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Marty
(1955)
In director Delbert Mann's Best Picture-winning heart-warming
romance drama - it was a poignant and simple
character study, and a modest, black and white film in an era of
widescreen color epics; its critical acclaim and box-office success
were phenomenal. It was the second Best Picture Oscar-winning film
to also win the top prize (known as the Golden Palm (Palme d'Or))
at Cannes. [Note: It was a very different
role for the Oscar-winning Borgnine, compared to two other recent 1950s
roles as menacing, sadistic villains or murderous 'heavies' in From
Here to Eternity (1953) and Bad
Day at Black Rock (1955).]
The film's screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky transformed
his own original teleplay into a successful major motion picture
- and the modest film remains one of the best examples of the cinematization
of a television play. (The TV comedy-drama was originally presented
on NBC-TV's "Philco-Goodyear Playhouse" series in late
May of 1953, with leads Rod Steiger and Nancy Marchand, during a
period now recognized as the "Golden Age of Television.")
As a feature film, it was one of the biggest 'sleepers' in Hollywood
history, from the independent production company of Harold Hecht
and actor Burt Lancaster:
- the plot followed the despairing and lonely life
(over a 36 hour period) of 34 year-old Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine
in an Oscar-winning performance) - an ordinary, burly, heavy-set,
overweight Bronx butcher who still lived with his love-smothering,
widowed Italian Catholic mother Theresa Piletti (Esther Minciotti);
he was the last of six children (and the only unmarried bachelor
in the family), and although intellectually smart and a responsible
worker, he had always been unpopular romantically; he had aspirations
to purchase his boss's butcher shop
- Marty often had recurring
conversations when hanging out with his best friend Angie (Joe
Mantell) at Michael's Restaurant about their endlessly boring and
aimless plans for most evenings: Angie: "What
do you feel like doing tonight?" Marty: "I
don't know, Ange. What do you feel like doing?"
- Marty tried to set up
a phone date with a girl named 'Mary Feeney' that he had met a
month earlier, but quickly revealed how awkward, forgettable and
unappealing he had become: ("Oh,
hello there. Is this Mary Feeney? Hello, there. This is Marty Pilletti.
I-I wonder if you recall me. Well, I'm kind of a stocky guy. The
last time we met was in the RKO Chester. You was with a friend
of yours, and I-I was with a friend of mine, name of Angie. This
was about a month ago")
- when he realized that he was again receiving the
typical rejection and brush-off, Marty gave up: ("Why,
I know it's a little late to call for a date, but I didn't know myself
till - yeah, I know. Yeah, well, what about - well, how about next
Saturday night? Are - are you free next Saturday night? Well, what
about the Saturday after that? Yeah. Yeah, I know. Well, I mean,
I understand that. Yeah. Yeah")
- when Marty's overbearing mother kept goading, nagging
and pressuring him to get married, he frustratingly confessed to
her that he was an unwanted "fat ugly man" and didn't want to be
hurt and rejected again: ("Ma,
sooner or later, there comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta
face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is
that women like, I ain't got it. I chased after enough girls in my
life. I-I went to enough dances. I got hurt enough. I don't wanna get
hurt no more. I just called up a girl this afternoon, and I got a real
brush-off, boy! I figured I was past the point of being hurt, but that
hurt. Some stupid woman who I didn't even want to call up. She gave
me the brush. No, Ma, I don't wanna go to Stardust Ballroom because
all that ever happened to me there was girls made me feel like I
was a-a-a bug. I got feelings, you know. I-I had enough pain. No
thanks, Ma!...Blue suit, gray suit, I'm just a fat, little man. A
fat ugly man...Ma, leave me alone. Ma, whaddya want from me? Whaddya
want from me? I'm miserable enough as it is")
- at the end of the conversation after endless pressure,
Marty finally relented to his mother: ("All right, so I'll
go to the Stardust Ballroom. I'll put on a blue suit, and I'll
go. And you know what I'm gonna get for my trouble? Heartache.
A big night of heartache"), and agreed to
be resigned to dragging himself to the Stardust Ballroom on a Saturday night
- at the Stardust, Marty
happened to meet a kindred soul - another homely wallflower, a
29 year-old mousy Brooklyn high school chemistry teacher Clara Snyder
(Betsy Blair) who had just been abandoned by
her own blind date for being unattractive and boring; their relationship
slowly developed during the evening beginning with a dance they
shared together
- Marty experienced empathic reactions to like-minded
Clara, including admitting that he also cried all the time about
being rejected as a "dog": ("I
cry a lot too. I'm a big crier...I cry all the time. Any little
thing. All my brothers, my brothers-in-law - they're - they're
always telling 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 get to be a - a real professor of pain. I know exactly how
you feel. And I also want you to know that I'm having a very good
time with you right now and really enjoyin' myself. You see, you're
not such a dog as you think you are")
- and then Marty repeated his assertions about her
when he referred to his own repeated rejections and ugliness: ("You
see, dogs like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are")
Dancing With Clara at the Stardust Ballroom: "Dogs
like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are"
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Leaving the Stardust Ballroom Together
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Marty's Late Night Conversation at Luncheonette
With Clara About His Butchering Profession
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Clara's Rejection of Marty's Good-night Kiss in His Home
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A Gentle Kiss and a Hug
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Marty and Clara Speaking to Marty's Mother
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- after leaving the dance hall and going to a luncheonette
for coffee, the two engaged in very realistic and honest conversation;
each confided and excitedly spoke about their life's hopes and
dreams, especially Marty's plans to purchase the butcher shop where
he worked; Clara also explained how she was afraid of moving out
of her parents' home to become independent and take a different
position outside of Brooklyn in Port Chester (NY)
- in one of the film's most painful sequences, Clara
rejected Marty's impulsive good-night kiss attempt when they briefly
stopped at his home, and he responded curtly to her: ("All
right, all right, I'll take ya home. All I wanted was a lousy kiss"),
but then she smoothed his feelings by admitting that she liked
him after sharing so much together, but had her own insecurities
about how to handle a kiss: ("I'd
like to see you again - very much. The reason I didn't let you
kiss me was because I just didn't know how to handle the situation.
You're the kindest man I ever met. The reason I tell you this is
because I want to see you again - very much. I know that when you
take me home I'm just going to lie on my bed and think about you.
I want very much to see you again"); but then as they prepared
to leave the house, they gently kissed and hugged
- they were interrupted by the arrival of Marty's
mother, who instantly wanted to engage them in conversation, and
became worried about Marty's date - Clara was the first girl that
he had brought home in a long time - and she was concerned about
the impact of losing her influence over her son; Mrs. Piletti lamented
being left alone, like her sister, with nothing to do but wait
for death; Clara upset Mrs. Piletti by giving her opinion about
parents living with their children: "Well, I don't think a mother
should depend so much upon her children for her rewards in life"
- later, in front of her house as he said goodnight
to Clara, Marty promised to call her to confirm a date for the
following evening
- in the touching film's concluding sequence on Sunday
at about 8 pm, Marty was able to overcome the oppressive fears
of his mother about being abandoned, and biased misgivings expressed
by Angie and other friends and relatives; at first, he had postponed
calling Clara in the afternoon - who was sitting at home with her
parents watching TV and awaiting his call, sensing that her phone
might never ring
- ultimately, Marty put aside his doubts about his
changing life, peer pressures to not date Clara, and cruel critiques
of Clara as a "dog"; he courageously
and defiantly defended his love for Clara to his friends during
another boring and tedious Sunday afternoon and evening at home
and at Michael's Restaurant; he hinted that he might soon be asking
Clara to get married, and having a date with her on New Years:
("Miserable and lonely and stupid! What am I, crazy or something? I got somethin'
good here. What am I hangin' around with you guys for?...You
don't like her. My mother don't like her. She's a dog. And I'm a
fat, ugly man. Well, all I know is I had a good time last night.
I'm gonna have a good time tonight. If we have enough good times
together, I'm gonna get down on my knees. I'm gonna beg that girl
to marry me. If we make a party on New Year's, I got a date for that
party. You don't like her? That's too bad")
- at the restaurant, the determined Marty decided to
make his promised phone call (in a phone booth) to Clara to plan
a movie date so that they could get together again; after dialing,
he turned to Angie and asserted: "Hey Ange, when are you gonna get
married? You oughta be ashamed of yourself. You're thirty-three years
old and your kid brothers are married. You oughta be ashamed of yourself"
- Marty (and Clara) chose
to be liberated and triumphant over their respective limitations;
he shut the booth's door on his friend Angie as the film ended and
he began to speak to Clara: ("Hello...Hello, Clara?")
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34 Year-Old Butcher Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine)
Marty With Best Friend Angie (Joe Mantell): "What
do you feel like doing tonight?"
Marty's Mother Theresa Piletti (Esther Minciotti)
Marty Phoning Mary Feeney For a Date And Receiving a Brush-Off
Marty Telling His Mother Mrs. Piletti
About Problems With Dating - "A
big night of heartache"
Clara Snyder (Betsy Blair)
Marty Comforting Clara After She Was Dumped by Her Blind Date
On Sunday Afternoon, Marty Had to Endure Criticisms From
His Friends About His Date With Clara
Clara Sadly Awaiting Marty's Delayed Phone Call Sunday Evening
Marty's Sudden Realization: "What am I hangin' around with you guys for?"
Ending Sequence - Marty's Return Phone Booth Call: "Hello...Hello
Clara?"
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