I mean ... just look at that poster. Something serious is going on there, right?
But when you read the Wikipedia plot description, it seems to soften up a bit:
Marty Piletti is an Italian-American butcher who lives in The Bronx with his mother. Unmarried at 34, the good-natured but socially awkward Marty faces constant badgering from family and friends to settle down, as they point out that all his brothers and sisters are already married, most of them with children. Not averse to marriage but disheartened by his lack of prospects, Marty has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood.
After being harassed by his mother into going to the Stardust Ballroom one Saturday night, Marty connects with Clara, a plain high school science teacher, who is weeping outside on the roof after being abandoned by her blind date....
The movie ends up being a simple, slice-of-life tale with an open-ended ending full of hope.
I can't believe it won the Best Picture Oscar, having gone up against Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Mister Roberts, and Picnic.
And look at the list of Best Actor nominees in addition to Mr. Borgnine!
- James Cagney
- James Dean
- Frank Sinatra
- Spencer Tracy
And yet, the man who would become a sitcom icon in McHale's Navy just 7 years later walked away with the trophy.
When you watch this little gem (and you should), look for Gomer Pyle, USMC's Sgt. Carter, The Dick Van Dyke Show's Jerry Helper, and the uncredited screen debut of Jerry Orbach (Law & Order and the voice of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast).
Climactic quote:
You don't like her, my mother don't like her, she's a dog and I'm a fat, ugly man! Well, all I know is I had a good time last night! I'm gonna have a good time tonight! If we have enough good times together, I'm gonna get down on my knees and I'm gonna beg that girl to marry me! If we make a party on New Year's, I got a date for that party. You don't like her? That's too bad!
5 stars!
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