Marty (1955)

I think that this movie will mean something more to viewers of Italian descent in North America as it comes mostly from that culture. The story is about a guy named Marty. He's working as a butcher and is living with his mother, as all good Italian boys do before they're married. He's also getting on in years, and this is causing everyone around him to pester him about getting a wife and starting a family. The problem is that Marty isn't very attractive. He's been trying to find a girl, but none will give him the time of day. Then one night his cousin and his cousin's wife come over to ask Marty's mother if she would be able to take her sister/ his mother (who was at the time living with her son) into her own house, because she and the wife are not getting along. Marty's mother of course says ok, and in return the cousin tells her about a dance hall where Marty can go to meet girls. She brings it up to Marty  who immediately refuses, but after a bit of an argument, Marty does as any good Italian boy does and listens to his mother. When he's there it's the same old story, all of the girls either refuse him or ignore him, until some guy comes up to him and offers 5 bucks to take home a 'dog' he's with. Marty is of course appalled that he would try to treat someone that way and refuses, but follows the situation and ends up talking to the girl after a guy he who does take the money still refuses to take her home because she's so ugly. Well they end up really hitting it off, and talking to each other till 2 or 3 in the morning, and he even takes her home for a spell and his mother meets her too. You'd think that this would be good news for Marty, since up until this point in the film everyone has been on his case to get a girl, and now he has one... but the opposite happens. His friends are upset with him because he wasn't with them last night, and want him to do nothing with them rather than call that 'ugly' girl and ditch them. His mother doesn't seem to like her either, sensing that maybe she won't have the same role to play in Marty's life if or when he gets serious about a girl. What will Marty choose to do?

This is an interesting look at the life of the Italian- American bachelor. With age, there comes a certain pressure, an expectation that a man must get married and start a family. However, there is also a contradicting expectation that a man will always put his mother first and of course his friends don't want to be left behind either. The story is cute. it's about two people who don't quite shine in their social spheres, finding happiness in each other. Neither of the two are actually as ugly as the movie suggests they are, but Marty is somewhat heavyset, and you probably wouldn't immediately pick out Clara from a crowded room. The main thing is that they've both felt rejection, and are both happy in the attention of the other. Not a fast-paced movie, but a worth-while watch.