Classic has given us so many brilliant dramas that were true to life and touching and real, and looking back at them shows what real quality is. Rod Steiger plays the role for the TV version that Ernest Borgnine would win the Oscar for, and he is equally as good, if different in his characterization. The life of this Italian American community, very close-knit but often interfering in each other's lives in a way that it is truly annoying shows how awful well-meaning people can be.
Poor Marty, the neighborhood butcher, is nagged by everybody as to why he is not married, and he doesn't stand up for himself and tell them to shut up. When his mother realizes that his getting married isn't such a great thing after all when she sees what's going on with other family members, she fears that she could lose a lot more than her son if she pushes him further to get married, and belittles his choice other lady friend on the very day they meet.
Ironically it's the future Livia soprano, Nancy Marchand, playing a non-italian girl whom Marty meets at the Waverly Dance hall, initially feeling sorry for her because she is dumped by a blind date, but finding that she is much more than just the dance hall dog. In fact, Marchand is quite lovely, and in her limited time in the teleplay makes the most of a small roll. They would expand the part for Betsy Blair in the movie, but there's a lot of hope at the conclusion when Marty finally stands up for what he wants rather than what people are nagging him to do.
Esther Minciotti and Joe Mantell would go on to repeat their roles in the movie that won best picture, playing Marty's mother and best friend respectively. Mama isn't really a bad person, but she has people whispering in her ear like hens clucking, and of course that poisons her brain. Even her own relatives are horrible, and she shows herself to be very vulnerable to the negativity around her. As for Martell, it takes a lot of courage for Marty to finally stand up to him, that it shows that men were just as guilty of being bad influences. It's true to life and real, touching and sad, a little humorous but more poignant. Both this and the movie are outstanding, and I couldn't pick one over the other to say which is better. They are both equally brilliant, especially since they have the same director, Delbert Mann.
Poor Marty, the neighborhood butcher, is nagged by everybody as to why he is not married, and he doesn't stand up for himself and tell them to shut up. When his mother realizes that his getting married isn't such a great thing after all when she sees what's going on with other family members, she fears that she could lose a lot more than her son if she pushes him further to get married, and belittles his choice other lady friend on the very day they meet.
Ironically it's the future Livia soprano, Nancy Marchand, playing a non-italian girl whom Marty meets at the Waverly Dance hall, initially feeling sorry for her because she is dumped by a blind date, but finding that she is much more than just the dance hall dog. In fact, Marchand is quite lovely, and in her limited time in the teleplay makes the most of a small roll. They would expand the part for Betsy Blair in the movie, but there's a lot of hope at the conclusion when Marty finally stands up for what he wants rather than what people are nagging him to do.
Esther Minciotti and Joe Mantell would go on to repeat their roles in the movie that won best picture, playing Marty's mother and best friend respectively. Mama isn't really a bad person, but she has people whispering in her ear like hens clucking, and of course that poisons her brain. Even her own relatives are horrible, and she shows herself to be very vulnerable to the negativity around her. As for Martell, it takes a lot of courage for Marty to finally stand up to him, that it shows that men were just as guilty of being bad influences. It's true to life and real, touching and sad, a little humorous but more poignant. Both this and the movie are outstanding, and I couldn't pick one over the other to say which is better. They are both equally brilliant, especially since they have the same director, Delbert Mann.