Main Cast: Cary Grant, Ethel Barrymore, Barry Fitzgerald, June Duprez, Jane Wyatt
Release Year: 1944
Country: US
Run Time: 113 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Cary Grant delivered Oscar-calibre performances all his life, but only when he played against type in None But the Lonely Heart did the Academy Awards people break down and give him a nomination. Grant plays a restless, irresponsible cockney who seeks a better life but doesn't seem to have the emotional wherewithal to work for such a life. The hero's shiftlessness extends to his love life; musician Jane Wyatt genuinely cares for him, but he prefers the company of fickle gangster's ex-wife June Duprez. June's former husband George Coulouris convinces Grant that the quickest means to wealth is a life of crime, but Grant drops this aspect of his life to take care of his terminally ill mother Ethel Barrymore. While Cary Grant did not win the Oscar he so richly deserved for None But the Lonely Heart, Ethel Barrymore did cop the gold statuette. Written and directed by Clifford Odets, None But the Lonely Heart unfortunately lost money for RKO, which could have used a little extra cash after paying the expenses of temporarily closing Ms. Barrymore's Broadway play The Corn is Green. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
None But the Lonely Heart would be a worthwhile film if for no other reason than the fact that it showcases a solid-gold dramatic performance from Cary Grant. Arguably the cinema's finest light comic actor (and criminally underestimated by the Academy), Grant easily sheds the sophistication and charm that are his usual hallmarks for this decidedly change-of-pace role and delivers a devastating performance that is rich, complex, and very real. Grant manages to be electrifying but understated; the viewer is compelled to watch, not because of showy fireworks but because of the fine nuances the actor brings to his work. He is matched by the glorious Ethel Barrymore in a beautifully controlled performance; the chemistry between Barrymore and Grant is palpable, making the audience understand the bonds of love and frustration that entangle these two. There's fine supporting work all around, especially from Barry Fitzgerald, George Coulouirs, and a sensitive Jane Wyatt. Clifford Odets' screenplay is carefully structured and features many examples of Odets' mournfully poetic dialogue. As a director, Odets does solid work here; if it could be a little more expansive or imaginative in places, it still works and definitely delivers the goods. Lonely is a "little" film, but it has a melancholy beauty that is haunting and lovely. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Dan Duryea - Lew Tate; Katherine Allen - Millie Wilson; George Atkinson - Man with Gramophone; Polly Bailey - Ma Floom; Ted Billings - Cockney Bum; Roman Bohnen - Dad Pettyjohn; Matthew Boulton; Eva Leonard Boyne - Ma Chalmers; William Challee - Knocker; David Clyde - Policeman with Stripes; George Coulouris - Jim Mordinoy; Marie de Becker - Mme. La Vaka; Sayre Dearing; Herbert Evans - Police Sergeant; Virginia Farmer - Ma Segwiss; Helena Grant - Old Woman in Shop; Alec Harford - Drunk; Forrester Harvey - Bloke; Herbert Heywood - Dad Fitchitt; Leyland Hodgson; Charles Irwin - Cop at Crash; Rosalind Ivan - Mrs. Tate; Tiny Jones - Woman; Colin Kenny - Cop Outside; Skelton Knaggs - Slush; Rosemary La Planche - Dancer; Morton Lowry - Taz; Chef Joseph Milani - Rossi; Al Murphy - Henchman; Joe North - Old Man; Billy O'Leary - Cab Driver; Elsa Prescott - Old Lady; Renie Riano - Flo; Konstantin Shayne - Ike Weber; Yorke Sherwood - Call Block Cop; Walter Soderling - Pa Floom; Helene Thimig - Sister Nurse; David Thursby - Prison Guard; Queenie Vassar - Ma Snowden; Clare Verdera - Barmaid; Joseph Vitale - Cash; Milton Wallace - Ike Lesser; Eric Wilton; Bill Wolfe - Blind Man; Art Smith - Marjoriebanks; Roy Thomas - Rookie Policeman; Jack Jackson; Sammy Blum; Keith Hitchcock - Roly Poly Man; John Meredith - Cop; Al Rhein; Barry Regan; Amelia Romano - Lame Girl; Ernie Shield - Man; Ida Shoemaker - Old Lady; Diedra Vale - Miss Tate
Credit
Albert S. D'Agostino - Art Director, Jack Okey - Art Director, Sherman Todd - Associate Producer, Renie - Costume Designer, Ruby Rosenberg - First Assistant Director, Clifford Odets - Director, Roland Gross - Editor, Constantin Bakaleinikoff - Composer (Music Score), Hanns Eisler - Composer (Music Score), Constantin Bakaleinikoff - Musical Direction/Supervision, Mel Berns - Makeup, Mordecai Gorelik - Production Designer, George Barnes - Cinematographer, David Hempstead - Producer, Jack Okey - Set Designer, Darrell Silvera - Set Designer, Harley Miller - Set Designer, Vernon Walker - Special Effects, James G. Stewart - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard VanHessen - Sound/Sound Designer, Clifford Odets - Screenwriter, Richard Llewellyn - Book Author
The title of the film is provided by one of Tchaikovsky'ssongs - perhaps the best-known outside Russia - the poignant melody featured in the background music.
The screenplay was published in Best Film Plays—1945, eds. John Gassner and Dudley Nichols (New York: Crown, 1946).
Musical comedian and parodist Spike Jones recorded a three minute spoof of radio soap operas entitled None but the lonely heart (A Soaperetta) in the 1940s.
None but the Lonely Heart and Sylvia Scarlett (1935) were the only two films in which Cary Grant used a Cockney accent, though that was not his original accent, as he was from Bristol, which has a very different accent to London. The unique vocal intonations with which he spoke in every other film were the happy results of an unsuccessful attempt to go from an English to an American accent so that he wouldn't be limited to playing British roles in American movies.
Ernie Mott (Cary Grant) is a restless, irresponsible cockney, who seeks a better life but doesn't want to work for such a life. This extends to his love life; musician Aggie Hunter (Jane Wyatt) genuinely cares for him, but he prefers the company of fickle gangster's ex-wife Ada Brantline (June Duprez).[1]
