'Marty' reminds me of the film 'The Catered Affair', which would come out the following year, and also star Ernest Borgnine. Both are quiet and understated, and highlight loneliness and disillusionment in very real ways. In 'Marty', Borgnine is a 34 year old unmarried butcher who still lives with his mother (Esther Minciotti). While she's part of the chorus around him which is critical of him still being single, which includes his customers and friends, they all have a part in trying to keep him that way when he meets a nice young woman (Betsy Blair). Borgnine is clearly a gentleman and a nice guy, but shows his frustration and angst in a couple of nice scenes. The film is especially touching in its moments of honesty, the most memorable for me being Blair explaining to Borgnine in the simplest, most authentic way, why she shied away from kissing him. There is such purity and grace in her character and performance. For anyone who has been lonely or wondered about ever finding someone, the film will likely strike a chord. It's simple on the surface but I liked it for its nuances. Director Delbert Mann and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky show us some of the destructive ways men behave towards women - looking at girlie magazines, reading unrealistic accounts of women's behavior in pulp fiction, and looking for 'sure things' on nights of revelry. It also shows us the tension between wanting to support one's parents in their old age by having them live under the same roof, but just how big of a strain that might be. Minicotti's performance as the mother is excellent, and we see how she understands this issue when it relates to her sister's situation, but then has difficulty applying it to her own. Lastly, the film has some nice street scenes, which underscore its realism. I don't see the film as worthy of four Oscars and four other nominations, it just doesn't seem to be in that category, but if you're looking for a quiet, touching film, this is a good one.

Marty is a great movie and the main reason for that is the great performances given by the two stars, Betsy something (I can't remember sorry) and Ernest Borgnine who I've always been a fan of, who apparently won an Oscar for this which I never knew about. It's good to know he won an Academy Award for this because like I said I've always been a fan of that actor because he always played good characters and just seemed like a really nice guy, but also because in this movie, which I have never even heard of before, he gives just a really fantastic performance as Marty.Marty (Borgnine) is a butcher and one of several children (the only one still living at home) of his Italian mother who worries a lot about him and wants him to find love/a wife. He has all but given up on that and thinks he is too over the hill to hope to find a woman (he's in his 30s) but he relents to her pressure and goes to a dance where he meets a woman who might have similar reservations and also fears.Great story, very honest, and really great performances. Can't recommend this one highly enough.

Despite having only the most basic of story-lines, this is a nicely-crafted movie with a worthwhile story. The story goes beyond the surface of gloss and superficial beauty to the heart beating underneath. The film stars an admittedly unattractive person, and deals with his feelings of loneliness and insecurity. The story also shows that it is just one person you need, to peek at the good heart you carry. That's when the world goes upside down for Marty. We see Marty as he appears on the surface, then Mr. Borgnine peels away layer after layer, like an onion, revealing the real Marty deep inside. He calls himself "a fat, ugly man" but he has the most beautiful heart in the world. The supporting cast is first rate, especially Betsy Blair as the plain-jane Clara Snyder. The film explores so many issues, how people can ruin another person's happiness, how ideas and perceptions can change everything in a person's life. I cannot imagine this film being made today. Whenever they try to make films about "plain people" they end up trying to make Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino look plain. It just doesn't work. This is a film of beauty, heart and soul.

When my girlfriend asks me what I want to do I have a habit of saying, "I don't know Marty, what do you want to do." So I figured she should see the movie.It is, as she discovered, a wonderful film. It's small movie with an elegantly constructed script that focuses on the romance between two very un-glamorous, very nice people. You could tell the whole plot in a couple of sentences, but the film is wide and deep with its characters and nuances. It's both funny and touching, with wonderful performances throughout. It is a hopeful movie, but one that recognizes the difficulties of life (although yes, it does resolve things a little too simply). It is a movie everyone should see.