The Catered Affair (1956): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1956, The Catered Affair is a comedy, drama and romance film directed by Richard Brooks, running about 92 minutes. “When you're in love, nothing else matters” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. At breakfast, Jane announces that she and Ralph are getting married the next week. All Jane and Ralph want is a small wedding with the immediate family and no reception. This is because Jane's parents are poor and Jane and Ralph can borrow a car for their honeymoon. However, at dinner that night all Ralph's parents talk about are the big weddings they gave their daughters and everything escalates. All of a sudden, it is a big wedding breakfast with hundreds of guests. The problem is that for 12 years, Tom has been saving money to buy his own cab and license, but now that he can, all of his money is going towards a wedding neither he, or Jane or Ralph really want.

Who’s in it. The Catered Affair stars Bette Davis as Mrs. Agnes Hurley, Ernest Borgnine as Tom Hurley, Debbie Reynolds as Jane Hurley and Barry Fitzgerald as Uncle Jack Conlon, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.0/10, The Catered Affair has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Catered Affair page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Catered Affair tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Parasite, Life Is Beautiful and Fight Club.