''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 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 e ...

, 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, Barry Fitzgerald and Rod Taylor. 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

after signing a long-term contract with the studio. The film score was by André Previn 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 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

as Agnes Hurley *

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 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'', 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'', an ...

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 and Fierstein.

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