"What you feel like doin' tonight?"

Hollywood always liked to remake films. Mostly from other countries – but now and then they would and will remake a television play – and the film I am going to talk about today once “was” such a television play. It’s pretty easy today – have a picture hint:

Once upon a time...

… playwright Paddy Chayefsky and director Delbert Mann were rehearsing in a hotel for THE RELUCTANT CITIZEN when Chayefsky spotted a sign and thought he was able to write a story from this. The sign said:

"Girls, dance with the man who asks you.
Remember, men have feelings, too."

So Chayefsky wrote a teleplay - which was aired in 1953 with Rod Steiger in the leading role and Nancy Marchand as his leading lady.

In 1955 - after some meanderings - Chayefsky as associate producer and Delbert Mann as director made a big screen film of it filmed in Samuel Goldwyn Studios, West Hollywood, California and at the Bronx, New York City, New York.

It would gain some Academy Awards - including the award for Best Picture. It also won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival - which made it the only other film to receive both awards besides THE LOST WEEKEND (1945).

Isn't it funny that today's film is also taking place on a single weekend?

You might already guessed it - I am rambling about:

MARTY (1955)

~ I love the look Ernest Borgnine delivers on this Italian poster.. ~

Here we have the US posters - one telling you just in the beginning what to think of it:

Here is a similar one - showing you what Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Danny Kaye, Charlton Heston and Jane Russell thought of it (seems like with this "cast" everyone has at least one to "listen to", huh? - sorry for not being able to post a bigger version of this poster..)

Another poster is showing Marty's problem:

- and here we have my absolute favourite poster for this film:

In a nutshell:

Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine) is a big-hearted not too handsome 34 year old bachelor who works as a butcher and lives with his mother Theresa (Esther Minciotti). Everyone keeps picking on him that he should get married – like all his younger siblings did.

~ Marty and his mother ~

Theresa’s sister Catharina (Augusta Ciolli) is living with her son Thomas (Jerry Paris), his wife Virginia (Karen Steele) and their new born baby in a small apartment and – well, they don’t go along very good. So decision is made: Catharina is going to live with Marty and Theresa in their big house.

Then Marty meets a girl: 29 year old Clara Snyder (Betsy Blair) – a kind of mousy teacher – living with her parents – and just dumped by a complete jerk ~ just saying.. ~ at the ballroom – because he met a girl he finds more attractive..

~ Knight without shining amour - and a damsel in distress. ~

Clara isn’t the kind of female Marty’s friends find attractive enough to spent time with – and Catharina keeps telling her sister that Marty soon won’t need her anymore..

~ Marty with friends on a lazy Sunday eve:

Angie (Joe Mantell) & Ralph (Frank Sutton) ~

So Marty has to make a decision: Is he going to do what everyone wants him to do – or will he see the girl again, who he likes and who likes him?

~ one of Hollywood's most likeable on-screen couples..~

Watch out for…

• … Paddy Chayefsky as Leo – he is sitting in the back of the car, when Marty is asked to leave Clara for ...well.. let me call it “a night of fun with three not so shy girls/nurses..” ... You’ll get the picture..
  Paddy Chayefsky is the one delievering the wonderful line:

"This guy is a nice guy - this guy."

~ honest - don't you just love that? ~

• ... Joe Mantell as Angie - because he is really funny.. ;") - well, most of Marty's friends are.. in some ways..

~ Marty and Angie - not really about to take the town.. ~

• … Jerry Orbach - I was told that this film was his debut – he was one of the guests in the ballroom scene – actually I wasn’t yet able to spot him there - but I noticed that in there are mostly parties of two women and one man sitting at the tables..
  
  
• … Joi Lansing as cover model on the magazine Marty’s friends are studying.

Schmooze:

• First US film to be shown in USSR after WWII.
  
  
• Apparently only film in film history which's advertising cost more than the production of it.
  
  
• The film was produced by Burt Lancaster and Harold Hecht – there are rumors that they supposed to lose some money – as a tax-write-off.. ~ ..naughty, Mr. Lancaster.. ~
  
  
• Betsy Blair was at that time Mrs. Gene Kelly.

• Ernest Borgnine performed before with Burt Lancaster (who does not appear in MARTY - besides the trailer..) in FROM HERE TO ENTERNITY (1953) and VERA CRUZ (1954).
  
  
• Joe Mantell, Augusta Ciolli and Esther Minciotti also appeared in the TV production of Marty two years before.
  


• There were some objections against casting Ernest Borgnine as Marty because before this he mostly appeared as the bad guy.
  
  
• Ernest Borgnine (who surprisingly looks a lot like Marty.. ahem..) was atually 5times married - though his 3rd marriage to Ethel Merman only lasted a few hours..


• Rod Steiger declares that he rejected the part of Marty in this film because he would have had to work for years for Lancaster and Hecht – while Lancaster and Hecht were afraid that no one would pay money to see Rod Steiger doing the same part in cinema the audience saw before for free on TV...
  
  We’ll never know – but I for one am sure it was a good idea to cast Ernest Borgnine..

The winning team:

• This film won Academy Awards

  for
  Best Picture,
  Best Actor (Ernest Borgnine),
  Best Director (Delbert Mann)
  and Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay (Paddy Chayesfsky)
  
  – it was also nominated for

  Best Supporting Actor (Joe Mantell),
  Best Supporting Actress (Betsy Blair),
  Best Art-Direction-Set Decoration, B/W
  and Best Cinematography B/W.
  
  

• Delbert Mann was the first director to win the Academy Award for Best Director with his debut film.

Never-ending story:

• In 1971 MARTY was remade for Italian television with Renzo Palmer as Marty.

You should watch this film if you…

… are or were single.. ;"p

… love your mother or have a tough time with her.

… are a wallflower.

… are/were the most popular person on the flirting grounds.

… like your cast “not too much looking like Hollywood” for a change.

… always had a soft spot for shy female teachers and leading men with a space width..

You’ll learn that…

… “Micky Spillane sure can write.”

… “the stardust ballroom is loaded with tomatoes.”

… “those college girls are all one step from the street.”

Let's face the music:

The song MARTY was written by Harry Warren - the lyrics are by Paddy Chayefsky. You can hear it during the opening credits and sung in the end of the film - it is also played when Marty and Clara dance together for the first time.

Quotes corner:

“What are you gonna do if Marty gets married?”

I think this is not only a film about Marty and Clara and their generation and how they have trouble to find mates - it is also a film about another generation: The mothers.
The elder women who all their live worked for their children and suddenly have to face the fact that their children don't need them as much as before anymore. Women who learn that they seem to be always in the way of their children and their spouses like aunt Catharina. Women who notice that though they just want their children to be happy hurt them like Theresa hurts Marty.

But it's not Theresa who says this lines which are the red thread of this movie:

“Marty, you oughta be ashamed of yourself. When you’ll get married?”

Have a look:

~ here he is - Burt Lancaster - not appearing in the film.. ..but in the trailer.. ~

This film is about people who are afraid. Afraid of being hurt, left alone or just not being like they are supposed to be. I think most people can relate to that.
It really, really touches me – and when Marty gets the mitten by the girl he calls in the beginning – who apparently tells him that she hasn’t got time for him (– and won’t ever have..) I am each and every time getting teary-eyed. Ernest Borgnine is just sitting there with closed eyes – and I for one almost can feel the pain Marty is having.

Or later when he tells his mother that it doesn’t make any sense to go out for him because he was “fat and ugly”.. Oh boy! That man breaks my sweet little heart.

Look at it here:

Or when Clara gets dumped in the ballroom scene – luckily things like that never happened to me - which means I don’t really know how one feels in such a situation.

Nevertheless I think it’s disgusting to pay any guy "five bucks" who then is going to take care of your date. This is real bad manners – and I beg you to never hurt anyone like that. Of course it’s different when your date is a complete jerk… ;”p

~ Delbert Mann, Ernest Borgnine & Betsy Blair working with the script. ~

The scene in which Marty tries to kiss Clara against her will makes me feel a bit uncomfortable – like always when someone of the involved people isn’t feeling comfortable with the situation. And what gives me some not so nice thoughts is Marty's mentioning that he wouldn’t try anything serious with his mother coming back any minute – leads to the conclusion that he would when it wasn’t on behalf of his mother?? Oh, Marty...

I love that there is a girl turning to the camera waving when Clara and Marty a strolling down the street at night.. ;”) And though Marty obviously owns cigarettes I can’t remember a scene in which he actually smokes.

What I find most interesting about Betsy Blair is that she almost every time has kind of a gleam on her face – which could be due to perfect lighting or her very fair eyes.

I really love this film - and it's characters. It is one of my alltime favourites - and I also happen to adore the dialogues - I think they are partly remarkably funny.

This picture is for my friend Monty:

~ Grace Kelly presenting the Academy Award to Ernest Borgnine. ~

And at last - the picture which I really adore and which makes us all ask ourself:

~ Wouldn't you just love to have a partner with this mien? ;") ~

Thank you all for listening!

Yours (very well and) truly,

Irene - with a soft spot for wallflowers..

"Haben Sie eine Tattoo on your Glockenspiel?"

(Don't panic! - it's just the German film poster.. ;"p )

Based on 1929 Hungarian one-act play EGY, KETTÖ, HÁROM by Ferenc Molnár (1878 -1952) – who just by the way wrote several plays which later were adapted to the screen - Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond wrote the script of the famous cold war comedy which Billy Wilder directed and which targets them all: Americans, Germans, Russians, Communists, (Ex-) Nazis and capitalists: ONE, TWO, THREE (1961).

Today it’s exactly 50 years the Berlin Wall was build on August 13, 1961 so.. ..what better “excuse” is there to watch and talk about this film??

In a nutshell:

C.R. MacNamara (James Cagney), Top manager of the German Coca Cola branch in West-Berlin, is ordered to babysit his boss Wendell P. Hazeltine’s (Howard St. John) daughter Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin).

Scarlett secretly marries Otto Ludwig Piffl (Horst Buchholz), who lives in East-Berlin and is a convinced communist. But now Hazeltine and his wife Melanie (Lois Bolton) are up to visit West-Berlin – and their daughter of course. So MacNamara has to get rid of Otto...

Simple: just let him get arrested by the GDR police!!

But - to top it all: Scarlett is preggers.. Now Otto has to return..

"It’s not Anti-America. It’s Anti-Yankees.”

Watch out for:

• Frederick Hollander who conducts a band which is playing “YES WE HAVE NO BANANAS” (sung in German) in “Grand Hotel Potemkin”, which was actually just the ruin of Anhalter train station in Berlin- Kreuzberg.
  
  

Come across:

As almost always it’s more fun to watch Billy Wilder films when you know some classics – so you will get some of the “targets”:

• Red Buttons as the MP guy does kind of a James Cagney's gangster character impression from Cagney's 1930s flicks..


• James Cagney (5' 6½" (1.69 m)) is referring to fellow gangster performer Edward G. Robinson with the famous quote from THE LITTLE CESAR (1931): “Mother of mercy – is this the end of little Rico?” - well, ok - in THE LITTLE CESAR Edward G. Robinson (5' 5" (1.65 m)) somehow skipped that "little" part.. ;") ~ just for my own pleasure: yay! Edward G. and I have the same height!! yay!!! .. ahem.. ok.. where was I? oh, yes - I know.. ~
  
  
• Cagney refers to his own character Tom Powers from THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) when he pretends to push a grapefruit into Otto’s face.

• The three Russian commissars Peripetchikoff (Leon Askin), Borodenko (Ralf Wolter) and Mishkin (Peter Capell) are a reference to NINOTCHKA (1939) to which Billy Wilder co-wrote the script..
  
  

• “I wish I were in hell with my back broken.” is also used by Humphrey Bogart’s character Linus Larrabee in SABRINA (1954) - as is known also written and directed by Billy Wilder.

• Mrs. Hazeltine’s (Lois Bolton) first name is Melanie and her daughter’s (Pamela Tiffin) is Scarlett – hm, where have I heard these names before.. And they come from Atlanta.. Gee.. that sounds mighty familiar.. I must have Rhett it somewhere.. ... Well, somehow it's GONE WITH THE WIND I fear.. ;")

Schmooze:

• James Cagney paused from appearing in films for 20 years after ONE, TWO, THREE.
  
  
• The Pepsi references in final scene are due to Joan Crawford who was appointed to the board of directors of Pepsi-Cola and protested against using Coca Cola instead of Pepsi Cola for this film.
  
  
• The east German police man who confiscates the Coca Cola at the Brandenburg Gate when MacNamara (James Cagney), Schlemmer (Hanns Lothar) and Fräulein Ingeborg (Lilo Pulver) pass the Gate to get Otto back is Helmut Schmid. From 1961 to his death he was Lilo Pulver’s husband.


• The Coca Cola residence in Berlin-Lichterfelde (yes, the original building was used for this film..) was left in 1992 – it is still possible to visit it. It was also used in a German comedy movie about the German reunification: GOODBYE LENIN! (2003)

• Horst Buchholz was sometimes quite difficult to be with – not to the delight of the through and through professional James Cagney.. or like Cagney put it: "[I] was going to knock Buchholz on his ass, which at several points I would have been very happy to do." ...uhm.. nice..
  Some sources say it was also due to his troubles with Buchholz that Cagney decided to retire from film business..
  But actually - I think Billy Wilder - who was without question a genius - wasn't that easy to work with, too.. Appearently James Cagney had to do one scene about 30 times till Wilder was satisfied..
  
  
  

  (I imagine that Cagney's grip was slightly more firm as soon as that photo was taken..)

• The voice for Count von Droste Schattenburg (Hubert von Meyerinck) is delivered by Sig Ruman who was Col. Ehrhardt in TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942).
  The German voice of James Cagney in ONE, TWO, THREE is Werner Lieven, who – isn’t that just amazing?? – dubbed Sig Ruman in TO BE OR NOT TO BE.. yeah.. however..
  
  
• The film was shot from June to September 1961 in Berlin and Munich. The Brandenburg Gate was rebuilt in Bavaria Film Studios in Munich - due to the building of Berlin Wall the crew wasn’t allowed to film at the actual Brandenburg Gate in Berlin throughout the whole filming period.

A nodding acquaintance:

• You may know Horst Buchholz as Chico from THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) or from his appearance in FANNY (1961). He also appeared in Roberto Benigni’s LA VITA È BELLA (1997) (-> LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL).
  
  
• Leon Askin is probably best-known as Col. Burghalter from TV show HOGAN’S HEROES (1965-1971).
  
  
  
  
(Peter Capell, Leon Askin and Ralf Wolter as ONE.. TWO.. THREE russians..)

Murphy’s law:

• The sign saying: “Achtung! You’re now leaving West Berlin” was no actual sign used back then in Berlin – the signs there would have been in just one language - German, English, Russian or French – no mixed languages there..
  
  
  
• In the German version Schlemmer (Hanns Lothar) recognizes his "SS-Obersturmführer"(Til Kiwe) – in the original his superior is an „Oberleutnant“ which was actually a rank of the Wehrmacht - German army during WWII - but probably easier for the US audience to recognize than “Obersturmführer”, I guess.. (Not that I would have noticed in the first place.. - but back then the Germans would be a bit more aware of the military ranks of WWII, I think..)
  
  

Let’s face the music:

In this film you can hear:

• DIE INTERNATIONALE (= THE INTERNATIONALE) - anthem of socialists, communists, social-democrats and anarchists.. - well, you hear just the refrain - there is much more text than here delivered..
  
  
• SABRE DANCE by Aram Khachaturyan from GAYANEH
  
  
• ITSY BITSY TEENIE WEENIE YELLOW POLKA DOT BIKINI - I love that song - if you let me wait on telephone or something like that I usually start humming or crooning that song - once my sister who was talking to me at the phone then went away from the phone for a short period of time and left me waiting - my mother came in and found a singing phone..
  
  
• YANKEE DOODLE
  
  
• RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES by Richard Wagner from his opera THE VALKYRIE
  
  
• YES WE HAVE NO BANANAS (here sung in German: AUSGERECHNET BANANEN - which would be literally translated mean: "Bananas - of all things" ) – it seems like this is a Billy Wilder theme song: The same song is used in SABRINA (1954).
  
  

Oh.. those Germans:

ONE, TWO, THREE was no payoff in German cinemas in 1961 - I think it was simply to close to the actual events - not a good film for escapism..

For the German version there are some meanderings:

• The GDR police men who are arresting and interviewing (well actually torturing) Otto Piffl are speaking with a Saxonian accent in the German dubbing – they do not so in the original version.
  
  
• Doctor Bauer who reveals that Scarlett is pregnant but doesn't remember the word "pregnant" at first leaves the house singing "Schwanger is pregnant" to the RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES melody - in German he sings: "Schwanger ist prächtig - schwanger ist trächtig." which means (and I'll leave "schwanger" as it is - you now know that it means "pregnant", don't you??): "Schwanger is splendid - schwanger is heavy with young/ in calf." ...

What ever happened to ...

• John Allen - who played MacNamara's son Tommy? - He did several TV appearances and also appeared as porno picket in John Water's POLYESTER (1981) - I don't know if Christine Allen who played Tommy's sister is John Allen's real life sibling.. Apparently it was her only appearance in films...
  
  

Not sooo far away from Hollywood:

In this film participated some of my favourite German actors:

• e.g Hanns Lothar (Schlemmer), who – like me – is from Hannover. ~ yay for that – doesn’t happen that often that actors from Hollywood films are from the same area like me.. – so if you want to imagine my accent – it might be like his.. Well, without the military attitude.. ;”) ~ Hanns Lothar was an amazing actor - he was the younger brother of Günther Neutze and Horst Michael Neutze, who also were popular German actors. He died in 1967 at the age of 37 due to kidney failure.
  
  
• Then we have Liselotte “Lilo” Pulver who once was a member of the German SESAME STREET cast, which I loved back then very much.~ and now German followers know that I am over 20 years old… ;”) ~ Lilo is famous for her wonderful laughter:
  
  
  (her Fräulein Ingeborg is one of my alltime favourite film characters..– and: oh, I love to hear James Cagney call “Fräulein Ingeborg!!!” very nice.. )
  
  
• Ralf Wolter is playing Borodenko – the bold headed Russian– as a child I loved him just because of his squeaky voice – well, he was a popular comedian actor. It’s quite funny that when he speaks German in ONE, TWO, THREE to the GDR police men you can actually hear his slight Berlin accent.. ;”) I love that!
  
  
• And then we have my beloved Hubert “Hubsi” von Meyerinck (Count of Droste-Schattenburg) who is sadly dubbed – he dubs himself for the German version though.. His own voice is very distinctive: High pointed, arrogant and a bit “swishy”. He was very often casted as a General or anything else with a high military rank - most of them mean. Especially in postwar Germany when the military was more or less forbidden for Germany he was famous for his campy generals..
  He never made a mystery out of his homosexuality - even during the 3rd Reich - and he always supported endangered friends. - I am up to read his memoirs – a very witty, funny and a bit malicious man. I love him.
  
  
• And Karl Lieffen (Fritz the chauffeur) usually had minor parts in German films. In most of them he was a meanie – just because he was able to make his voice sound very, very sharp and malicious. Yes, I love him, too.. He is great.

• Horst “Hotte” Buchholz (Otto Ludwig Piffl) was called a kind of a German James Dean/Marlon Brando. He was the classic “angry young man” of German film back then. The information that he was bisexual made some fuss in Germany some years ago – some tough guys from the 1950s didn’t find it too amusing that their hero wasn’t just into girls...

Quotes corner:

“Haben Sie eine Tattoo on your Glockenspiel?”

uhm.. better don't ask that a girl you just met - really, I am only concerned about your safety, folks! - because this means - in case you don't know already: "Do you have a tattoo on your boobies?" .. though.. you will have kind of a conversation after this entrance line.. oh - just btw. it would be "ein Tattoo" - not "eine".. hey - when some Germans are going to smack you it shouldn't be for grammatical errors, should it? .. ;")

But there are some other good lines in this film (really - Billy Wilder films are full of quotes..):

"Put your pants on, Spartacus."

or

"It's old Russian proverb: Go West, young man."

Here is one of my favourite one-liners (though the dialogues are just great in this film, too.. like always..):

"You are back in the SS. Smaller Salary."

or the one that takes my breath away:

"The hell with Frank Sinatra!" - excuse me??!?!

There is just one more thing:

Some parts of this film are in German – are there subtitles in the US/UK (/wherever else)DVD release in this parts of the film? Or is it just left in German – with those of you who don’t speak German puzzling about what happens?

Like this scene here e.g. :

Thank you very much for listening,

yours (very well and) truly

Fräulein I...rene

Lunch at the usual time

A play by Terence Rattigan - usually perfomed in two one-act plays, in which the same actor performes the male main characters and the same actrice the female main characters - became a movie, directed by Delbert Mann which brought David Niven the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role with the shortest performance (16 minutes!) on screen that ever won this price: SEPARATE TABLES. (1958)

In a nutshell:

Serveral people are living in a little boarding house in England - some of them for years. Pat Cooper (Wendy Hiller), the landlady, has to find out that her secret fiancé John Malcolm (Burt Lancaster), still cares for his ex-wife (Rita Hayworth) and the longtime tennant Mrs. Railton-Bell (Gladys Cooper) discovers that Major Pollock (David Niven) - to whom her timid and prudish daughter Sybil (Deborah Kerr) is secretly attracted - is no Major at all and is pleaded guilty that he badgded women in a cinema. Now Mrs. Railton-Bell does everything in her power to evict him out.

Watch out for:

David Niven's and Deborah Kerr's performance! It's the cat's pjyamas!!

Schmooze:

• Wendy Hiller also received an Acadamy Award for her performance.
• Gladys Cooper was the most popular Pin Up Girl for the British in WWI. She and Cathleen Nesbitt (who played her friend in SEPARATE TABLES) both played the mother of Prof. Higgins (played by Rex Harrison) in MY FAIR LADY - Gladys Cooper in the movie version and Cathleen Nesbitt on Broadway.


• Though she was introduced with the phrase: "...not a day over 30" Rita Hayworth was actually 40 years old.


• The pool split Miss Meacham (May Hallat) does was cutted afterwards. It was actually her doing the split and no stand-in was used, though you are not able to see that now.


• The title song "Separate Tables" became a bestselling single for Vic Damone.


• Instead of Rita Hayworth Vivien Leigh was designated for the role of Ann Shankland, John Malcolm's ex-wife. She dropped out as her then husband Laurence Olivier didn't assume the direction of this picture.

My favourite feature:

I confess: In thisfilm I don't have an eye for anything but the ensemble.

Scene to see:

The conversation between the Major and Sybil after she learned, that he behaved in a way she can't put up with!

Window shopping:

I'd like to sneak a peek into that fashion magazine that Rita Hayworth pages through.

Quotes Corner:

"I have no couriosity about the working classes."

This film sure is talkative - it has to. After all: This is a play. And for that it may come off a bit tiring if you are not used to films like it.

It was pretty daring in the 1950ies because: It is all about sex and domination. You won't see anything and compared to todays TV-Crime Series as C.S.I. and the like. It seems not to be that dreadful that the Major nudged (!) a women in a cinema - nonetheless molestation starts in little things. Despite that he still engages my sympathie - and that is a bit confusing for me. But as he is pictured as a very VERY inhibited man I feel something like compassion.

And David Niven is incredible! Similarly is Deborah Kerr! You would not believe that this is the same woman that kisses Burt Lancaster in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY in that famous beach scene - she is so a mousy person in SEPARATE TABLES!

And I love Rod Taylor's facial expressions in this movie - his girlfriend (Audrey Dalton) is frequently trying to distract him from learning for his medical exam by seducing him..

Goodbye I'll go and watch another movie - or this one again? -

"Cherrie-bye"

And as a goody - Gladys Cooper, dream of oh so many soldiers in WWI: Enjoy it, boys! ;"p