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 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 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
