Marty (1955)

Marty (Ernest Borgnine), a middle aged butcher, has given up on finding love, but his mom convinces him to go to a dance hall. It seems that there are tomatoes there. A man there ditches a girl he came with to go off with another, and Marty feels bad for her. They hit it off but he is pressured to brush her off.

The good-natured Marty finds someone he might be happy with but she isn’t pretty enough for his friends, or Italian enough for Ma. Marty touches on loneliness, self worth, and independence. And does so in a very simple and heartwarming manner. We watch young men looking for something to do on a Saturday night that would have resonated with young men in the mid-50’s and the mid-80’s. Today, the same people would stay home, put headgear on, and play online games throughout the night, but that’s just the grumblings of an old man.

Borgnine, of Mermaid Man fame, was mainly a heavy to this point in his career, but the unexpected success of Marty would improve the quality of his roles. Of eight Academy Award nominations, it won four Oscars including best picture and best lead actor. Maybe this is because of the movie’s refreshingly positive tone, or maybe because the for your consideration budget was higher than the actual production budget. Whatever works.

TV’s Jack Klugman had an uncredited role and I was surprised to see Frank Sutton, whom people my age will remember as Sgt. Carter. Oscar winning screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky also got a cameo. I don’t know much about him but film nerds speak his name in hushed voices. Those people, am I right?

Marty is just a pleasant watch. It provides a nice look into a particular slice of life that doesn’t really exist anymore. I don’t know if it was actually the best film of 1955, but I haven’t seen much that was nominated. But then again, Night of the Hunter wasn’t nominated.

“See, dogs like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are.”