Movie · 1955 · Drama, Romance · 1h 30m · NR · English
Curator score: 9.0/10 (30.4K ratings)
It's the love story of an unsung hero!
Overview
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. Marty meets Clara, an unattractive school teacher, realising their emotional connection, he promises to call but family and friends try to convince him not to.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.0/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 82
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Delbert Mann
Production
Hecht-Lancaster Productions
Cast
Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli, Joe Mantell, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, James Bell, John Beradino, Charles Cane, Paddy Chayefsky, John Dennis, Walter Kelley, Doris Kemper, John Milford, Silvio Minciotti, Robin Morse, Kathleen Mulqueen, George Nardelli, Jerry Orbach
Curator Review
Verdict
A tender, unusually humane romance about loneliness, self-worth, and the courage to be loved. Its plainspoken dialogue and Bronx neighborhood texture give it a warm, lived-in sincerity that still feels fresh.
Best for
viewers who like small-scale character dramas
fans of earnest romance with working-class realism
people drawn to mid-century New York stories
audiences who appreciate emotionally honest, low-key films
Skip if
you want fast pacing or big plot twists
you prefer glossy romance over everyday realism
you’re allergic to talky, domestic, stage-like drama
Overview
Marty is one of those rare studio-era films that feels intimate instead of polished. It watches ordinary people with patience and affection, finding comedy in their bluntness and pain in their loneliness. The result is a romance that feels less like a fantasy than a recognition of how hard it can be to let someone care about you.
Worth noting
Ernest Borgnine gives the film its beating heart, playing Marty as shy, wounded, and deeply decent without sanding off his awkwardness. Betsy Blair brings quiet warmth and vulnerability, and the film treats their connection with real respect. What lingers is not just the love story, but the ache of a man learning he is not as unlovable as everyone has made him feel.
Bottom line
Even now, the movie’s emotional directness stands out. It’s modest in scale, but that modesty is the point: it turns a simple night out into a small act of liberation. If you like character-driven dramas that trust performance and feeling over spectacle, this is essential viewing.
Top Letterboxd reviews
mandijo (5★) · 1271 likes
Marty: "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. 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."
I love this sweet, simple movie. 💘
Madison 🎭 (4★) · 948 likes
marty said sorry guys i respect women i gtg
Sam (4.5★) · 926 likes
I love movies where the filmmakers aren’t trying to impress the viewer but rather engage the viewer and make them feel that they are at the same level as the movie. What I mean is that Marty perfectly exemplifies human interaction and relationships in a very realistic way, so much so that over 60 years later I can still relate to it. If I were to describe it in one word it would be human. Ernest Borgnine plays the character… more I love movies where the filmmakers aren’t trying to impress the viewer but rather engage the viewer and make them feel that they are at the same level as the movie. What I mean is that Marty perfectly exemplifies human interaction and relationships in a very realistic way, so much so that over 60 years later I can still relate to it. If I were to describe it in one word it would be human. Ernest Borgnine plays the character… more
Double_Dubs (4★) · 655 likes
The hell is this. Experiencing Marty is to watch overly-talky old-school Hollywood screwball kitsch occasionally hijacked by Ingmar Bergman. It's Saturday Night Fever sans the dancing and music, with the existential torment cranked up to 11. A film portraying old Italian widows yapping about chicken in heavy accents shouldn't also feature a chubby Ernest Borgnine sharing depressing thoughts of suicide. A cast with wise-crackin' New Yorker youths in suits shouldn't also sport a female lead whose performance and demeanor are… more The hell is this. Experiencing Marty is to watch overly-talky old-school Hollywood screwball kitsch occasionally hijacked by Ingmar Bergman. It's Saturday Night Fever sans the dancing and music, with the existential torment cranked up to 11. A film portraying old Italian widows yapping about chicken in heavy accents shouldn't also feature a chubby Ernest Borgnine sharing depressing thoughts of suicide. A cast with wise-crackin' New Yorker youths in suits shouldn't also sport a female lead whose performance and demeanor are… more
DaOConnman (3.5★) · 538 likes
Damn, if you were fat and ugly in the 1950s, everyone just said it right to your face. No wonder everyone was an alcoholic back then.