Marty (1955)

Nice effects though.

An Exercise In Nonsense

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

In the opening scene you see a woman from a lower-class New York neighborhood chiding Marty Piletti continually: "Whatsa matter with you? Whatsa matter with you? Whatsa matter with you?" This is the theme of the movie – why isn't Marty married? Why isn't he loved? Why doesn't he fit in with the rest of society? Marty's social scene is his group of male friends who also can't get dates but are full of excuses about it, but he mainly hangs with his best friend Angie. Marty is filled with a lot of self-doubt, and is socially awkward. In one scene, Marty gets up the courage to call Mary Feeney after Angie convinces Marty that she likes him. He stumbles over his words: "I wonder if you might recall me?" Needless to say Mary does not recall him, nor does she want to go on a date with him.You can almost physically feel Marty's pain as he strikes out in life. The lines are good, and Borgnine delivers them so that they hit your heart. "There comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta face some facts. And one fact that I gotta face is that whatever it is that women like, I haven't got!" In contrast, you see married couples having their own sets of problems, Marty's cousins Virginia and Tommy in particular, showing that the grass on the other side is not always greener. They have a new baby and Tommy's mother is interfering. To be fair, Tommy pushed his mom towards selling the house she had lived in for a lifetime and moving in with the new couple.Marty finally sees light at the end of the tunnel when he meets Claire, a sweetly attractive girl who is dumped by her obnoxious blind date for not being "hot" enough. Two social rejects coming together and falling in love is seemingly a stale concept, but the script is fantastic. As they are dancing, Marty gives some insight into his character: "You don't get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you get to be a real professor of pain." Marty's mother, who was so anxious for Marty to get a girl, changes her mind when her sister moves from Tommy's couch to her couch, warning her that someday she'll be abandoned too. Angie doesn't like Marty's new girl because he is jealous of the way she monopolizes Marty's time. Marty is again filled with self-doubt and does not show up for his date with Clara, until he finally gets smart and realizes that he wants to rise above it all and pursue happiness.There was one thread running through the movie that I thought was interesting. The characters say one thing and feel one way early on, then change their minds later. Marty's mother encourages him to get married, then later tries to break up his new relationship with his girlfriend. Marty's cousin Tommy encourages Marty to buy the butcher shop, then later tells him he is foolish. Tommy is in agreement with his wife that his mother should live elsewhere, then turns on Virginia when his mother starts to cry. There are other such "switches" that happen throughout.Oh, keep an eye out and you might catch a glimpse of Jerry Ohrbach as a barely out his teens extra out on the dance floor.

Marty is a butcher who lives in New York. He is a simple, plain man in his 30s. He is unmarried and it seems like he will be single forever. Then one day he meets Clara and they seem perfect for each other. However, his interfering aunt Catherine undermines the relationship. Marty, whose confidence is easily shaken, is soon doubting the relationship. Does it have a future? A sweet, feel-good movie. Simple but effective plot, engaging central character and solid direction. Solid performances with the only major negative being a few overly irritating characters. Does feel a bit dated in some respects, but the central theme is timeless.

Ernest Borgnine is probably most remember for playing opposite Tim Conway on "McHale's Navy." He has played many quirky characters, sometimes real villains. But his roots go back to this film, where he won an Academy Award. He plays a quiet, middle aged butcher who lives with his mother. When he's not working, he spends his time with a bunch of other guys. They are nice people, but they have little ambition. They are just marking time, with little in the offing. They talk and talk and talk. They have great moments of indecisiveness where they can't even figure out what to do. One night, Marty (Borgnine) is at a dance and talks to a rather homely girl who has been jilted by her blind date. They have a nice talk and he finds he likes her. His mother, of course, thinks little of her (the reason being that her "little boy" may want to leave her alone). Marty's friends get into the act, referring to her as a dog. He is getting pressured from all around. No spoilers. Just a recommendation that you watch this movie in some quiet time and watch a masterful, underplayed, human drama.

Almost beyond hope of ever finding love, a working-class Bronx butcher meets a young lady at a dance and they fall in love. That's it - it's that simple, but out of this simplicity is crafted a wonderful, real, moving film about you, me and the people we know. Borgnine, in the role of a lifetime, is superb and Blair is almost his equal. They're two lonely hearts desperate for someone in their lives. Their scenes together are so marvelous that they make us care. We WANT to see them find happiness. If that isn't great acting, I don't know what is. It is also a credit to Chayefsky's fabulous script. What a perfect little gem of a movie.