DailyView: Day 334, Movie 479

I am continuing the Oscar winning Best Picture films section of the DailyView in honor of the Academy Awards last night. Today, I watched the 1955 Best Picture winner, Marty, a romantic movie starring Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. It was the directorial debut of Delbert Mann in which he won an Oscar for Best Director.

Marty (Ernest Borgnine) was a lonely 34-year old butcher whose brothers had all gotten married and people were on his back about when he was going to get married. He lived at home with his Italian mother (Esther Minciotti) and tried to think of something to do with his friend Angie (Joe Mantell).

When they go out one night to a club, Marty meets up with a shy teacher Clara (Betsy Blair). Clara was plain looking and called a “dog” by many of the men at the club. However, Marty and Clara connected with their shared low-self images and spend the night talking and walking around the neighborhood.

Marty’s mother, afraid that Marty would toss her aside if he got married, told him she did not like Clara despite only meeting her for a few minutes, and Angie was jealous of the time Marty spent with her and told him she was a dog. With everyone in his life telling him to end this with Clara, Marty was unsure what he was supposed to do.

Ernest Borgnine was great in Marty as he brought a realism to the part. Marty was a character that you could relate to easily, with his doubts and his loneliness. Borgnine would win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in this film.

The story was simple and sweet, based solely on the connection between the two main characters. And I loved the way the ending of the film went.

Marty was a quick watch, only around 90 minutes, and it gives several true life performances of a couple of characters that you can’t help but root for. Marty was a wonderfully charming film.