''The Catered Affair'' (also known as ''Wedding Party'') is a 1956 American comedy-drama film directed by
Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a ...
and produced by
Sam Zimbalist
Sam Zimbalist (March 31, 1901 – November 4, 1958) was a Russian Empire born American film producer and film editor.
Early life
Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, he arrived to the US in August 1914.
He began his career at 16 as an office b ...
from a screenplay by
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
, based on a 1955 television play by
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays.
He was ...
. The film stars
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
,
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...
,
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
,
Barry Fitzgerald and
Rod Taylor
Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...
. It was Taylor's first film for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
after signing a long-term contract with the studio. The film score was by
André Previn
André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
and the cinematographer was
John Alton
John Alton (October 5, 1901 – June 2, 1996), born Johann Jacob Altmann, in Sopron, Kingdom of Hungary, was an American cinematographer of Hungarian-German origin. Alton photographed some of the most famous films noir of the classic period and wo ...
.
Plot
Agnes Hurley (Davis) is a disillusioned housewife, married to
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
cab driver Tom Hurley (Borgnine). She wants something better for her daughter, Jane (Reynolds). When Jane announces her engagement to Ralph Halloran (Taylor), Aggie sees this as an opportunity to have a romantic elaborate wedding, with caterers and all the trimmings, like she never had because they could never afford it. However, the daughter does not want it because it is causing awkward conflicts with her family and friends, and her father has been saving that money for many years to purchase a taxi
medallion
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
and become self-employed. The film deals with the ensuing money troubles and conflicts within the family, which also involve Uncle Jack Conlon (Fitzgerald) and most of the neighborhood. It is not until the end of the film that the mother realizes that it is the happiness of her family, rather than the expensive ceremony, that is most important, as they go off to watch their daughter get married at their church in the new taxi.
Cast
*
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
as Agnes Hurley
*
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...
as Tom Hurley
*
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
as Jane Hurley
*
Barry Fitzgerald as Uncle Jack Conlon
*
Rod Taylor
Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...
as Ralph Halloran
*
Robert Simon as Mr. Halloran
*
Madge Kennedy
Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and TV actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the ...
as Mrs. Halloran
*
Dorothy Stickney
Dorothy Stickney (June 21, 1896 – June 2, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actress, best known for appearing in the long running Broadway hit ''Life with Father''.
Early years
Stickney was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, but ...
as Mrs. Rafferty
* Carol Veazie as Mrs. Casey
* Joan Camden as Alice Scanlon
*
Ray Stricklyn
Lewis Raymond Stricklyn (October 8, 1928 – May 14, 2002) was an American film actor, stage actor, television actor, soap opera star and publicist. His acting career took off with B-movie Westerns that placed his boyish good looks playing opp ...
as Eddie Hurley
*
Jay Adler
Jay Adler (August 4, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American actor in theater, television, and film.
Early life
Born in New York City, he was the eldest son of actors Jacob and Sara Adler, and the brother of five actor siblings, including st ...
as Sam Leiter
Production
MGM bought the screen rights in 1955.
Ann Blyth was originally announced for the female lead.
Debbie Reynolds later 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."
"He called me ‘Little Miss Hollywood’ and made no attempt to hide his disdain for me. Every day he was rude, and once he slapped me across the face in front of everyone. I don't know what I'd done to anger him that time. I was always professional."
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 unfavorable, with the film currently holding a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Stage musical
A musical adaptation also titled ''
A Catered Affair :''The article is about the stage musical. For the 1956 film, see The Catered Affair.''
''A Catered Affair'' is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film ''The Catered Aff ...
'', with book by
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in ''Torch Song Trilogy'' and ''Hairspray'' and movie roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'', '' Independence Day'', and ...
and lyrics and music by
John Bucchino
John Bucchino (born 1952) is an American songwriter of both lyrics and music, an accompanist, a cabaret performer, and a teacher. He has been called "super-talented". Stephen Schwartz said his songs have "insightful lyrics and gorgeous melodies", ...
, premiered at San Diego's
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...
in 2007 and the following year played on Broadway at the
Walter Kerr Theatre
The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for the Shube ...
. The cast included
Faith Prince
Faith Prince (born August 6, 1957) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award as Best Actress in ''Guys and Dolls'' in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations.
Life ...
,
Tom Wopat
Thomas Steven Wopat (born September 9, 1951) is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Lucas K. "Luke" Duke on the long-running television action/comedy series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. Since then, Wopat has worked regularly, ...
,
Leslie Kritzer
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (born May 24, 1977) is an American singer and musical theatre actress.
Life and career
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer was born in Manhattan and raised in Livingston, New Jersey. Her father is Jewish, and her mother is of Puer ...
and Fierstein.
See also
*
List of American films of 1956
A list of American films released in 1956
''Around the World in 80 Days'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A-B
C-D
E-I
J-M
N-R
S-Z
See also
* 1956 in the United States
Sources Footnotes
References
*
*
External links
19 ...
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Catered Affair, The
1956 films
1956 comedy-drama films
American black-and-white films
American comedy-drama films
1950s English-language films
Films scored by André Previn
Films about weddings
Films based on television plays
Films directed by Richard Brooks
Films set in the Bronx
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Plays by Paddy Chayefsky
Films with screenplays by Gore Vidal
1956 comedy films
1956 drama films
1950s American films