WRITTEN BY PADDY CHAYEFSKY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20
4 MOVIES

Bronx-born screenwriter/playwright Paddy Chayefsky (1923-1981) was equally adept at slashing satire and the plainspoken drama epitomized by Marty (1955). Chayefsky, who had his first major successes in television, originally wrote Marty as a teleplay that starred Rod Steiger. With Ernest Borgnine taking over the role of the inarticulate Bronx butcher who courts a shy schoolteacher (Betsy Blair, married to Gene Kelly at the time), the movie version became an unexpected hit and Oscar winner, with awards going to Chayefsky, Borgnine, director Delbert Mann and the film itself. Marty's line, "Whadda ya feel like doin' tonight?" became, for a time, a national catchphrase.

Other Chayefsky teleplays that became feature films include The Catered Affair (1956), with Bette Davis and Debbie Reynolds as a Bronx mother and daughter planning the latter's wedding; and The Bachelor Party (1957), with a talented ensemble that includes Don Murray and Oscar-nominated Carolyn Jones. Chayefsky also wrote novels and had several Broadway successes including Middle of the Night, which was filmed in 1959 with Fredric March and Kim Novak. Chayefsky gave Julie Andrews a charming early showcase in The Americanization of Emily (1964) with his adaptation of the William Bradford Huie novel about a young English widow and her World War II romance with an American naval officer (James Garner).

Chayefsky won two more Oscars for his original screenplays for The Hospital (1971), which offers a scathingly satirical view of a modern city hospital; and Network (1976), which does the same for the television industry. In a curious conclusion to his film career, the author asked that his name be removed from Altered States (1980), which he had adapted from his novel. The screenplay was credited to Sidney Aaron, Chayefsky's given and Hebrew names.

Featured films in TCM's "Written by Paddy Chayefsky" evening are Marty (1955, TCM premiere), The Americanization of Emily (1964), The Hospital (1971) and Network (1976).