Main Cast: Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, Rod Taylor
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Bette Davis goes the "kitchen sink drama" route in The Catered Affair. As the frowsy wife of Bronx cabdriver Ernest Borgnine, Davis insists that her daughter Debbie Reynolds have a high-class wedding--caterers and all. Reynolds and future hubby Rod Taylor want a simple ceremony, but Davis' mind is made up. The wedding snowballs into an unwieldy affair as Davis and Borgnine find that they must invite everyone they know or risk incurring the wrath of their neighborhood. When the cost of the affair exceeds the family's bank account, Davis rails at Borgnine for failing to be a good provider. It takes her till the very end of the film to realize what a fool she's been. Gore Vidal, of all people, adapted The Catered Affair from a TV drama written by Paddy Chayefsky; the original telecast had starred Thelma Ritter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Robert Simon - Mr. Halloran; Madge Kennedy - Mrs. Halloran; Dorothy Stickney - Mrs. Rafferty; Carol Veazie - Mrs. Casey; Joan Camden - Alice; Ray Stricklyn - Eddie Hurley; Jay Adler - Sam Leiter; Dan Tobin - Caterer; Paul Denton - Bill; Augusta Merighi - Mrs. Musso; Mae Clarke - Saleswoman; Don Devlin - Taxi driver; Bob Stephenson; Jimmy Fox - Tailor; Sammy Shack - Cabbie; Jack Kenny
Mother (Davis) is a frowsy and disillusioned housewife, married to Bronx cabdriver, Tom Hurley (Borgnine). She wants something better for her daughter, Jane (Reynolds). When Jane announces her engagement to Ralph Halloran (Taylor), Mother sees this as an opportunity to have an elaborate wedding, with caterers and all the trimmings, despite the fact that the family cannot afford it and the daughter does not want it. The film deals with the ensuing 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 vain mother realizes what a fool she has been in forcing her own fantasy onto her family.
