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The story
Marty, a butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother, is unmarried at 34. Good-natured but socially awkward, he faces constant badgering from family and friends to get married but has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood. He then meets Clara, an unattractive school teacher. Realising their emotional connection, Marty promises to call, but family and friends try to convince him not to.
What critics & audiences say
Tomatometer96%Fresh#17 of 98 winnersIMDb7.631K votes#63 of 98 winners
Metacritic82/ 100#56 of 93 winners
TMDB7.5/ 10
Famous lines
You see, dogs like us, we ain't such dogs as we think we are.
You don't get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.
Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man's life when he's gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain't got it.
Mrs. Pilletti: I say, why don't you go to the Stardust Ballroom? It's loaded with tomatoes.
Marty: It's loaded with what?
Mrs. Pilletti: Tomatoes.
Blue suit, gray suit, I'm just a fat, little man. A fat ugly man.
I've been looking for a girl every Saturday night of my life.
And you know what I'm gonna get for my trouble? Heartache. A big night of heartache.
Mrs. Pilletti: You're gonna die without a son.
Marty: So I'll die without a son.
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.
College girls are one step from the street, I tell you.
Quotes via Wikiquote
Fun facts
- Rod Steiger, who played Marty on television, turned down the film role after producers Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster demanded he sign a multiple-picture deal, opening the door for Ernest Borgnine.Wikipedia · Production
- According to Ernest Borgnine, Marty was meant to be partially completed and written off as a tax loss, but the tax man said they had to finish it and show it at least once first.Wikipedia · Production
- Marty received the first Palme d'Or ever awarded, and is one of only four films, with The Lost Weekend, Parasite and Anora, to win both Best Picture and the top prize at Cannes.Wikipedia · Awards and nominations
- Betsy Blair was blacklisted when she lobbied to play Clara. Her husband, Gene Kelly, reportedly threatened to withdraw from It's Always Fair Weather if she didn't get the part.Wikipedia · Production
- At 93 minutes, Marty is tied with Annie Hall as the shortest film ever to win Best Picture.Wikipedia · Awards and nominations
- Director Delbert Mann, making his directorial debut, shot the film in just sixteen days, plus three more for retakes.Wikipedia · Production
- Made on a budget of $343,000, Marty generated $3 million in U.S. revenues, making it a box-office success.Wikipedia · Reception
- Bronx native Jerry Orbach made his film debut as an uncredited ballroom patron, and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky has an uncredited cameo as Leo.Wikipedia · Production
- Variety's review said that if Marty showed what could be found on TV, "studio story editors better spend more time at home looking at television."Wikipedia · Reception
- Gossip columnist Louella Parsons enjoyed Marty but felt it would not likely be nominated for Oscars. It went on to win Best Picture.Wikipedia · Reception