Marty (1955)

An unmarried 34 year old Bronx butcher (Ernest Borgnine) is shy and uncomfortable around women. When he meets a schoolteacher (Betsy Blair) at a dance, he finds himself smitten with her and it's mutual. But his friends and family don't share his enthusiasm. Based on the 1953 television play by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Delbert Mann (SEPARATE TABLES). The sleeper hit of 1955, MARTY won both the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival and the Academy Award for best picture. In addition, the movie won Oscars for Borgnine (best actor), Mann (best director) and a supporting actress nomination for Blair. I'm not Chayefsky's biggest fan but I found this simple romantic drama quite touching overall. Chayefsky has a tendency to go overboard (NETWORK, THE HOSPITAL, THE GODDESS for example) in his writing, pushing it as if he feared we wouldn't get it. With MARTY, he lets the story unfold without nudging us (too much). And the performances are uniformly excellent. The only sore spot is the hideous song played over the end cast credits. With Karen Steele, Esther Minciotti, Joe Mantell and Jerry Paris.