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Marty

Marty is a low-budget 1955 love story directed by Delbert Mann, starring Ernest Borgnine in the title role, and Betsy Blair as the female lead. Based on a teleplay of the same name by Paddy Chayefsky, the film differs from the teleplay in several respects: the part of Clara was fleshed out to a great extent; a subplot regarding Marty's mother and her sister has been added; and a subplot regarding Marty's career has been added.

A sleeper hit, the film enjoyed national and international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and becoming only the second American film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Marty and The Lost Weekend (1945) are the only two films to win both awards.

Plot

The film stars Ernest Borgnine as Marty Piletti, a heavy-set Italian-American butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother. Unmarried at 34, the good-natured but socially awkward man faces near constant badgering from family and friends to get married. Not averse to marriage but disheartened by lack of prospects, Marty has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood.

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 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!
— Marty

After being importuned by his mother into going to the Bronx's Stardust Ballroom one Saturday night, Marty connects with Clara—an unattractive school teacher who has just been nastily abandoned by her blind date. Spending the rest of the evening together, Clara and Marty realize they have an emotional connection, and Marty leaves with a promise to call her again the next day.

Realizing that Marty actually having marriage prospects might cause her to end up alone and abandoned, Marty's mother belittles Clara. Likewise, Marty's friends are unimpressed with her plainness, and try to convince Marty to forget about her. Finally harangued into submission, Marty doesn't call Clara.

Back in the same lonely rut, Marty realizes that he is giving up a chance at love with a wonderful woman. Over the objections of his friends, he impulsively dashes to a phone booth to give Clara a call.

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.
— Marty

Reception

At the Cannes Film Festival, the producers were initially taken aback when it was announced that the film won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm). After they had won, they decided to promote the film heavily for its general release. (The trailer has Burt Lancaster claiming the film was superb in every way.) The opinions of critics were overwhelmingly positive. Ronald Holloway of Variety Magazine felt it was an excellent film and said "If 'Marty' is an example of the type of material that can be gleaned, then studio story editors better spend more time at home looking at television. TIME felt the film was "Wonderful". Louella Parsons enjoyed the film however, she felt that it would not likely be nominated for Oscars. At a budget of $343,000 (USD) the film generated revenues of $3,000,000 in the USA alone, making it a box office smash. The film ended up receiving eight Academy Award nominations, with four major wins: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor, becoming one of two films to date to win both Best Picture and the Palme d'Or.

In 1994, Marty was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Awards and recognition

Academy Awards

Award:	Winner:
Academy Award for Best Picture	Harold Hecht, producer
Academy Award for Best Actor	Ernest Borgnine
Academy Award for Directing	Delbert Mann
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay	Paddy Chayefsky
Nomination:	Nominee:
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor	Joe Mantell
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress	Betsy Blair
Academy Award for Best Art Direction Set Decoration, Black-and-White	Ted Haworth Robert Priestley Walter M. Simonds
Academy Award for Best Cinematography Black-and-White	Joseph LaShelle

Cannes Film Festival

This film also won the 1955 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival. To date, Marty and The Lost Weekend (1945) are the only films ever to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d'Or.