"Marty" with Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair (1954)

Long before "McHale's Navy", or "SpongeBob SquarePants", Ernest Borgnine was the Oscar Winning Actor who starred in the Oscar Award Winning Film "Marty", in which he plays an unmarried butcher in New York during the 1950's. The play, written by Paddy Chayefsky, who also did the screenplay, was the first of two films which Mr. Borgnine did with the legendary playwright. The other was "The Catered Affair", in 1956 with Bette Davis and Debbie Reynolds. If you have never seen either of these two films, then you have never really seen Ernest Borgnine act.

Both of these films were made on location in New York; in the Bronx, and Manhattan. The film has the gritty feel of the 1950's as Marty, played by Ernest Borgnine, struggles to find peace with himself. He is 35 years old, unmarried, and lives at home with his widowed Italian mother, Mrs. Piletti, played by Esther Minciotti. They are very content with their lot in life, he works in the butcher shop, and she stays home caring for her only unmarried child. But beneath this idyllic facade there is discontent. Mrs. Piletti wonders why her son is always alone, hanging around the house, or out with friends. His younger brothers are all married and the pressure is mounting upon Marty to do the same.

Marty's friends are not much help. Misery likes company and they are all unwilling to let Marty walk away from their mutual meaningless existence; that would only underscore their own short comings.

At home, Marty faces another dilemma; his Aunt Catherine, played by Augusta Ciolli, is living with her son and daughter in law, with little success. Aunt Catherine is hyper-critical of her daughter in law and there is much friction. Since, as Mrs. Piletti observes, "Two women can't share one kitchen", Aunt Catherine moves in with Marty and his mother. Soon, Aunt Catherine has infected her sister with the worry of what will become of her should Marty ever meet a woman and marry. Will she be left alone? Or worse, will she be cast out, as her sister has been? All of this serves to further conflict the affable Marty as he struggles with his loneliness.

When circumstances place Carla, a shy and average looking woman, played by Betsy Blair, in his path, Marty is ecstatic. He has always felt that he was one of those people destined to never find love. Carla, who has had her share of disappointments as well, is equally happy to have met Marty, hoping that things will progress further.

But first, Marty must try to sort out his conflicted feelings. On the one hand, he doesn't want to be alone forever; but on the other, he is guilt ridden over the thought of leaving his mother alone. And on top of that there is always the fear of rejection on the part of Carla.

Will Marty break free of his friends grip? Does he have what it takes to take a chance on love? The answers to those questions lie in this wonderful play by Paddy Chayefsky. Filmed in, and around New York City in the 1950's, the film captures the feel of the city in all of its black and white glory. As I said before, if you have never seen this film, then you have never really seen Mr. Borgnine act. Oh, and did I forget to mention that I'm a big fan?


To read a review of Mr. Borgnine's autobiography, go to;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/04/ernie-autobiography-by-ernest-borgnine.html

"Ernie" - Worth Waiting For

Some things are worth waiting for, and this is one of them. About 14 months ago I reviewed Ernest Borgnine's autobiography here and sent a copy of it to an obscure "snail mail" address in Beverly Hills. I usually send an e-mail copy, or link, to the person I have written about, but in Mr. Borgnine's case it was only posssible to Twitter him. I don't Twitter, finding it impossible to keep within the boundaries of characters, or words, allowed. I am what might be referred to as verbose. In other words, I talk a lot. And I write the same way, the comma being my best friend in that regard.

I did not expect to hear anything back from Mr. Borgnine, and had filed the whole thing in the back of my mind. And that's a very remote place. Ideas that go into that area are often never heard from again. So when the above arrived back to me by snail mail, 14 months after the fact, I was, to say the least, surprised. And to put it another way, I was thrilled.

This is not just a note from Ernest Borgnine, this is a direct link to characters such as Marty from the film of the same name, or Fatso Judson of "From Here to Eternity", Tom Hurley from "The Catered Affair", and Dutch Engstrom from "The Wild Bunch." Most people will undoubtedly remember Mr. Borgnine for his role as the beleaguered skipper of "McHale's Navy", which ran for several years on television in the mid 1960's. But thanks to WOR-TV, and other stations that played older movies, I will always think of him as one, if not all, of the aforementioned characters.

Today's generation will also remember him for his voiceovers with Tim Conway in "Sponge Bob Squarepants." No matter, whatever genre you place him in over the 6 decades that he has been working in entertainment, he has excelled at all of them, including as an author with his autobiography "Ernie", which I reviewed here last year. And that's what made his reply so unexpected. And more than welcome. You can read the original review of that book here;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/04/ernie-autobiography-by-ernest-borgnine.html

"Ernie - the autobiography" by ernest borgnine

This may be one of the most unassuming and humble autobiographies you will ever read. If you're thinking of "McHale's Navy" in conjunction with this man, you need to rewind a little bit back to the days of "From Here To Eternity" and "The Catered Affair". And let's not forget Mr. Borgnines' Oscar winning performance in "Marty". This is no one dimensional actor. I say this, because Mr. Borgnine, like his pal Kirk Douglas, is still alive and well, with alot to say about things. As a matter of fact, as recently as 2008 he was still working with old pal Tim Conway doing voices for "SpongeBob SquarePants."

Born in Hamden, Conn. in 1917 to an Italian family, he soon found himself back in Italy, where his mother went after some domestic problems here in America. His early years there have colored his life in a very unique way. But true love never dies, and it wasn't long before Mr. Borgnines' mother returned to America, and her husband.

His parents struggled through the Depression with his Dad working various WPA/NRA jobs building roads and bridges. At home the family raised vegetables in the garden to supplement their food. The area was of mixed nationalities and he grew up with Polish, German, Italian, Irish and black freinds. As a member of the Boy Scouts he ended up only one badge short of becoming an Eagle Scout.

In 1935 he made a decision that would affect him for a long time. He joined the Navy in the middle of the Depression. He was sent to Newport, Rhode Island for boot camp. It was here that one of those strange coincidences in life occurred. He was selected to do a little boxing and knocked the other guy out. Blood was pouring from the man's mouth and ears. Mr. Borgnine never entered the ring again. Flash forward to the movie "From Here to Eternity" and the character played by Montgomery Clift. He plays a boxer who doesn't want to box anymore. Ernest Borgnine was the sadistic Fatso Judson who was hell bent on forcing him to box. Life imitates art - or is the other way around?

From bootcamp Mr. Borgnine went to sea on the USS Chaumont and through the Panama Canal to the West Coast and San Diego. It was in Balboa, Panama that he lost his virginity- kind of. He was so naive and inexperienced with the opposite sex that it is almost comical. And the way he is unafraid to laugh at himself is so refreshing and honest.

Eventually he was shipped to Hawaii, where he remained until 3 months before Pearl Harbor. Talk about timing! He describes a Japanese fellow who sold beer by the can on a corner in Honolulu. From that corner he made enough money to open a dance hall and brothel, just like the one in "From Here to Eternity", only the women were all Japanese. It is Mr. Borgnine's belief that this dance hall was probably the biggest windfall that the Japanese could have hoped for in gathering intelligence. From the loose lips of sailors the Japanese were able to piece together a picture of everything that came and went in Pearl Harbor. This information was all vital to the eventual surprise attack in December 1941.

Back home, he was called up again and served the entire war patrolling the docks of New York City on a private vessel that had been donated to the government. It was called the "Sylph" and stationed at 125th street on the Hudson River.

After the war ends he was discharged and went home. Clearly at loose ends, with no idea what to do, he remarks to his mother that "for 2 cents I'd go back in the Navy." She replied, "Son, have you ever thought of becoming an actor? You always like to make a damn fool of yourself, making people laugh. Why don't you give it a try?" And so he did.

Trying out his wings with the Yale School of Drama was not a good choice. They were more interested in academics than acting, so he left. Winding up in Hartford, he enrolled at the Randall School, where he finds himself launched into acting. He was 28 years old at the time.

His next move was to a stock company in Virginia. From there he went on to a false start in New York, where he was doing well, but didn't feel he had it quite right yet. So he returned to the stock company for more experience. While there his mother passed away and he returned to New Haven for her funeral. After returning to Virginia, to honor his committments, he moved on to Broadway. His description of Marlon Brando and his roommate Wally Cox riding a motorcycle through Manhattan will leave a lasting impression upon the reader. This is where he honed his acting experience. It is also where he landed his first movie role in "The Whistle at Eaton Falls." From there he bounced back and forth a bit until he finally hit his stride.

After 3 movies he was tapped to play the role that would make him famous. He was chosen to play opposite Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Donna Reed and Montgomery Clift in "From Here to Eternity." If you have never seen this movie, you should. Working with no special effects or makeup, he played one of the most vile characters in film history- the sadistic Fatso Judson. After bullying Montgomery Clift for refusing to box they square off in an alleyway where Montgomery Clift fatally stabs him. This is the film that put him on the road to stardom.

"Bad Day at Black Rock" and his menacing portrayal opposite a one armed Spencer Tracy is one of the most unforgettable movies you will ever see. Spencer Tracy plays a disabled Veteran returning from the war. He is stopping at Black Rock to present a medal to a Japanese man's son who died saving Spencer Tracy's life. What he uncovers there in the form of Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Robert Ryan is shocking. The brief fight scene, in which Spencer Tracy uses Judo to throw Mr. Borgnine through a door, is one of the shortest and best fight scenes ever filmed. It is also a movie that cements his freindship for life with fellow Veteran Lee Marvin.

For me though, the best part of the book are the recollections of filming of one of my favorite movies, "The Catered Affair" with Bette Davis, in which he played Debbie Reynolds father, a hard working man who wants to own a taxi. But his wife, Ms. Davis, wants the money they have saved to pay for the wedding of their daughter.It is, in my opinion, one of the most engaging roles he ever played. Authored by Paddy Chayefsky, the characters are deeply painted portraits of life and the dreams that come true, as well as the dreams that get shattered. But when all is said and done, the dreams that do come true are often the most important ones.

In this candid autobiography, Mr. Borgnine takes you on a film by film journey through his remarkable career. Along the way he manages to give you a few of his thoughts on the world today as well as the world of yesterday. He revels in the fact that three generations of people now know him for completely different things. The World war Two crowd knows him as Fatso Judson in "From Here to Eternity"; the post war "baby boomers" remember him as the affable "McHale" of "McHale's Navy"; and now a whole new generation has come to know him as "Mermaid Man", the voice on "Sponge Bob Squarepants" in which he plays opposite his old McHale's Navy buddy Tim Conway, who is also one of the voices on the show.

This is a remarkable self penned book by an actor who has done it all without losing sight of who he is. And that is no small feat in an industry of egos the size of the ship "Poseidon." Thanks Mr. Borgnine!