Marty (1955)

During the Golden Age of Television, Paddy Chayefsky wrote the teleplay Marty. It was notable for its focus on the ordinary life of an unmarried butcher.

Chayefsky then translated the script for the big screen with Ernest Borgnine as the star.

Thereafter Marty Pilletti became a cause célèbre for seizing happiness outside the accepted conventions of mid-1950s conformity and consensus.

Tagged “the love story of an unsung hero”, Marty thrilled audiences in its tale of a man who lives at home with his mother, the classic Italian matriarch.

Trolling singles spots with his best friend Angie (Joe Mantell), he meets homely young schoolteacher Clara (Betsy Blair) and they begin a ritual courtship. Angie quickly becomes jealous, Mrs Pilletti (Esther Minciotti) confounds matters with nightmares of abandonment, but Marty finally pursues Clara because he likes her.

Described thusly, Marty – filmed on location in the Bronx, New York – suggests a yawn fest. But as a portrait of the times, especially of postwar neuroses about domestic tranquillity, the film is rich with sociological value.

Marty Pilletti
Ernest Borgnine
Clara Snyder
Betsy Blair
Mrs Theresa Piletti
Esther Minciotti
Aunt Catherine
Augusta Ciolli
Angie
Joe Mantell
Virginia
Karen Steele
Tommy
Jerry Paris
Ralph
Frank Sutton
The Kid
Walter Kelley
Joe
Robin Morse

Director
Delbert Mann