"The Bachelor Party" is a 1953

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a 1957 film. The play premiered to critical acclaim.

Plot

Charlie Samson is a hard-working married bookkeeper in Manhattan, struggling to advance himself by attending night school to become an accountant. He has just learned his wife is pregnant with their first child, and worries whether he is ready for fatherhood. He and four co-workers throw a bachelor party for a fellow bookkeeper, Arnold Craig, who is about to get married. After watching explicit, short stag films at one member's apartment, they decide to go

bar-hopping A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session. Background Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates an ...

. Charlie is to be Arnold's best man. Colleagues attending the party include the older married man, Walter, who has recently been diagnosed with asthma, and Eddie, a happy-go-lucky bachelor. The night becomes a turning point for all five men. Charlie finds his loyalty to his wife tested during the evening, and he almost has an affair with a young woman he meets on the street heading to a Greenwich Village party. Charlie's young wife at home is also shocked to hear her visiting sister reveal her own husband's extra-marital affairs. Walter, in despair about his situation, wanders off during the evening. Arnold becomes drunk and ambivalent about getting married, and he breaks off the wedding. He changes his mind after he sobers up and Charlie gives him a lecture about the benefits of married life, despite Charlie's having regretted his own marriage as the story began, and having gone to the party with the serious intention of committing adultery. We last see Eddie at a bar, striking up a conversation with an older unattractive woman. In the end, Charlie decides that married life is the way to go, and that his struggle to build a home with his wife is worthwhile, and better than the empty and lonely existence of his friend Eddie, whom he used to envy.

Television play

Chayefsky's teleplay was produced by

Fred Coe Frederick Hayden Hughs Coe (December 23, 1914 – April 29, 1979) was an American television producer and director most famous for '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/''The Philco Television Playhouse'' in 1948-1955 and ''Playhouse 90'' from 1 ...

for '' The Philco Television Playhouse'' on October 11, 1953. Delbert Mann directed the following cast:''The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky'' (1994), Applause Books, New York *

Kathleen Maguire Kathleen Maguire (September 27, 1925 – August 9, 1989) was an American actress who won an Obie Award in 1958 for her performance in the stage play, ''The Time of the Cuckoo''. Early years Born in New York City, Maguire was an acting studen ...

as Helen *

Don Murray Don Murray may refer to: * Don Murray (actor) (1929–2024), American actor * Don Murray (clarinetist) (1904–1929), American jazz musician * Don Murray (drummer) (1945–1996), American drummer and aminator * Don Murray (footballer) Donald Ja ...

as Charlie *Bob Emmett as Kenneth * James Westerfield as The Bookkeeper * Joseph Mantell as The Bachelor *Douglas Gordon as The Groom *Anna Minot as Julie *Ely Segall as The Bartender *Elaine Eldridge as The Bar Hag *Walter Kelly as The Young Fellow *

Bettye Ackerman Bettye Louise Ackerman (February 28, 1924 – November 1, 2006) was an American actress primarily known for her work on television. Early years Ackerman was born in Cottageville, South Carolina (another source says she was born in Williston, So ...

as The Girl *Olive Dunbar as The Fiancée

Film adaptation

The 1957 film was directed by Delbert Mann, with

as Charlie, co-starring

E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

, Jack Warden and

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

. Jones was nominated for the 1958 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of a party girl who is actually very lonely. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes. Bosley Crowther wrote of the film, "Mr. Chayefsky in his writing and Delbert Mann in his direction of this film have made it delightfully amusing and compensating as it flows. For the most poignant revelations of emptiness and fear, they have provided hilarious explosions in the serio-comic vein."

Cast

as ''Charlie Samson'' *

as ''Walter'' * Jack Warden as ''Eddie Watkins'' *

Philip Abbott Philip Abbott (March 20, 1924 – February 23, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in several films and numerous television series, including a lead role as Arthur Ward in the crime series ''The F.B.I.'' Abbott was also the founder ...

as ''Arnold Craig, the Bachelor'' * Larry Blyden as ''Kenneth'' * Patricia Smith as ''Helen Samson'' *

as ''The Existentialist'' * Nancy Marchand as ''Mrs. Julie Samson''

Awards

''The Bachelor Party'' was nominated for one Oscar, one BAFTA award, and one award at the

1957 Cannes Film Festival The 10th Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 May 1957. ''Nights of Cabiria'' by Federico Fellini, ''La casa del ángel'' by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, ''A Man Escaped'' by Robert Bresson, and ''The Seventh Seal'' by Ingmar Bergman were entere ...

Chayefsky on ''The Bachelor Party''

Afterword to ''The Bachelor Party'':

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bachelor Party, The 1953 American television episodes 1953 television plays 1957 drama films 1957 films American drama films Black-and-white American television shows 1950s English-language films Films directed by Delbert Mann Films produced by Burt Lancaster Films produced by James Hill Films produced by Harold Hecht Films scored by Alex North Films with screenplays by Paddy Chayefsky Plays by Paddy Chayefsky Norma Productions films Television episodes directed by Delbert Mann The Philco Television Playhouse episodes United Artists films 1950s American films