Marty

A film review by Christopher Null - Copyright © 2004 Filmcritic.com

Marty is one of cinema's most famous nice guy losers -- and he's possibly the winningest one at the Oscars. Originally an hour-long TV movie, Marty was reimagined by writer Paddy Chayefsky as a feature film about his hero, a butcher (Ernest Borgnine) who still lives with his mother and can't find a woman to save his life. Eventually he finally finds a nice girl (Betsy Blair), but getting around society and the all-seeing eye of ma (Esther Minciotti) isn't so easy. Tragicomic and simple, Marty's celebrated status is rightly earned, but it may be a bit to naive and simplistic for today's hard-bitten audiences.

Rating

3.5 out of 5 Stars

  • Director: Delbert Mann
  • Producer: Harold Hecht
  • Screenwriter: Paddy Chayefsky
  • Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli, Joe Mantell
  • MPAA Rating: PG

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