MARTY (1955) dir. Delbert Mann
Essayist Judith Smith explains in her discussion of Marty that its writer Paddy Chayefsky âmeant Martyâs love story to rebuke Hollywoodâs conception of glamour: âI didnât want my hero to be handsome, and I didnât want the girl to be pretty. I wanted to write a love story the way it would literally have happened to the kind of people I know.â
âHe also meant for Martyâs world of the ordinary to provide an alternative to drama that uncritically reproduced the privileges of wealth and power. âThese values are dominant in our way of life and need to be examined for what they are⊠[Marty] was a comment on the social values of our times⊠I am just now becoming aware of this area, this marvelous world of the ordinary.ââ
In a 2008 interview with Henry Colman and Jenni Matz, Ernest Borgnine recalled his audition for Marty before director Delbert Mann and Chayefsky. The three were in a motel room in Lone Pine, California, where Borgnine had been on location.
âAnd we got to the part where she says, âWhy donât you put on the blue suit or the grey suit and go downâthereâs a lot of tomatoesââyou know, and itâand I turn to her and I said, âMom, donât you understand? Iâm just an ugly, ugly man!â And IâI started to cry, because I was that much into it, you know? And they turned away, and I came back for my retortâsaid, âAlright, Iâll put on my blue suit,â but then I saw [Chayefsky] crying. And I looked at Delbert and he was crying. And inwardly I said, God, Iâve got the part! [boisterous laughter] It was the best performance of my life, that day, to try to prove to those two men that I could do it.â
Borgnineâs portrayal of Marty Piletti was unforgettable. The following year, he wouldâto his own bewildermentâreceive the Academy Award for Best Actor. Marty would also win additional Awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Director.