DELBERT MANN
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB.
USA, 1955. Hecht-Lancaster Productions. Story and screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky. Cinematography by Joseph LaShelle. Produced by Harold Hecht. Music by Roy Webb. Production Design by Ted Haworth,Walter M. Simonds. Costume Design by Norma Koch. Film Editing by Alan Crosland Jr.. Academy Awards 1955. Cannes Film Festival 1955. Golden Globe Awards 1955. New York Film Critics Awards 1955.
Ernest Borgnine is excellent in this low-key drama, as a Brooklyn butcher who goes through life expecting very little. His existence mostly revolves around his lonely job followed by coming home to his judgmental mother until a timid schoolteacher (Betsy Blair) shows up and perks up his interests. Paddy Chayefsky’s screenplay is intelligent and Delbert Mann’s direction is decidedly unsentimental.