Marty

Delbert Mann
1955

Ernest Borgnine barrels about the screen as the titular lunk in this early marriage of teleplay writing and cinematic production. Regular Joe Marty is a simple butcher with a realistic streak. Resigned to bachelorhood after a youth's worth of painful rejections Marty politely brushes off his mother's pleas for "settling down with a nice girl," and his pal's skirt chasing schemes. Of course when Marty finally does snag a gal his friends dismiss her as a dog, and his mother fears being cast off if Marty marries. The blue-collar Brooklyn milieu gives the picture charm to burn with beer-swilling, ballgame-watching guys and little old Italian women butting into their grown childrens' business. Borgnine's ability to convey both Marty's vulnerability and effervescent boyishness is the kind of stuff that wins awards, so it's little surprise that this movie took it's fair share.