Bette Davis wants “The Catered Affair” for daughter Debbie Reynolds

The Catered Affair (1956) is an American drama directed by Richard Brooks and starring Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, and Rod Tayor. The musical score is by Andre Previn and the cinematography is by John Alton.

Agnes Hurley (Davis), a Bronx housewife married to cab drive Tom Hurley (Borgnine) wants her only daughter to have the wedding she never had. The problem is, she and her husband are of humble means and really can’t afford one. Their daughter Jane (Reynolds) and her fiance Ralph Halloran (Taylor) don’t want a big wedding, in part due to all the complications and conflicts they can create.

Agnes persists with the big wedding plans and Jane, Tom, and Ralph reluctantly give in, not realizing how this decision will impact family and friends as the big day approaches.

Richard Brooks (1912 – 1992) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He received eight Oscar nominations during his career. Some of the famous films he directed include Blackboard Jungle (1955), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), In Cold Blood (1967), and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). Brooks was married three times, twice to actresses: Jean Brooks (1941 – 1944) and Jean Simmons (1960 – 1980).

Ernest Borgnine, Bette Davis, and Debbie Reynolds

Bette Davis (1908 – 1989) was an American actress who had a career on stage and screen that spanned more than 50 years. Davis came to Hollywood in 1930 and within four years of her arrival, she was one of its biggest stars winning her first Best Actress Academy Award for her role in Dangerous (1935). Her starring role in Jezebel (1938) won her a second Best Actress Oscar. Davis would go on to star in many popular films during the 1940s including Dark Victory (1939), The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), and Now, Voyager (1942). In 1950 she starred as Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950), a role she is probably most identified with today. Other popular films include The Old Maid (1939), All This and Heaven Too (1940), Mr. Skeffington (1944), and The Corn is Green (1945).

Ernest Borgnine (1917 – 2012) was an American actor who had a six-decade career in films and television. His film career began in 1951 where he appeared in supporting roles in films like From Here to Eternity (1953), Vera Cruz (1954), and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). In 1956, he starred in the film Marty (1955) where he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also achieved success on television in the comedy series McHale’s Navy (1962 – 1966). Borgnine made another film with Davis, Bunny O’Hare (1971) where the two played senior citizens who go on a crime spree.

Rod Taylor and Debbie Reynolds

Debbie Reynolds (1932 – 2016) was an American singer and movie actress. Reynolds made her film debut in 1950 in Three Little Words. Two years later she had her breakout role as Kathy Seldon in Singin’ in the Rain (1952). She appeared in many films during the 1950s including The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), and Bundle of Joy (1956) co-starring her then-husband Eddie Fisher. In the 1960s she starred in How the West Was Won (1962), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), The Singing Nun (1966), and Divorce American Style (1967). In 1973, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of the musical Irene. For her role in The Catered Affair, she was voted the Best Supporting Actress of the year by the National Board of Review.

Barry Fitzgerald (1888 – 1961) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in many notable films over four decades including Bringing Up  Baby (1938), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Going My Way (1944), None but the Lonely Heart (1944), and The Quiet Man (1952). He was a member of the Abbey Theatre and made his film debut in Juno and the Paycock (1930) directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Rod Taylor (1930 – 2015) was an Australian actor who appeared in over 50 feature film including The Time Machine (1960), The Birds (1963), Sunday in  New York (1963), 36 Hours (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), and Hotel (1967). Taylor was approached to play James Bond but turned the offer down, something he regretted. Taylor starred in the television series Hong Kong (1961) and Bearcats! (1971), and The Oregon Trail (1976). Taylor’s last film role was a cameo in Inglourious Basterds (2009) where he played Winston Churchill.

 

The Catered Affair trivia:

• Ernest Borgnine was 39 when the film was released, just 15 years older than Debbie Reynolds who played his daughter. Bette Davis was 48 and played Borgnine’s wife.
• The $8,000 for the cost of a New York City taxi medallion is equivalent to about $70,000 today.
• Rod Taylor was cast in the film after his impressive screen test for the lead role in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956). Paul Newman won the role, but Taylor’s Brooklyn accent during the test impressed the folks at M-G-M that they signed Taylor to a long-term contract. The Catered Affair was Taylor’s first film under this contract.
• Debbie Reynolds said that director Richard Brooks treated her badly on the set, even slapping her once in front of the cast and crew.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join us for a discussion on Zoom on February 2, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., click on the link. Once you RSVP, you’ll get a link to the discussion.

Questions for discussion:

1. What did you think of the film overall? Could you relate to it?
2. This film features Bette Davis in a character role. Was she convincing as a middle-class housewife?
3. The cast included Debbie Reynolds in an early dramatic role. What did you think of her performance?
4. Ernest Borgnine was at the height of his career when he made this film; do you think he was believable as a New York City cab driver?
5. Were there other performances worth noting?

Rod Taylor star of “The Birds” and “The Time Machine” is dead at 84

Rodney Sturt “Rod” Taylor was born on January 11, 1930 in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. He was the only child of a construction worker (William Sturt Taylor) and commercial artist and writer of children’s books Mona Taylor (née Thompson).

Taylor trained as a commercial artist, but got the acting bug after seeing Laurence Olivier on the stage in Australia while he was on tour.

The actor came to America to pursue his career and was signed to a long-term contract with M-G-M. During this period he had supporting roles in A Catered Affair, Raintree County, and Giant (sometimes billed as Rodney Taylor).

His big break came when he was cast in the George Pal production of H.G. Wells’s classic The Time Machine (1960). Another great part came his way in 1963 when director Alfred Hitchcock cast Taylor as Mitch Brenner in the thriller The Birds (1963), costarring Hitchcock discovery ‘Tipi’ Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, and Jessica Tandy. Other starring roles would come Taylor’s way including Sunday in New York (1963), costarring Jane Fonda and Cliff Robertson, the all-star The V.I.P.s, and the John Ford production of Young Cassidy (1965), costarring Julie Christie and Maggie Smith. In the late 1960s, Taylor costarred with Doris Day in two popular film comedies: Do Not Disturb (1965) and The Glass Bottom Boat (1966). He was top-billed in the all-star production of the Arthur Hailey bestseller Hotel (1967).

In the 1970s, Taylor had roles in television, including the lead in Bearcats! From 1988 to 1990 Taylor had a recurring role on Falcon Crest starring Jane Wyman. Taylor’s last major film role was a cameo as Winston Churchill in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds (2009).

Taylor would have celebrated his 85th birthday on Sunday January 11.

A fan’s review of “The Birds” on the big screen

This poster is hanging in my office.

I’m old enough to remember when The Birds was first released in theatres, but as far as my mother was concerned, I was too young to see it. When I was a kid, our family went to the movies almost every week. This was back in the day when the production code was still in effect and movies weren’t rated. The Birds just wasn’t typical family fare in 1963.

As I got older and interested in movies, I saw The Birds on TV, in the days when movies were regularly shown on the major networks. Like many, I found it fascinating and marveled at the—for the time—amazing special effects. When Turner Classic Movies announced that it would be shown on the big screen for one night only, in celebration of Universal Studios’ 100th anniversary, I jumped at the chance to see it.

I was not disappointed. The new digital version looked brand new. The sound, which was such an important part of the film, was amazingly crisp and clear. One of Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest commercial successes, The Birds is far from the Master’s best. But as pure popcorn eating entertainment, it is enormously suspenseful and fun. The audience at the screening seemed to enjoy the movie. Many, I suspect, based on their ages, were first-time viewers.

This matte shot of Bodega Bay in flames is still amazing to me.

Like most Hitchcock film’s, it holds up well. I thought the special effects would look cheap and hokey by today’s CGI standards, but to my surprise they looked pretty good. The matte photography showing Bodega Bay in flames from a bird’s eye view is still impressive. Another thing that makes The Birds seem fresh is the polish Hitchcock and costume designer, Edith Head brought to the film. The cast is dressed classically. The green suit that Tipi Hedren wears—not to mention that mink coat—through most of the film has a contemporary and timeless look. The same goes for Rod Taylor’s suits and the casual clothes he wears on the family farm.

Hedren and Taylor looked spooked, but boy do
they know how to dress!

Some viewers find Hendren’s performance lacking, but I’m amazed at how effective she is as Melanie Daniels, the film’s heroine. She possesses all the Hitchcock attributes. She’s blond and beautiful, but she also holds her own opposite seasoned pros Taylor, Jessica Tandy, and Suzanne Pleshette. Considering she had no prior acting experience, I have to hand it to her because a big part of the film’s success rested on her shoulders.


When the movie was first released, the ending was jarring and left viewers with questions. The same was true with this special screening. You could hear some folks mumbling “that’s it?” as the film faded to black. But that’s Hitchcock. He always leaves you wanting more.

“The Birds” on the big screen September 19

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic, The Birds will hit the big screen for a one-night showing September 19, 2012, in theaters all across the country. Like the special screenings of Casablanca and Singing in the Rain, this one is sponsored by Turner Classic Movies. The screening will include an interview with star Tippi Hedren and special introduction featuring TCM host Robert Osborne. To find a screening near you, click here.

Tippi Hedren finds safety in a phone booth in one of the film’s
most famous scenes.

If there is a classic film that benefits from a big-screen showing, it’s The Birds. Based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier with a screenplay by Evan Hunter, the movie is filled with iconic scenes and amazing—for the time—special effects.

The top-billed star is Rod Taylor who plays Mitch Brenner, a San Francisco lawyer who falls for socialite Melanie Daniels played by Hedren. Hedren, a model and single mother, was plucked from obscurity by Hitchcock to be his new leading lady. Groomed to be the next cool blond—Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and Eva Marie Saint preceded her—Hedren became an overnight sensation. She won the Golden Globe award for most promising newcomer, female, the year after the movie’s release. Also in the cast are Academy Award winner Jessica Tandy, then child star Veronica Cartwright, and Suzanne Pleshette. In smaller roles are character actor Richard Deacon (The Dick Van Dyke Show) and as one of the children at Cathy Brenner’s (Cartwright) birthday party is an unbilled Morgan Brittany who later went on to star in TV’s Dallas.

The Birds may not be one of Hitchcock’s greatest films, but it certainly is one of his most entertaining. A huge hit upon its initial release, the film offers up exquisite camera work by frequent Hitchcock cinematographer Robert Burks. The special effects were created Ub Iwerks, the genius behind the special effects at the Disney studio. One of the unusual aspects of the film is that is has no musical score. Instead, the sound of birds is heard throughout. Bernard Herrmann (Psycho), composer of many Hitchcock film scores acted as the films uncredited sound director.