The Catered Affair (1956) User Reviews

To Live And Die And Get Married In The Bronx

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 25 April 2008]

Paddy Chayefsky wrote this second ode to the Bronx to follow up what he had received in acclaim from Marty. Though The Catered Affair did not win all the awards that Marty did, it certainly is a well done film with a lot of merit on its own.

The Jewish Chayefsky certainly was a good observer of the other cultures where he grew up. Marty was about an Italian butcher who starts to find romance late in his life. The Catered Affair is about a young Irish couple getting married and the effect a big wedding is having on the family finances and structure.

Ernest Borgnine switches quite easily from working class Bronx Italian to working class Bronx Irish. He barely makes enough to support a wife, two surviving children and a brother-in-law, Barry Fitzgerald who lives with them. One son was killed during World War II.

Bette Davis was at her most drab on the screen, but that's not to say she was not great. Richard Brooks put a tight rein on all her Betteisms and got a fabulous performance out of her as the Bronx housewife who wants to live vicariously through a big wedding for daughter Debbie Reynolds. It's been a hard life for her and the family and she wants a little glamor in it.

Rod Taylor and Debbie Reynolds are an appealing young couple and Robert F. Simon and Madge Kennedy do fine as Taylor's parents. The best part of A Catered Affair is Barry Fitzgerald and Dorothy Stickney as the woman who woos him away from free loading on his sister. Davis and Borgnine certainly had a challenge just to keep the whole picture from being stolen by Barry Fitzgerald in what was really his last great part.

A few people have compared The Catered Affair with Father of the Bride and the problems that upper middle class lawyer Spencer Tracy faces as compared to lower middle class cab driver Ernest Borgnine faces in giving their daughters an expensive wedding. It's that other Bronx family of the same era, the fabulous and illegally rich Corleones that beggars comparison. I look at that wedding scene that from The Godfather and the lavishness that was bestowed on Talia Shire's wedding and who wouldn't want a wedding like that. But I have a feeling that Reynolds and Taylor will make it last, a lot more than the much married Connie Corleone did.

I did so like looking at the Bronx in the Fifties where at least some establishing shots were done. The first time I was in the Bronx was for my first Yankee game. It's changed a lot now, but a place like Morris Park for the Italians and Woodlawn for the Irish still has the flavor of the areas where the Hurleys and Hallorans of The Catered Affair and the Pilettis from Marty lived and worked.

And if you like seeing the New York of your childhood, The Catered Affair is a film to enjoy.

very good acting all around

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 26 February 2006]

This movie has an okay plot--a guy wants to buy a cab license and his wife is insistent that they instead use the money on an over-priced wedding. But the movie is more than just a tissue-thin plot. Instead, the real story is that the acting and writing for the characters are so good that these all seem like real-life people--not like people acting. Ernest Borgnine--just coming off his success in MARTY, does a great job as the husband. Bette Davis is also exceptional as the mom. Debbie Reynolds could have been over-shadowed by these two fine actors but she manages to also come across quite well. The story is a bit simple and slow-moving and some may cringe at the painful family squabbling (though it never degenerates to outright cruelty--you know down deep they do care about each other). But, the acting pulls it all together.

An under-appreciated performance by Miss Bette Davis.

[cubertfilm-1 · 8/10 · 24 December 2004]

The Catered Affair is one of those films that is worthy of watching for the fine performances of the main cast (Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, and Barry Fitzgerald). With the success of Marty the year before at the Oscars, cast and crew felt that this production would also be acknowledged. Davis has always considered the 50's (the decade she was married to Gary Merrill) her dark years. The decade began strong with All About Eve, Payment on Demand, and The Star -- the first and third leading to Oscar nominations... but then a few mistakes were made on her part -- turning down Come Back, Little Sheba... and accepting Another Man's Poison. It wasn't until What Ever Happened to Baby Jane that audiences and critics renewed their interest in this fantabulous star. For Bette fans, this film is a MUST SEE. For others, it may not be more than a great film to watch late nights while falling asleep with the TV on.

Could be my relatives!

[sharkey197 · 9/10 · 13 May 2007]

In a world where weddings have gotten out of control, this film shines like a diamond. The people here are so real to me, they are so typical of the working class Irish of the time that I felt immediately close to them. Some has been made of the lack of communication between them, but these sort of people never talked about their feelings. Which is why the acting is outstanding, because they had to convey with a look or glance a whole range of emotions.

Bette Davis is brilliant and Ernest Borgnine is outstanding. Watching his horror as the cost of the wedding mounts up, I wanted to clutch my own checkbook. While the prices seem small to us today, back then, it was a lot of money for that class of people. Debby Reynolds is wonderful and I only regret she didn't go on to do more drama. She was completely at home in it.

I never fail to cry at the end. As two people who have lived together for years come to value each other and begin again. It's a wonderful message--hey, it's not the sort of wedding you have; it's what you bring to the marriage after the guests leave. In our age, we seem to have forgotten this.

Intense Drama Skillfully Acted

[builder6 · 25 November 2003]

This delightful production is full of life; a vignette which cuts deep to reveal the quiet despair, sullen defeat, and ultimate triumph of a marriage which had always looked back at its shameful beginning, but finally is freed to discover itself anew.

Davis' mastery of the Brooklyn tone and colloquialisms is uncanny. Her "Aggie" is real, and sympathetic, if not admirable. Her pain from the awakening knowledge of having only lived with, but not shared life with her daughter and husband touches us where it hurts. The fix of manipulating a "big" (but unaffordable) wedding for her daughter falls flat, forcing Aggie to grapple with the real issues of her life.

Her bachelor brother "Uncle Jack" (Barry Fitzgerald) is Aggie's counterpoint, full of Blarney, enjoying every moment to its fullest, as when he playfully informs delightful Mrs. Rafferty (his future bride) of her debt in their running game of Cannasta: $24,700.

Debbie Reynolds is lovely, earnest, in character and hard-hitting as Aggie's daughter Jane, sacrificing her own wishes, and torn between the conflicting needs of her mother and father.

Borgnine is the under-appreciated, self-sacrificing husband, giving up his long held dream of owning a taxicab if it would satisfy his wife, finally pleading his own case, and finding joy in his marriage.

A compelling story with excellent acting and staging.

Touching, nuanced

[luciferjohnson · 9/10 · 29 January 2005]

An unjustly neglected "kitchen sink" movie from the fifties, with fine performances by all and intriguing New York locations.

Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine portray the very much working-class parents of a young woman who is about to get married, and just wants a quick ceremony with no reception. But the mother, guilty about "not giving her daughter anything" over the years, pushes for an expensive "catered affair" that her husband cannot afford, and would use money he planned to devote to buying a taxicab license.

Davis' brassy performance has received the most attention, but Borgnine's subtle, nuanced portrayal of the father is what really sustains this movie. Barry Fitzgerald provides comic relief as a "oirish" uncle. Altogether a charming and touching film that is very much a slice of life of NYC in the fifties. Like the other Chayefsky scripts of this era, it explores themes that would have been unpalatable or mawkish for any other writer.

Introducing both the Father and Mother of the Bride....

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 5 November 2013]

This is definitely a film for adult eyes because when I first saw this many years ago, I did not appreciate the subject of the film's simple plot. Bette Davis, in a clipped Brooklyn accent, is the tired mother of pending bride to be (an understated and wonderful Debbie Reynolds) and Ernest Borgnine, in a poignant follow-up to "Marty", is the hard-working taxi driver father. The story surrounds the problems the bride's family has in deciding what kind of wedding the family will have. The bride and groom want a small wedding, while Davis has her eyes on a big wedding, especially after she has to break the news to her own brother (Barry Fitzgerald) that he isn't invited to the smaller one they initially planned. Borgnine, desperate to buy his own cab, hopes they'll agree to scale down the plans, but as the groom's family gets involved, it appears that this will never happen.

This is a sweet story of the middle-aged couple's seeming lack of love, but like Golde and Tevye of "Fiddler on the Roof", the obvious frustrations of two totally different people doesn't reflect the feelings which really lie underneath. Davis and Reynolds have a poignant scene where Davis apologizes after exploding with her demands and frustrations, and it is one of those larger-than-it-seems moments that rarely happens in films, so wonderfully underwritten by Paddy Chayevsky, the same writer who had earlier written the teleplay. It is apparent that he really understands all of these characters, and each of them are more alive than they were aware they were.

Davis also shines in a scene where, while shopping for groceries, she is bombarded by questions from nagging women acquaintances who make all sorts of insinuations. As for Fitzgerald as the somewhat boozy uncle (made to be gay in a recent sweet Broadway musical version), he gets a nice surprising moment of his own thanks to the presence of veteran stage actress Dorothy Stickney as his own lady friend. Like "Marty", this is a masterpiece of understatement and shows that in 1956, a big year for Cinemascope epics and musicals, that less could be more, and the big screen can be filled with big emotions on smaller scales.

The Catered Affair (1956) ***1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 9/10 · 27 November 2007]

Very good drama about a poor husband and wife (Ernest Borgnine and Bette Davis) who live in a cheap apartment in the Bronx and learn that their only daughter (Debbie Reynolds) is going to be getting married and wants only a very small wedding. Borgnine is all for going the cheap route, as he is a struggling cab driver who's recently trying to scrape together enough cash to buy his own cab and can't see the point in throwing away all his savings on one dinner for strangers; but Davis wants her girl to have a large affair, but mostly to make up for her own miserable wedding and lousy marriage. There are some powerfully charged emotional scenes, and both Davis and Borgnine are very good. Anyone who has ever prepared for a wedding will still be able to relate to much of the craziness that goes on. This is well directed by Richard Brooks, who keeps things moving nicely. Barry Fitzgerald is also a plus as Bette's older bachelor brother who lives in the apartment and might not even be invited to the wedding. ***1/2 out of ****

Warm family drama with some rich performances.

[Gideon24 · 7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Despite some dated plot elements and some performances that are a matter of personal taste, 1956's The Catered Affair is a warm and engaging family drama that, if caught in the right mood, can definitely tug at the heartstrings.

The story revolves around the Hurley family, who live in a cramped Brooklyn apartment. Daughter Jane (Debbie Reynolds) comes home one day and quietly announces to her parents Tom (Ernest Borgnine) and Agnes (Bette Davis), that she and her fiancée Ralph (Rod Taylor) are getting married in a week. Jane explains to her parents that they want a quiet simple ceremony with no frills and no reception. Tom has no problem with this since he has been saving his money to buy his own cab, but Mama Agnes is another story...Agnes' obsession with saving face because friends and neighbors suspect they can't afford a fancy wedding and Agnes' personal disappointment at her own no- frills wedding has her pressuring Jane into an elaborate wedding with all the trimmings that the family can't afford.

Gore Vidal's screenplay, based on a play by Paddy Chayefsky, provides believable characters and realistic situations that can arise from the story presented. The issues confronted in this film regarding wedding expenses are just as timely today as they were in 1956, though the prices have definitely changed. The film does come off like a photographed stage play, but a watchable one.

Ernest Borgnine is strong and sincere as Tom and despite a questionable Brooklyn accent, Bette Davis offers one of her most understated yet effective performances as Agnes...critics were sharply divided regarding her performance at the time of release, but I liked it...Davis keeps scenery chewing to a minimum and creates a character who we don't always sympathize with but we completely understand. Debbie Reynolds' performance as the pressured bride-to-be is surprisingly rich.

Director Richard Brooks creates a warm family atmosphere and pulls some very effective performances from his cast, including a fun turn from Barry Fitzgerald as Agnes' brother Jack. Classic film buffs should eat this one up.

Bette Davis' personal favorite -- One of her very best!

[mdm-11 · 9/10 · 5 October 2004]

Bette Davis plays loyal wife to hard-working NYC cabby Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine is very close to realizing his dream to actually own his own taxi cab, complete with special licence, at last being his own boss.

All would be well, if not their young daughter Debbie Reynolds had announced her sudden plans to marry blue-blood Rod Taylor. Davis, unphased by the limited financial means, is determined to "give" their daughter a big wedding. The figures to foot the bill reach astronomical proportions, making everyone but Davis nervous.

The not entirely predictable outcome is one of the most satisfying Hollywood movie endings ever. -- This film was Bette Davis' personal favorite; she called her performance "my proudest effort". As a fan of all 4 stars, I agree that "A Catered Affair" is one of the very best films Bette Davis has ever starred in. "Cinema Candy" all the way through!

Great cast in a good play

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 10 October 2002]

Film version of Chayefsky's TV play emerges as slightly overwrought (thanks partly to the script and partly to a very sincere cast) but a strong piece of drama. About how a small family deals with marrying off its only girl (Reynolds, showing more restraint than usual, thus enabling exhuberant Davis and Bornine to stomp all over her, in terms of showboat acting). It ends up being about the couple, and how they deal with seeing their children leaving, feeling how little they have left. The drama strikes home because it is about very real problems, but Borgnine in particular has let the cart go before the horse by putting his characterizations (outbursts of anger, twitching face, etc.) exceed the pacing of the story and the other actors, so that by the time they might have been effective he's already worn out many of his best tricks. One good scene, though, where Bette Davis is sobbing on her bed, forces Borgnine to act with his shoulders and the back of his head because that's all the director lets us see. Maybe he was getting sick of Borgnine's facial contortions too!

An Unusual Cast

[julianhwescott · 10/10 · 27 October 2000]

This is one of my favorite films. Although the cast together for a film is very unusual, all of them work together very well and pull off a great film. This was one of Bette Davis's favorite films and it was very underappreciated by the critics as they went as far as saying that she ruined the picture. Without her it would have been nothing. It is a very sensitive film about a mother wanting her daughter to have a big and proper wedding like she never had and at the same time this mother is doing her best to hold the family together. A fantastic movie.

Isn't she entitled to want more?

[maryszd · 7/10 · 14 May 2006]

A woman stuck with nothing

Bette Davis glumly acts her way through this working class-soap opera by Paddy Chayevsky, whose inherent misogyny undercuts his social realist message. Davis plays Agnes Hurley, a poor, but socially ambitious woman in the Bronx married to Tom, a decent, but not too bright, cabbie. The title "A Catered Affair" refers to the elaborate wedding she's planning for her daughter Jane, even though it will wipe out their life savings. But Jane defies her mother and decides on a private wedding and adding insult to injury, her bachelor brother Jack decides to marry his sweetheart. Both Jane's and Jack's weddings, and their personal happiness, force Agnes to face the barren emotional life she shares with Tom. Agnes is portrayed as domineering and unloving--her longing for more excitement and class respectability in her drab life is treated as a form of selfishness, if not depravity. "I guess you'll be doin' housework soon, too," she sourly says to her daughter, as Jane walks out the door with her fiancée. Jane may think her life will be different from her mother's, but we know she'll be in for a rude surprise.

Like so many other leftist male writers of the fifties, Chayevsky's socially progressive ideas didn't extend to the lives of women. Could Agnes' dissatisfaction have to do with the fact that she's obviously an intelligent woman with nothing to do all day stuck in dreary apartment married to a man who isn't very bright? Sure, Tom's a decent guy, but doesn't she have a right to expect more? If this film were written by Edna Ferber, Agnes would have taken the money she saved for Jane's wedding and started her own catering business and made millions. She would have set up Tom in his own limousine service. But no, in the film's depressing ending, Agnes has a "change of heart" and decides to dedicate her life to mothering her sweet, but dimwitted husband.

Left-wing films like this made during the fifties are actually more reactionary than the glitz turned out by Hollywood studios. Actresses like Doris Day and Judy Holliday played working- class girls unwilling settle for lives like Agnes'. No wonder audiences flocked to see them and gave films like Chayevsky's the brush-off. And, in real life, Bette Davis herself would never have accepted the dreary life Agnes resigns herself to by the end of the film. Why Davis thought it was her best film is beyond me. This fifties period piece illustrates the repressive social expectations dumped on women, even (or perhaps especially) by the male left.

Bette Davis as the Bridezilla Mother

[kz917-1 · 4/10 · 19 June 2017]

I had high hopes with the cast including Bette Davis, Debbie Reynolds, and Ernest Borgnine. What follows is a wedding that spirals out of control that neither the Bride nor the groom want, with the mother of the bride expecting the father to take their life savings and spend it on a wedding rather than purchasing a stake in a new cab. Ugh. Good acting, but I hate the premise.

A gem - "Father of the Bride" without the sugar-coating.

[Steve G-2 · 9/10 · 19 October 2012]

I had seen this movie mentioned here and there for years, but neither the title nor the cast list suggested to me that I would enjoy it. (Ive never been that big a fan of either Ernest Borgnine or Bette Davis, although I knew they were fine actors; and putting sweet young Debbie Reynolds in the same scenes with them did not seem promising.) Finally someone whose taste I respected recommended it, so I gave it a try. What a delight! A subtle, intelligent script, with a cast that absolutely did it justice. None of the characters are perfect; none are terrible; and above all, none are simple. What is remarkable to me is the complexity and depth of the characters that is revealed without any one of them ever explaining him- or herself any more articulately than real people do. It took fine writing (Chayevsky may have done this better than anyone else), fine directing, and fine acting all around to accomplish this. Somehow it escapes being distinctly melodramatic, "gritty," bleak, or even particularly sentimental - while at the same time avoiding being too light, or too witty. It is just eminently watchable.

poignant and superbly acted

[robr29 · 5 August 2004]

I happened upon A Catered Affair on TCM recently by chance upon hearing the channels announcement it was written by Paddy Chayefsky; I was knocked out by Network, so I gave this one a chance. I recommend you do too. Wow! This film is real, gritty, poignant. It demands your intelligent attention, as every moment counts. I agree with Wayne Malin's overall review here, but would rate Debbie Reynolds performance more highly. I experienced her portrayal as a true rendering of a vulnerable, sensitive young woman coming of age. We empathize with the characters, who are given due weight throughout the story's development. We care and see the motivations of each person as they struggle to come to terms with complex issues that overwhelm them. Layers of competing interests collide with depth and resonance. Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine are magnificent, as are the supporting actors, most notably the grooms father and the brides best friend/maid of honor. As far as the ending, I found it a bit more believable than Mr Malin; the mom is faced with the realization that she's always had generations of family around her, who are all now leaving. She is about to live the rest of her life with the husband she has denegrated all their married life, the circumstances of which make us empathize with her meanness. Mom is faced with unwanted choices placed upon her. Instead of blaming others for her fate, a lifetime habit, she must choose either to leave the marriage, live in misery and loneliness which she now suspects has been somewhat self imposed, or admit some things about herself and open up a little, allowing for the possibility of some joy between them in their remaining years.

a beautiful film of lost dreams and illusions

[lynandlaurent2002 · 9/10 · 28 April 2005]

I have loved this film for years and it gets so rarely shown. No need to explain what it is about as others have done it so much better than I could. The performances are all superb (especially the supporting players) and it stands today as much as a social document as it does a piece of film. I used to love DAVIS years back and then went off her somewhat as I kept thinking she was all too exaggerated, too theatrical, too mannered. In this film I would disagree with someone who said it is LA DAVIS as usual. I would say it is not. She is miles away from MARGO CHANNING and CHARLOTTE VALE in this. I don't know the background of the characters for "real" but she sounds "real", no effort in glamorizing the character either The one bit that gets to me every time last about 10 seconds and is right at the end. It is the look of a new proprietor (wont tell why so as not to spoil it) on a face of a woman who never had anything, and whose dreams have all but disappeared. She looks around and the pride and gladness felt by her character AGGIE is all in there.No words. Just a glance, a look. As I write this I get goose pimples just thinking about it. This should be shown to kids today as part of "living history", a history not so far gone. If you like your movies with action and pretty blondes by pass this. If you like to know about people and the human condition don't miss it..It is all in there.Beautifully and heartfeltingly done.

Who's Afraid of Bette Davis?

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 15 August 2007]

"The Catered Affair" was the movie adaptation of a Paddy Chayefsky's TV drama, which starring Thelma Ritter and Pat Henning. I'm guessing this was made due to the success of Ernest Borgnine's "Marty". The film is interesting in its depiction of a different time, when the ceremonial aspects of weddings were very strange. Today, I doubt these people would go on and on about such trivialities. But, then, there were certain "ways" people married.

There are some terrific "period" scenes. The Hurley's home is a real time trip. Great kitchen! I loved the scene when Bette Davis takes in the frozen laundry from a clothesline outside her window. Ms. Davis totally commands the film - at times, her presence is overbearing. Her performance is excellent, but sometimes veers very close to going over-the-top. Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, and Barry Fitzgerald hold their own in Davis' presence.

I believe, due to the presence of Bette Davis, the film should have been altered to focus more on her character. Reworked, this could have been Davis' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" You really have to pay attention to get what the film is really about - there is one instance where Davis' own wedding is explained. There should be more about both Davis's dwelling on the past, and Borgnine's hopes for the future.

******* The Catered Affair (1956) Richard Brooks ~ Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds

"The Catered Affair" (1956) Is Wonderful....Acting, Writing, Direction...Wall-To-Wall Quality Thru and Thru!

[DavidAllenUSA · 10/10 · 1 August 2012]

"The Catered Affair" (1956) Is Wonderful....Acting, Writing, Direction...Wall-To-Wall Quality Thru and Thru!

Bette Davis stated this movie was the best she ever did, and her favorite. I can see why.

I'm a collateral relative of Bette's (also of 8 other famous movie actors, FYI), and have studied her career.

She did this movie before the strange horror movies she did in the 1960's (e.g "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" etc.), way before she acted in "The Whales Of August" (1967) old ladies waiting to die movie with Lillian Gish, who was over 90 in 1987.

But in 1956, Bette Davis wasn't yet doing freak, or unusually old age character movies. She was still normal. Depicted as married to Ernest Borgnine (a fellow Best Actor Academy Award winner), depicted as then young Debbie Reynolds' mother....letting Debbie know at the start of the movie that marriage is no joy ride (how true, how true....I was married 3 times.....well, the first week all 3 times as a joy ride, but after that...? Damn!)

Bette Davis, Debbie Reynolds, Ernest Borgnine, Barry Fitzgerald, Rod Taylor, screenplay by Gore Vidal based on a Paddy Chaevsky play.....all presented only one year after Chaevsky's and Borgnine's triumph with "Marty" (1955) starring Ernest Borgnine, who won the Best Actor Academy Award for that movie.

Both Gore Vidal and Ernest Borgnine passed away recently in 2012, almost 60 years after the 1956 "Catered Affair" movie was released.

Wonderful Bette Davis is long gone by now, then young, sweet Debby Reynolds is now past age 80.......

These incredible people were part of s simple black and white movie about working class Irish-Americans in NYC in the early 1950's worth seeing and worth thinking about.

Movies like this one, based on stage plays, show off good acting and thoughtful ideas.....gimmicky visuals and other eye candy are not the main thing......the actors and the writing, and the ideas of the gifted authors (Chaevsky and Vidal here) carry the whole thing, with the help of understated but still highly skilled direction (Richard Brooks directed this movie, and did a great job).

My breath is taken away.

SEE this old movie, Americans and others living in 2012 and beyond.

It sets a standard almost never achieved in the present era. It was done, created in a Golden Age now past by people mostly angels by now, or soon to be.

-----------------------------

Written by Tex Allen, SAG-AFTRA movie actor. Visit WWW.IMDb.Me/TexAllen for movie credits, biography, and recent (2012) photos of Tex Allen. Email Tex Allen at [e-mail]

See other Tex Allen written movie reviews....almost 100 titles.... at: http://imdb.com/user/ur15279309/comments (paste this address into your URL Browser)

Not the most convincing casting, but a highly respectable family drama...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 13 May 2006]

Well wrought, emotionally satisfying drama from Paddy Chayefsky's television play about an older, financially-strapped married couple in the Bronx who would like to give their recently-engaged daughter a big wedding. Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine work hard at making their union a convincing one, but she seems more like an older sister than his spouse, and Debbie Reynolds is a curious choice as the bride-to-be (she's too well-scrubbed, and doesn't have the mannerisms or the toughness of this underprivileged young woman). Despite the miscasting, all three stars do manage to deliver touching characterizations due in large part to Richard Brooks' careful direction and Gore Vidal's smart adaptation. Originally presented in 1955 on TV's "Goodyear Playhouse", which received Emmy nominations for Chayefsky and co-star Thelma Ritter. **1/2 from ****

Lovely In All Regards

[Handlinghandel · 9/10 · 29 January 2005]

Paddy Chayevsky is noticeable here but Gore Vidal's screenplay is the star of this beautiful movie. The cast is an odd lot: Imagine that Bette Davis and Barry Fitzgerald are related by blood, that Davis and Ernest Borgnine are married, and that Debbie Reynolds is their daughter! Toss in Dorothy Stickney as Fitzgerald's blue collar, card-playing ladyfriend. Amazingly, it all works.

Bette is Bette. She works very, very well with the ensemble but she unmistakably Bette Davis, and later Bette Davis at that. Yet, this relatively small movie is one of her best: I'd say her best in the years that followed "All About Eve." Debbie Reynolds is a revelation. She has had a career in musicals and comedy but she is very poignant as the daughter of this unhappily married working class daughter, who really does not want a big wedding.

Rod Taylor is rather odd casting as her fiancé. He was Australian and hardily the bespectacled schoolteacher he plays. Glasses are off far more than they're on. But he too is good.

The major surprise is Richard Brooks. He directed a few good movies in the early 1950s. But the ones for which he is famous -- most especially the unwatchable "Elmer Gantry" -- are all size and not only no substance but are generally grotesque. Here, his direction is subdued and on the money.

the John Alton cinematography is excellent. And the music by Andre Previn is lovely. It adds immeasurably to the mood and is, in my opinion, at least as good as the Copland movie scores that are now viewed as classical music.

Ernest Borgnine's "Marty" is far better known and was heralded in its day. It is extremely dated. This movie is as fresh as the new fallen snow and is infinitely superior to "Marty." It is a lovely little classic.

Depressing but good

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 27 December 2003]

Jane Hurley (Debbie Reynolds), a poor girl, is marrying Ralph (Rod Taylor). They don't want a big, elaborate wedding but her mother Agnes Hurley (Bette Davis) is determined to give it to her--even if it drives her husband Tom (Ernest Borgnine) to bankruptcy.

Purportedly this was made for TV but I have my doubts. Consider the talent--it's based on a play by Paddy Chayefsky and adapted by Gore Vidal, and it has Borgnine, Davis and Barry Fitzgerald who were all movie actors. Also Reynolds and Taylor were rising stars in movies not TV. For whatever reason it was released theatrically.

It's well-directed and has a very beautiful score which is used sparingly (as it should be). But this is strong stuff. Seeing a likable if poor family being torn apart by a wedding is very upsetting. If they had used lesser actors this might have been easier to take but when you have Davis and Borgnine giving their all it's difficult to watch. Borgnine is just great--you feel the man's anger and shame. Davis is fantastic too--she gestures a little bit too much but it's still a powerful performance. And she fakes a very convincing Brooklyn accent. Reynolds isn't that good (except for one scene in the kitchen when she explodes) but she was just starting out. And Barry Fitzgerald had played the lovable Irish uncle once too often when he did this movie.

But there's a great screenplay (of course) and it's shot appropriately in atmospheric black & white. My only big complaint is the ending. It ends on a happy note. On one hand, I liked it--on the other hand, I didn't believe it for a minute. It was great to get a break from all the bleakness, but it rang so false that I couldn't swallow it.

That aside though, this is well worth seeing. I'm giving it a 7.

an absolute gem!

[rupie · 9/10 · 6 February 2010]

Why is this terrific movie so little known? It's a simply fabulous production on every level. What seems like a relatively mundane theme - the financial stresses that a marriage places on a lower class urban family - is turned by the masterful Paddy Chayevsky into an absolutely gripping domestic drama, and is a reminder to us of his rank as among the greatest of Hollywood screenwriters. The cast is superb. It's wonderful to see the indomitable Betty Davis shine in a role completely different from the patrician parts she usually played. The underrated Ernest Borgnine as great as the put-upon father, as is Debbie Reynolds as the bride-to-be. The legendary Barry Fitzgerald provides comic relief as Uncle Jack. Director Richard Brooks doesn't drop a beat and keeps the dramatic tension moving. By all means do not miss this fantastic flick!

Why is this labeled a comedy?

[greggman · 6/10 · 25 July 2020]

I didn't go into this expecting a comedy so I'm not disappointed but after I watched it I came to wikipedia and here and see it labled "comedy, drama"

Where is the comedy? There's as much comedy in this movie as Schindler's List. In other words ZERO.

It's is dis-service for this to be labeled a comedy. Did MGM call it a comedy for marketing or is it just mis-labeled here?

In any case it was a nice movie for what it is. Seeing the struggles of a family on a budget trying to deal with the pressures to have a large wedding for their daughter. I found the uncle annoying mostly because no-one in my family that I know of would be that much of a jerk but on the other hand I know other people's families have people like that

In any case I'm only giving it a 6. It's well made but I didn't come away with any strong feelings like I have for dramas I strongly recommend. It ends on a couple of high notes so that's good.

Also, what's up with the 4 face posters? That face looks absolutely nothing like Debbie Reynolds

Father Of The Bride, this ain't!

[crispy_comments · 2/10 · 11 January 2006]

In fact, Father Of The Bride looks all the more like a fluffy, feel-good fantasy, compared to the grim reality of The Catered Affair. A bit *too* grim and realistic for my liking. This is one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. It's painful watching your parents in a loveless marriage, fighting over money all the time, resigned to a joyless existence... and I've seen enough of that in real life. I don't need to see more of it on the screen.

The conclusion upset me, as it always upsets me to see wives putting their husbands' wishes first and making too many sacrifices. I think the end is actually supposed to be...somewhat happy. But I didn't see it that way, because I don't feel that the husband/father deserved what he got. He never gave his family *anything*, and I'm not just talking about his failures from a financial point of view. I'm talking about love and affection. Fer cryin' out loud, he barely said a word to his daughter, and he didn't seem to care that she was leaving home. No words of advice (like his wife tried to dispense), no hugs, tears, smiles...nothing. All that mattered (and the only thing that made him crack a smile) was his damn taxi cab. How about creating a slightly more pleasant atmosphere during this important time in your child's life? The family's money worries are no excuse. He was a dour, distant presence even before all the big wedding plans & big spending. I understand how difficult it is to be poor, but giving your family a loving look or a kind word, doesn't cost anything! Arrgh, I just couldn't sympathize with the man.

Yes, I realize there are taciturn, emotionally distant fathers out there in the real world, but this isn't a *good* thing, right? So why did this movie seem to condone (and, ultimately, reward) his behaviour, meanwhile demonizing his wife for wanting a better life/marriage for her daughter than she'd had herself. I find her situation much more sympathetic, and her flaws more forgivable. It's infuriating that the movie sides with the husband/father and gives him a completely unearned happy ending.

The Catered Affair seems to be admired by many for it's realism, good acting, etc. I guess it just hit too close to home for me. And I don't enjoy movies that emphasize (but fail to CRITICIZE) depressing, unfair "realities" of life... such as the fact that many men consider themselves the most important member of the family, and expect the women-folk to just cater to their needs and help them achieve *their* dreams.

And to think that when I read the basic plot outline and pictured the unlikely casting of Debbie Reynolds as Bette Davis' daughter... I thought this was gonna be a comedy!