Marty (1955)
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A socially awkward butcher struggles to balance his desire for marriage with the pressures of his family and friends.
The story
Marty Piletti is an Italian-American butcher living in The Bronx with his widowed mother. At 34 and unmarried, he faces constant pressure from his community to settle down, leading him to resign himself to bachelorhood. However, after being pressured by his mother to attend a ballroom, he meets Clara, a science teacher who has been abandoned by a blind date. The two spend the evening together, sharing their life stories and finding a connection. Despite his initial hesitation and the interference of his mother and friends, Marty finds himself drawn to Clara's company.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Marty Piletti, a socially awkward Italian-American butcher in The Bronx, is constantly pressured by his family and friends to marry. After a night at the Stardust Ballroom, he meets Clara, a science teacher who was stood up on a date. They bond over their life stories and spend the night together. However, Marty's mother is displeased by the encounter, and his Aunt Catherine, who has moved in, fears Marty will marry and cast her aside. Marty's friends also mock Clara's plainness and try to convince him to remain single with them. After failing to call Clara as planned due to his friends' badgering, Marty realizes he is giving up a woman who makes him happy. He eventually dashes to a phone booth to call her, confronting his friend Ange about his own lack of marriage before finally reaching Clara.
- First release year
- 1955
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Delbert Mann
- Writers
- Paddy Chayefsky · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ernest Borgnine · Marty Piletti; Betsy Blair · Clara Snyder; Esther Minciotti · Mrs. Teresa Piletti, Marty's mother; Augusta Ciolli · Aunt Catherine, Mrs. Piletti's sister; Joe Mantell · Ange, Marty's best friend; Karen Steele · Virginia, Aunt Catherine's daughter-in-law; Jerry Paris · Tommy, Aunt Catherine's son; Frank Sutton · Ralph (uncredited)
- Genres
- romantic drama
- Themes
- marriage; social pressure; loneliness; Italian-American culture
- Tone and mood
- low-key; character study
- Premise and plot tags
- romantic drama; social realism; character study
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1953 teleplay broadcast on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
- Reception
- The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and was a box-office success. It is recognized by the American Film Institute and was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 96% · review count: 77
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Actor · win; Academy Award · Best Picture · win; Palme d'Or · Cannes Film Festival · win
- Production trivia
- It is one of the shortest films ever to win Best Picture.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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