:''The article is about the film. For the stage adaptation, see

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 ...

.'' ''The Catered Affair'' (also known as ''Wedding Party'') is a 1956 American

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

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 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, 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 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. 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. The film deals with the ensuing money troubles and conflicts within the family, 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

as Agnes Hurley *

as Tom Hurley *

as Jane Hurley * Barry Fitzgerald as Uncle Jack Conlon *

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 Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film ''Mildred Pierce'', Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of ...

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." She claimed that 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. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

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 Davis's 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." Borgnine, he said, "gawks gargoylishly as her Bronx mate."

Stage adaptation

A musical adaptation also titled ''

'', 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. The play received mixed reviews and closed after 116 performances.

References

External links

* * * * * {{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