Marty story
Marty is a 1955 American romantic drama film directed by Delbert Mann in his directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay, which was broadcast on The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse and starred Rod Steiger in the title role.
20 total · 2 choice · 11 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with romantic rejection | choice | At the center of the story is Marty Piletti and his attempts to find a wife despite being rejected time after time. |
| romantic love | choice | The story turns on the two lonely hearts Marty Piletti and Clara Snyder hitting it off and then falling head over heels in love. |
| beauty is in the eye of the beholder | major | Marty and Clara each thought the other reasonably attractive, no matter what others said. To that point, Marty said to Clara: "So you see, you're not such a dog as you think you are". |
| career choice | major | Marty wrestled with whether to risk taking out a loan to buy his boss' butcher shop. Though Marty thought he could make a go of it, he was wary that the increasing presence of large grocery store chains in the neighborhood might ultimately drive him out of business. Clara was torn over whether to accept an offer to be a department head the high school where she was teaching chemistry. She was reluctant to accept the position because she liked being in the classroom. |
| Catholicism | major | The Catholic church was woven into the fabric of the Italian American neighborhood in which the story is set. For example, attending Sunday mass was a way of life and Catholic teaching set an expectation for getting married. |
| coping with aging | major | Marty was an aging bachelor with seemingly little prospect of finding someone to settle down with. Marty's mother Mrs. Piletti and aunt, Catherine, lamented that "these were the worst years" because their husbands were gone and their sons increasingly didn't need them. |
| falling out of friendship | major | Marty's buddy Angie became grumpy at Marty when Marty showed interest in spending time with Clara. |
| living up to expectations | major | Marty was a middle aged man who was living at him with his mother. The social pressure he was under to find a wife was the source of much anxiety for Marty, and it caused him to nearly break down into tears at one point. |
| loneliness | major | The story turns on the two lonely hearts Marty and Clara hitting it off and then falling in love. Clara confided in Marty that she was "afraid of being lonely". Teresa characterized her sister, Catherine, as "a lonely old lady" who nobody wanted around. |
| mother and son | major | Marty and his mother, Mrs. Teresa Piletti, were central characters. A conflict arose between them when Teresa took a dislike to Marty's new love interest, Clara, and tried to get him to stop seeing her. Thomas regretted forcing his abrasive mother, Catherine, to move in with her sister. |