MARTY (1955) dir. Delbert Mann Essayist Judith Smith explains in her discussion of Marty that its writer Paddy Chayefsky āmeant Martyās love story to rebuke Hollywoodās conception of glamour: āI didnāt want my hero to be handsome, and I didnāt 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.ā āHe also meant for Martyās world of the ordinary to provide an alternative to drama that uncritically reproduced the privileges of wealth and power. āThese values are dominant in our way of life and need to be examined for what they areā¦ [Marty] was a comment on the social values of our timesā¦ I am just now becoming aware of this area, this marvelous world of the ordinary.āā 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. āAnd we got to the part where she says, āWhy donāt you put on the blue suit or the grey suit and go downāthereās a lot of tomatoesāāyou know, and itāand I turn to her and I said, āMom, donāt you understand? Iām just an ugly, ugly man!ā And IāI started to cry, because I was that much into it, you know? And they turned away, and I came back for my retortāsaid, āAlright, Iāll put on my blue suit,ā but then I saw [Chayefsky] crying. And I looked at Delbert and he was crying. And inwardly I said, God, Iāve 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.ā Borgnineās portrayal of Marty Piletti was unforgettable. The following year, he wouldāto his own bewildermentāreceive the Academy Award for Best Actor. Marty would also win additional Awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Director.
