Marty

Marty, motion picture about a lonely middle-aged butcher who finds true love. Released in 1955, this was the first American film to win the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing. Ernest Borgnine earned an Academy Award for his performance as Marty, a stout bachelor who lives with his mother (played by Esther Minciotti) and spends most evenings with the same guys he’s known for years. It seems likely that Marty’s life will never change, but then he meets a schoolteacher (Betsy Blair) at a neighborhood dance. They start dating, and although Marty’s mother and his friends disapprove of the schoolteacher, their love prevails.

Director

• Delbert Mann

Cast

• Ernest Borgnine (Marty)
• Betsy Blair (Clara)
• Esther Minciotti (Mrs. Pilletti)
• Karen Steele (Virginia)
• Jerry Paris (Thomas)
• Frank Sutton (Ralph)
• Walter Kelley (The Kid)
• Robin Morse (Joe)
• Augusta Ciolli (Catherine)
• Joe Mantell (Angie)

Awards

• Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or (1955)
• Academy Award for Best Picture (1955)
• Academy Award for Best Actor (1955): Ernest Borgnine
• Academy Award for Best Director (1955): Delbert Mann
• Academy Award for Best Writing—Screenplay (1955): Paddy Chayefsky

Trivia

• Paddy Chayefsky originally wrote Marty for television, where it aired in 1953.

Quotes

• Marty (to his best friend): “Listen, Ange, I’ve been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life. I’m 34 years old. I’m just tired of looking. That’s all.”
• Marty (to his mother): “I’m just a fat, little man, a fat, ugly man!”