Love Finds Marty

When the world was simple and innocent, it was the norm to find the person you love in your 20s and settle down before you reach 30. But Paddy Chayefsky wrote something that made everyone pondered about relationship.

"Marty", a television play, was shown on May 24, 1953. Rod Steiger was Marty Pilletti, a butcher from New York who don't have a date on a Saturday night. And he was in his 30s. He had bouts of loneliness. He needed love and self-validation. The teleplay was ahead of its time. This was set before technology made many of us having little time for human contact.

Chayefsky, who was born on January 29, 1953, penned a simple yet insightful screenplay. The chance (for love) would come unexpectedly. There was also an unwritten custom, where one must be married and have children before reaching middle age. There was no guarantee for happiness. In fact, this would be more relevant nowadays; not a few reports were about the growing number of single people. The new adage “40 is the new 30” could be a reflection of it. Social media don't provide any certainty.

Marty did find a girl and had a date with her. But it was an open ending. It was better than nothing.

As lovable as he could be

"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."

- Marty Pilletti

After its success at the Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, a full-length feature film would follow. Alas, Steiger couldn't reprised his role because he was filming "Oklahoma!". Ernest Borgnine, a talented actor who already had many films to his credit, was the next pick. He wasn't charming, a trait commong among leading men of the studio era. But he was perfect for the role of Marty Pilletti.

"I made the whole picture for $5,000 and the promise for a seven-year contract with Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, which cost me half a million to get out of it. It goes on and on you know. I would have done it for nothing," he said.

The film version, directed by Delbert Mann, won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Mann and Borgnine received the Oscar for Best Director and Best Actor respectively. (Borgnine also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama.) The actor, who was a prolific, versatile performer, was honored for a very simple film. In fact, "Marty" will be a small-budget picture if it's conceived today. An independent film company will produce it and Marty Pilletti will be played by an actor not on the A-list. Hollywood rather prefer the computer-generated special effects, which is sensible (from the producer's perspective). But "Marty" is a reminder that a good story is more than enough.