Marty (1955)
93%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Scriptwriter Paddy Chayefsky’s solid dialogue is bolstered by strong performances from Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair in this appealingly low-key character study.
Marty is the kind of movie that makes you feel like you’re sitting in your favorite armchair, wrapped in a cozy blanket, and sipping on a warm cup of cocoa. It’s heartwarming, funny, and so relatable that you’ll forget you’re watching a movie. Ernest Borgnine’s performance is nothing short of amazing, and Paddy Chayefsky’s script captures the essence of human relationships in a way that’s both refreshing and poignant. If you’re looking for a feel-good movie that will leave you with a smile on your face, Marty is the perfect choice.
Production Company(ies)
Hecht-Lancaster Productions, Steven Productions,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
The Grand Councourse, The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1955
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 31m
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Language(s):English, German, Italian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 21, 1955 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 5, 2010
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli, Karen Steele, directed by Delbert Mann, written by Paddy Chayefsky, produced by Harold Hecht, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jean Yothers, Marjory Adams, Edwin Schallert, Myles Standish, Elston Brooks, Mae Tinee, Robert Bingham, Moira Walsh, Janet Graves, R.H Gardner, Jay Carmody, Frank Morriss, MPAA rating, romance, relationships, family, Bronx, ballroom, teacher, butcher, character study, slice of life, tender, human, appealing, low-key, solid dialogue, strong performances, heartening, honest, humorous, sensitivity, loneliness, disillusionment, toxic male entitlement, nuances, Academy Award winner, emotional roller coaster, joy, safe harbor, ugly people, Mickey Spillane, simplicity, realism
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Betsy Blair – Clara
Joe Mantell – Angie
Esther Minciotti – Mrs. Pilletti
Augusta Ciolli – Aunt Catherine
Karen Steele – Virginia
Director(s)
Delbert Mann
Writer(s)
Paddy Chayefsky, Paddy Chayefsky
Producer(s)
Harold Hecht
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (1)
Marty will give you a heartening slice of life, full of honesty and humor.
October 18, 2021
Jean Yothers
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Marty is one of those films that appear every few years or so — a picture so sensitively acted, so tenderly written, so human in its appeal, that it has the utmost distinction, no matter what kind of audience is in the theatre.
October 18, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The picture is the ideal homespun type of creation for this era.
October 18, 2021
Edwin Schallert
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
This slice of life is heartening becau.se of its humanity; utter honesty doesn’t have to be depressing.
October 18, 2021
Myles Standish
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
After viewing Marty at an advance screening, it seems rather useless to go on with this year’s Academy Award race. Who but Ernest Borgnine… could be the best actor of the year?
October 18, 2021
Elston Brooks
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
Paddy Chayefsky, who wrote the script, has captured the human element deftly. Here are human beings as they really are, refreshingly lifelike, piteously real, and often hilariously funny.
October 18, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Marty is a small but splendid sample of that richness and variety in American life which has been waiting all too long to be filmed and televised.
February 10, 2022
Robert Bingham
The Reporter
The wealth of observed detail about life in the Bronx (the film’s locale and also where it was made) conveys a vibrant and unmistakable ring of truth.
October 18, 2021
Moira Walsh
America Magazine
Wonderfully warm and funny and sympathetic.
October 18, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Janet Graves
Photoplay
Everything you’ve heard about Marty is true. It’s a fine movie. It establishes its author, Paddy Chayefsky… as one of the country’s foremost dramatic writers. And the performances by Ernest Borgnine [and Betsy Blair] are superb.
October 18, 2021
R.H. Gardner
Baltimore Sun
Under Delbert Mann’s direction, these familiar movie land marks burst suddenly into moving and unfamiliar life.
October 18, 2021
Jay Carmody
Washington Star
This little movie is a masterpiece which confines itself to the small world of the small man, and in doing so makes its real stature tower above most films.
October 18, 2021
Frank Morriss
Winnipeg Free Press…
Plot
Stuck as the last of six children at home with an overbearing Italian mother, the only child still unmarried, 34 year old socially awkward Bronx butcher Marty faces middle age with no prospects of marriage, and he faces permanent bachelorhood. But when he is goaded by his mother into going to the Stardust Ballroom one Saturday night, Marty unexpectedly meets Clara, a lonely teacher. Suddenly, Marty’s future seems bright.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ernest Borgnine won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Marty.
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