The Boys (Ralph, George, Joe, and Leo)

Character Analysis

Bronx Chorus

These buds, drinking at the bar or looking at girlie mags while Mrs. Piletti is in the other room, play like a sort of Greek Chorus for ol' Marty. As far as we know, they're single, girl-obsessed, bored, and dreaming of trouble they never quite get into.

"What do you feel like doing?" is their most frequent refrain, their accidental clubhouse motto that comes up so much we feel like maybe these men could use a either a social director or babysitter.

The Boys are Back in Town

Given their age, we imagine that, like Marty, they're veterans, have service-based professions, live with their parents, and have never really lived fully-fledged adult lives. Like Marty, they're part of that Greatest Generation who came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II. They spent their twenties overseas, and by the time of the film—the mid-1950s—have spent the last decade never quite figuring out their place in the world.

72nd Street Purgatory

Ralph's obsessed with locating the fun-time dates, while Joe and Leo like detective novels for the way their heroes get the girls (and shoot 'em if they have to). George seems to like cards and is more of a homebody. Beyond those preferences, these men seem designed for Marty to revolt against as the story of his evolution progresses.

Sure, they may go on dates with easy nurses and listen to baseball at the bar with admirable glee, but ultimately, it's their relentless aimlessness that propels Marty into finally doing something with his life. They go for bland comfort and established customs, and Marty just can't handle that anymore. Maybe these boys will find their own butcher shops and Clara-type girlfriends, or maybe they won't. But Marty ain't sticking around to just wait and see.