The main reason I watch this film is for Thelma Ritter. I am not really a Sam Fuller fan, but this film works for me. In part because it has a craftsmanship and control that you don’t find in all of his films. Mainly, it has to do with Ritter. She was probably the greatest character actress of her day. When she had the right material (All About Eve, Rear Window, The Model And The Marriage Broker, The Mating Game) she was a fresh breath of real life. I never saw the original TV version of The Catered Affair, but I can imagine that she was light years better and truer than (the great) Bette Davis in the mother’s role.