{"id":5943,"date":"2008-10-13T13:15:37","date_gmt":"2008-10-13T20:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5943"},"modified":"2022-02-21T16:36:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T23:36:25","slug":"marty-1955","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5943","title":{"rendered":"Marty (1955)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Listen, Ange: I&#8217;ve been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life. I&#8217;m thirty-four years old &#8212; I&#8217;m just tired of looking, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Poster-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-59338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Poster-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Poster-182x270.jpg 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Poster.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA 34-year-old butcher (Ernest Borgnine) living with his mother (Esther Minciotti) meets a mousy schoolteacher (Betsy Blair) at a dance, and must decide whether she&#8217;s a &#8220;dog&#8221; like his best friend (Joe Mantell) insists, or a potential marriage partner.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Betsy Blair Films<\/li>\n<li>Character Studies<\/li>\n<li>Ernest Borgnine Films<\/li>\n<li>Grown Children<\/li>\n<li>Looking for Ms.\/Mr. Right<\/li>\n<li>Misfits<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary doesn&#8217;t appear to be a big fan of this Oscar-winning character study, which he refers to in his <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=2606\"><em>Alternate Oscars<\/em><\/a> as &#8220;disappointingly static and uninvolving&#8221;, merely a &#8220;relic of its time&#8221;. He points out that 1955 saw many other worthy &#8220;best film&#8221; contenders &#8212; including <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18704\"><em>The Night of the Hunter<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5513\"><em>Rebel Without a Cause<\/em><\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2837\"><em>Kiss Me Deadly<\/em><\/a> &#8212; and argues that &#8220;not many of us would answer that we want to watch <em>Marty<\/em>&#8221; when asked the film&#8217;s classic line, &#8220;What do you feel like doing tonight?&#8221; I wholeheartedly disagree. Despite its teleplay origins, <em>Marty<\/em> remains a well-acted, finely scripted film &#8212; and I find it difficult to believe that most viewers would find Marty&#8217;s travails &#8220;uninvolving&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>While the societal pressure to get married and have children may not be quite as strong today as it was in the 1950s, the urge to find one&#8217;s soulmate and build a life together is certainly just as relevant &#8212; and who among us can&#8217;t relate to feeling hopeless in romance at least once? If the film has a fault &#8212; and it&#8217;s a minor one &#8212; it may be in the casting of Betsy Blair (&#8220;Mrs. Gene Kelly&#8221;) as an unattractive &#8220;dog&#8221; of a woman; yet Blair transcends this limitation through her performance, managing to project &#8220;wallflower&#8221; simply through her posture and expression. She and Borgnine make a most appealing romantic couple, one we can&#8217;t help rooting for. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> <em>Marty<\/em> holds additional historical significance as the first film based directly on a television drama; Rod Steiger played the title character in the original production. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ernest Borgnine as Marty<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-1024x626.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"391\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-1024x626.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-1536x939.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine-441x270.png 441w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Borgnine.png 1653w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Betsy Blair as Clara<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-1024x642.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"401\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-1024x642.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-768x481.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-1536x963.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair-431x270.png 431w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Blair.png 1635w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Esther Minciotti as Marty&#8217;s mom<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-1024x643.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"402\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-1024x643.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-768x482.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-1536x964.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2-430x270.png 430w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Minciotti2.png 1633w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Paddy Chayefsky&#8217;s touching script<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-1024x634.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"396\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-59344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-1024x634.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-128x79.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-768x475.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-1536x951.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography-436x270.png 436w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Marty-Cinematography.png 1659w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See?<\/strong><br \/>\nYes; whether or not it&#8217;s a personal favorite, all film fanatics should see <em>Marty<\/em> at least once.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048356\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1955\/04\/12\/archives\/screen-a-butcher-in-love-in-the-bronx-marty-adapted-from-tv-stars.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/mart.html\">FilmSite.org Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/83011\/marty#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/72890\/marty.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Listen, Ange: I&#8217;ve been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life. I&#8217;m thirty-four years old &#8212; I&#8217;m just tired of looking, that&#8217;s all.&#8221; Synopsis: A 34-year-old butcher (Ernest Borgnine) living with his mother (Esther Minciotti) meets a mousy schoolteacher (Betsy Blair) at a dance, and must decide whether she&#8217;s a &#8220;dog&#8221; like his best friend (Joe Mantell) insists, or a potential marriage partner. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Betsy Blair Films Character Studies Ernest Borgnine Films Grown&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5943\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5943"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81532,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943\/revisions\/81532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}