Marty

A Best Picture Oscar for Marty? Oy!

There was a rumor going around years ago that producers Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster financed Marty as a tax-write off, because they believed the film would lose money. Why it didn't is beyond me.

The idea was good enough: two lonely, somewhat unattractive people come together and find love. But in execution, not so much. This is strange, since it was written by Paddy Chayefsky, who had certainly done better. And no one can say that Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair didn't deliver commendable performances. Yet, I sat waiting for Marty to get off the ground, which it never did for me. What did impress me though was the nagging mother. But I could go into my living room any time of the night or day to see that; I didn't need to listen to all that kvetching on the big screen too.

In spite of these on-screen annoyances, Marty managed to walk away with the following Academy Awards, in addition to Best Picture:

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Ernest Borgnine

Best Director: Delbert Mann

Best Writing, Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky

Marty was also nominated for the following awards, which it didn't win:

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Joe Mantell

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Betsy Blair

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: Ted Haworth, Walter M. Simonds, Robert Priestley

Best Cinematography, Black-and-White: Joseph LaShelle