The Catered Affair (1956)

The article is about the film. For the stage adaptation, see A Catered Affair.

The Catered Affair (also known as Wedding Party) is a 1956 American comedy drama film directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a screenplay by Gore Vidal, based on a 1955 television play from Goodyear Television Playhouse by Paddy Chayefsky. The film stars Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald and Rod Taylor. The Catered Affair marked the first appearance of Bette Davis in a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. It was also Rod Taylor's first film for MGM after signing a long-term contract with the studio. The film score was by André Previn and the cinematographer was John Alton.

Plot

Agnes Hurley is a disillusioned housewife, married to Bronx cab driver Tom Hurley, who works for a large taxi fleet. Agnes wants something better for her daughter Jane, while Tom has been saving for many years to purchase a taxi medallion and become self-employed.

When Jane announces her engagement to Ralph Halloran, Aggie sees this as an opportunity to have a romantic elaborate wedding, which she never had because they could never afford it. However, Tom protests that they cannot afford it, and Jane is upset by the discord it is causing in the family.

Money troubles and conflicts within the family ensue, which also involve Uncle Jack Conlon, who lives with them. The conflict is resolved when Agnes realizes that it is the happiness of her family, rather than the expensive ceremony, that is most important. Plans for the expensive wedding are shelved and Tom gets the medallion and a new taxi.

Cast

Bette Davis as Agnes Hurley

Ernest Borgnine as Tom Hurley

Debbie Reynolds as Jane Hurley

Barry Fitzgerald as Uncle Jack Conlon

Rod Taylor as Ralph Halloran

Robert Simon as Mr. Halloran

Madge Kennedy as Mrs. Halloran

Dorothy Stickney as Mrs. Rafferty

Carol Veazie as Mrs. Casey

Joan Camden as Alice Scanlon

Ray Stricklyn as Eddie Hurley

Jay Adler as Sam Leiter

Production

MGM bought the screen rights to the 1955 TV play that aired on Goodyear Television Playhouse in 1955. Ann Blyth was originally announced for the female lead Jane Hurley.

In 1964, Debbie Reynolds said she "hated making" the film "for personal reasons. I like the result and he directed me well but the director made it difficult for me and gave me a hard time." She later wrote in her memoir Unsinkable: A Memoir that Richard Brooks hit her in the face and had to be pulled away by the assistant director.

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $947,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $520,000 in other countries, resulting in a loss of $106,000. Critics' reviews were largely negative, with the film holding a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther compared the film unfavorably to Marty and said the film lacked "compassion or appeal." He said that was "partly the fault of the writing, partly the fault of the film and partly the fault of the direction, which is uneven in compass and style." Crowther criticized the performances, saying that Bette Davis' performance was "uncomfortably complicated and alien to the lowly locale." He wrote that Davis gave the role "the air of a gentlelady who has come down a little in the world and deliberately uses bad grammar, with some effort and considerable shame." Ernest Borgnine, he said, "gawks gargoylishly as her Bronx mate."

For her part, however, Davis said in 1973 that her performance was the most under-appreciated but the most self-satisfying of her career.

Stage adaptation

A musical adaptation also titled A Catered Affair, with book by Harvey Fierstein and lyrics and music by John Bucchino, premiered at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre in 2007 and the following year played on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The cast included Faith Prince, Tom Wopat, Leslie Kritzer and Fierstein.

The play received mixed reviews and closed after 116 performances.

See also

List of American films of 1956

References

External links

The Catered Affair at IMDb

The Catered Affair at AllMovie

​The Catered Affair​ at the Internet Broadway Database

The Catered Affair at the TCM Movie Database (archived)

The Catered Affair at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films