see." Other reviews have called this film depressing. I agree, but for entirely different reasons. The depressing part comes in realizing that there seems to be no room for the sort of superb writing and spot-on flawless performances in a mature drama such as we have offered to us by THE BACHELOR PARTY.

The reason for the scarcity of wonderful films like this owes to the movie's origin as a TV-play, at a time when the young medium was still showing outstanding pieces written by writers like the author of this screenplay, Paddy Chayefsky.

I once read an interview with King Vidor, discussing his amazing 1928 classic, THE CROWD. He said that there were people that he didn't care for in his life, but that he didn't have any actual "villains." His goal was to make a movie that, like life, was free from external fiends and instead was peopled with characters that had some internal obstacles over which they must prevail. That's the sort of thing that Chayefsky so brilliantly captured in THE BACHELOR PARTY. Each character had some missing or broken part with which they struggled. Some seem to triumph over their problems. Some might eventually. Some, well, let's simply say they have a long road ahead.

It was great to see E.G. Marshall and Jack Warden together again after seeing them in another movie from the same year (1957) - 12 ANGRY MEN. It was wonderful to see Philip Abbot as the nervous groom. Folks of a certain age will mostly recall him from dozens of guest-star appearances on popular TV shows. I didn't realize that Larry Blyden, who I mostly remember from classic game shows like "Match Game," "What's My Line?" "Password" and "To Tell the Truth" was also such an accomplished actor. The lead, Don Murray, isn't as highly regarded today and what a pity that is. I can't recall a Don Murray performance that I didn't like. Check out BUS STOP (1956), A HAT FULL OF RAIN (1957), HOODLUM PRIEST (1961), BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL (1964) and THE BORGIA STICK (1967) to get an idea of what this remarkable performer is capable of doing. And finally, in small roles, it was fun to see a pre-"Addams Family" Carolyn Jones in a part that bagged her a Best Supporting Actress nomination and Nancy Marchand as a friend or the main character's wife. Many of you know her as the mother from hell to Tony Soprano.