I was surprised about how awesome “The Golden Age of Television” Criterion Collection set was and how enjoyable “Marty” was. If you love nostalgia from the earlier years of American television, “The Golden Age of Television” is highly recommended!
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TITLE: Marty (as part of “The Golden Age of Television – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #495)
RELEASE OF FILM: 1953
DURATION: 92 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Black and white, 1:33:1, monaural
COMPANY: The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: November 24, 2009
Written by Paddy Chayefsky
Directed by Delbert Mann
Produced by Fred Coe
Associate Producer: Gordon Duff
Starring:
Rod Steiger
Nancy Marchand
Esther Minciotti
August Ciolli
Joe Mantell
The hugely popular live American television plays of the 1950s have become the stuff of legend. Combining elements of theater, radio, and filmmaking, they were produced at a moment when TV technology was growing more mobile and art was being made accessible to a newly suburban postwar demographic. These astonishingly choreographed, brilliantly acted, and socially progressive “teleplays†constituted an artistic high for the medium, bringing Broadway-quality drama to all of America. The award-winning programs included in this box set—originally curated for PBS in the early 1980s as the series The Golden Age of Television, featuring recollections from key cast and crew members—were conceived by such up-and-comers as Rod Serling and John Frankenheimer and star the likes of Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris, and Piper Laurie.
Marty
Renowned dramatist Paddy Chayefsky’s poignant and touching character study of a lonely, middle-aged butcher (Rod Steiger) looking for love helped usher in the naturalistic style of television drama in the 1950s. Marty, directed by Delbert Mann, remains an enduring classic of the age of live television.
Back in the 1950’s, many actors and actresses got their start on plays created for television.
These television plays combined elements of theater, radio and filmmaking and were produced on the spot as TV technology was still growing. But these shows were not re-aired and many collected dust as there was no intention to revive the earliest era of television.
But during the ’70s, executives discovered warehoused kinescopes of the live programs, films that were shot from the monitor and were not considered good enough for national rebroadcast.
To celebrate the release of the golden age of television, The Criterion Collection has released a DVD box set titled “The Golden Age of Television”, the 495th Criterion Collection DVD release which features kinescopes of live broadcasts of “Mary” (1953), “Patterns” (1955), “No Time for Sergeants” (1955), “A Wind from the South” (1955), “Bang the Drum Slowly” (1956), “Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1956), “The Comedian” (1957) and “Days of Wine and Roses” (1958).
Back in 1953, “Marty” was aired on Goodyear Television Playhouse” and was written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Delbert Mann. Although, Chayefsky has said the story of “Marty” is not based on him, those who knew Chayefsky felt that the storyline did reflect on the life of Chayefsky and that that we see part of him in the popular kinescope. Needless to say, “Marty” was well-liked that Chayefsky made a film adaptation and would eventually received four major Academy Awards for “Best Picture”, “Best Actor”, “Best Director” and “Best Writing”.
“Marty” revolves around a butcher named Marty (played by Rod Steiger), a man in his late ’30s who is constantly bombarded with questions of why he is not married. During the 1950’s, many found men who were not married as a burden and thus, many would tell Marty how its a shame that he isn’t married.
But the most pressure comes from Marty’s mother (played by Esther Minciotti) who really wants him to get married. Marty has tried to find a girlfriend, has tried to go to spots to find single women but to no avail. He has tried for so long that he thinks he is a fat, ugly man.
Meanwhile, his cousin and his wife are having problems at their home because his Aunt Catherine (played by Augusta Ciolli) lives with them and she is not getting along with her daughter-in-law Virginia (played by Betsy Palmer). Virginia and her husband want Aunt Catherine to leave their home and live with Marty’s mother and for Catherine, it’s a hard pill to swallow that its her house, she raised her son and took care of him and now he wants her gone because of his new wife and tells Marty’s mother that the same will happen to her.
While Marty goes to a dance club, a man tries to pay for him to spend time with “an ugly duckling”, a girl (played by Nancy Marchand)that came with the girl he is going for. As Marty observes the girl, he notices how guys are not going for her and she is sad of how she is treated by men. So, Marty… being the chivalrous guy that he is, lets her cry on his shoulder. Needless to say, the two hit it off as these two have had their issues of not finding anyone but yet they found each other.
So, it looks good that Marty may have finally found a girlfriend but now with his mother scared about what Catherine had told her and fears that Marty (if he gets married to this woman) may kick her out of the house, she’s not so thrilled that he has a girlfriend anymore.
Also, Marty may have found the only girl that cares for him but when his guy friends start teasing him that the girl that he was with is not so good looking, Marty must decide… will he continue to be with the girl that cares for him or do what his mother and his friends say and stay away from her?
VIDEO:
“Marty” and the other shows on “The Golden Age of Television” are presented in black and white (1:33:1 aspect ratio) and is presented in its original kinescope process. The shows were shot live and the video feed was displayed on a monitor which was photographed with a film camera using positive or reversal stock.
The Criterion Collection has information on the Kinescope process but for the overall look of “Marty”, the good news is that you can watch the presentation of these episodes easily but for those who are so used to Criterion’s remastering of their releases, this is one release where you are not going to see a lot of cleanup. There are dust and scratches that are apparent on the video and I have read others say the episodes are a port of the original LaserDisc release. I haven’t watched the LD release but I would assume that resolution wise, because it’s on DVD that the picture quality is much better than its LD counterpart.
Not too say that these episodes are as weak as public domain releases because they are not. They are definitely watchable, enjoyable series that are not clear and I doubt that we are going to see them any clearer because of the condition of the original prints.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Marty” is presented in monaural. Audio quality has its share of highs and lows as there are occasional dropoffs but for the most part, dialogue and music are easily heard but is not perfect but for its age and how they are filled, it’s good enough.
Subtitles are in English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Marty” (as part of “The Golden Age of Television – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #495) comes with the following special features:
- Introduction – (5:43) An introduction which introduced Marty for “The Golden Age of Television” back in 1981 on PBS by Eva Marie and features interview swith actors Rod Steiger, Nancy Marchand, Betsy Palmer and director Delbert Mann.
- Audio Commentary by Delbert Mann – An entertaining audio commentary by director Delbert Mann (note: This commentary was on the LaserDisc) who talks about how “Marty” came to be and how Paddy Chayefsky had the opportunity to write this episode. The success of the TV episode which led to the movie, the casting, performances and more.
EXTRAS:
“The Golden Age of Television” comes with a slipcase and inside is a digipack which comes with three DVD’s and a 38-page booklet featuring notes by Ron Simon for each of the shows featured in the set.
I have to admit that if there was one title released by the Criterion Collection that I kept going back and forth over, of whether or not to purchase, it would be “The Golden Age of Television”.
The primary reasons was that the release was not a movie, it was a little pricey for a Criterion Collection release and I have read many reviews of how the picture quality did not receive Criterion’s remastering or extensive cleanup.
I have been so used to watching films from the company and when it comes to classic television, I have many sets of older television shows from the ’50s (including the Barbara Stanwyck TV show DVD sets) but the biggest selling point was that these were not your average TV shows, these were plays that happen to be recorded live and shown live and it was utilizing theater and filmmaking but shown on a new medium at the time.
So, I decided that I should give “The Golden Age of Television” a try and put my trust that Criterion would offer an enjoyable release and as for the picture quality, I’m not going to complain as I have been so used to watching silent films with its share of degradation, so what if these kinescope’s have its share of degradation. It should be better than some public domain titles that I have seen in the past.
And the first skinescope TV play that I watched on this set was “Marty” and I was amazed. The acting was well-done and how they did this live, it was amazing that everything went very well, smoothly in just one take and the writing was well-done. And for many guys, I’m sure many have felt what “Marty” was experiencing. Of course, times have changed and not many people are advocating for one to get married right away but in the early ’50s, people wanted the dream family, children, the home with the white picket fence.
But after watching “Marty” and then rewatching it to listen to the audio commentary, I couldn’t help but be happy that I made the purchase for “The Golden Age of Television” and how these live television plays played a part in early television and pop culture.
Rod Steiger was absolutely wonderful in his performance as Marty.  His live performance of a man beaten down and has had enough of people telling him when he’s going to get married and looking at him as some sort of disease was heartbreaking but just watching him through the motions when he finds a woman, like himself, and eventually seeing himself happy but then to find out his mother and his friends are not so approving when he does find happiness.
Overall, “Marty” was very enjoyable and now I want to watch the movie adaptation based on the TV show written by Paddy Chayefsky. Definitely a wonderful inclusion to “The Golden Age of Television” from the Criterion Collection. If you enjoy classic Hollywood, especially early television, then definitely give “The Golden Age of Television” a chance. You won’t be disappointed!
(Note: The following review is for “Marty” and not “The Golden Age of Television” DVD box set).
