Starring Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair & Joe Mantell
Film
Marty (Borgnine) is an ‘old’ (34 years old) man without a wife. A butcher by trade but no family. In the 50s this was akin to a sin. What was wrong with the man? Couldn’t find a wife? Unheard of! He still lives with his devout (Catholic) mother, Theresa, (Esther Minciotti) in the Bronx. After being forced to attend a ball, lo’ and behold our Marty meets a shy but lovely school teacher, Clara (Blair) who is crying after being dumped by her date. Good ole Marty scoops her out of her misery and takes her for a night on the town. They share their deepest struggles including a surprising admission by Marty that, “I cry a lot too. I’m a big crier…I cry all the time.” Very unmanly for the time.
Meanwhile, Marty’s aunt Catherine is causing all kinds of chaos as she plays heavy-handed grandma to her son’s family. They have had it and begs Marty’s mum to take her in! Eventually she does and starts planting fear in Theresa’s heart about the possibilities of Marty leaving and her subsequent loneliness.
At the end of Clara and Marty’s night, he encourages her to cut ties with her family and embrace independence, something he himself hasn’t achieved. In the end his insecure mother tries to turn Marty against Clara for her own gain and temporarily succeeds. In the end he realises how manipulative and judgmental his friends and his family are and how lonely he is. He runs to Clara and then… the movie ends. Did she take him back or… NOT!? I think yes but that’s the romantic in me.
Review
This film is all about the role of mothers in families. When and how to cut that cord, the dramas and conflicts between mothers and sons, husbands and wives and the expectation of society on individuals. Loneliness drives these characters together, a bond that ultimately brings about what they have been searching for; love and companionship. Happy days.
Food
Poor Marty stuck at home with his mumma, an old bachelor when it wasn’t cool to be a bachelor. What could cheer this fellow up? Why some slow cooked beef of course. Slow cooking, in those days, meant popping the oven on for HOURS! We’re so lucky these days that we can not heat up the whole house but just pop on our slow cookers and be out and about, not a care in the world. So, if you’re up for a tasty meal to eat while watching this film, check out this Slow Cooker Shredded Beef recipe from Neighborhood Food Blog.
Note: Thanks to Courtney from Neighborhood Food Blog for permission to feature her stunning image and link to her hearty recipe.
Marty trivia
- Budget – $343,000 only! And grossed over $3 million. Top dollar!!
- This was the first American film to be screened in Moscow since World War II
- Director Delbert Mann was the first debut director to win Best Picture! Fluke or talent?
- Our Burt Lancaster co-produced the film reportedly believing it would be a good tax write-off, not a great film.
- Ernest Borgnine has Robert Aldrich to thank for his career after advising Delbert Mann to hire him.
- Marty & The Lost Weekend are the only 2 films to win the top gongs at the Cannes Festival and the Oscars.
- Some have said that this film is the most profitable of all time, take that Lancaster!
Film and food 
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