This film, like Days of Wine and Roses, was originally a made for TV movie. This original starred Rod Steiger and was an amazing film. The Hollywood remake starred Ernest Borgnine (who received the Oscar for Best Actor) and was a little better than the original, as Borgnine played the role of Marty a little more subtly and was a bit more believable.

The movie concerns a nice but not particularly handsome middle-aged bachelor who works in a butcher shop. He's lonely and has just about given up on ever finding a wife. Despite this, his mother tells him he is handsome and will find a girl. Marty, though, is much more realistic and their scenes together are heart rending and well done.

Later, he meets a nice but not particularly attractive lady but his best friend doesn't particularly like her and he tells Marty he can certainly do better. This occurs about mid-way through the movie. What happens from here in this Paddy Chayefski movie I will leave to you to discover.

Friendly neighborhood butcher Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine) is 34 and close to accepting his permanent bachelorhood. He lives with his mother Teresa. She agrees to take in her sister Catherine after Catherine's son Thomas and his wife Virginia beg for some peace and quiet. They tell Teresa about a dance. She browbeats Marty to attend where he rescues mousy Clara Snyder (Betsy Blair) from a blind date with a jerk.

I assumed this to be a simple two person play with Marty and his mother grinding each other down. It's not that at all. The mother and her sister have a real powerful side story. Marty and his date alternate between super cute and super poignant. It's an emotional powerhouse. There are so many layers in Paddy Chayefsky's script. There are so many great cross-currents of emotions and needs. It won four Oscars in the major categories and nominated in four more. If I have any suggestion, I would end the movie with Clara getting the call. All in all, this is a wonderful movie.

On the surface, 'Marty' appears to be a simple love story about a butcher and a school-teacher, but there are many more layers to this film, which manages to be simultaneously funny & deeply moving without ever getting corny.

There's so much about this film that stands the test of time half a century later. It's no wonder it won so many awards that year (including 4 Oscars.) In her autobiography, Betsy Blair mentions that 'Marty' was the high point of her career; it made her a movie star overnight and she was never again in anything as important (though I thought her performance in 'A Delicate Balance' with Katherine Hepburn years later was even better.) She won the BAFTA for her role here, as did Ernest Borgnine, who deservedly swept every award that year for his role as Marty, including the Oscar and the Golden Globe. Borgnine is flawless in his performance & lovable from the very first scene. Esther Monciotti as his mother also delivers a standout performance. Some of the funniest and most memorable lines in the film belong to her and her on-screen sister. The rest of the supporting cast are also great to watch. The frank dialogue and the humanity of the characters make this a film you want to watch more than once.