Main Cast: Alan Arkin, Sondra Locke, Laurinda Barrett, Stacy Keach, Chuck McCann
Release Year: 1968
Country: US
Run Time: 124 minutes
Plot
Based on the novel by Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter stars Alan Arkin as John Singer, who is deaf. Singer moves from a small town in order to be close to his institutionalized friend Antonapoulos (Chuck McCann), who is deaf and mentally impaired. Singer rents a room with a family whose father, Mr. Kelly (Biff McGuire), is unable to earn a living due to a serious injury. His teen-aged daughter Mick (Sondra Locke, in her film debut) is at first resentful of Singer's presence, but he ingratiates himself by introducing her to classical music (which he can "feel," if not hear). Singer likewise tries to brighten the lives of such unfortunates as alcoholic Blount (Stacy Keach Jr., also making his first film appearance), dying black doctor Copeland (Percy Rodriguez), and Copeland's poverty-stricken daughter (Cicely Tyson). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Oscar nominations may be given out too freely to actors who play the disabled, but Alan Arkin truly earns his in the film version of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers' novel about the intersecting lives of loners in a small Southern town. Arkin perfectly assimilates the shorthand communication style of a deaf man, right down to the knowing smiles directed at those flabbergasted about how to interact with him. His proud, contained performance earns audience respect without resorting to pity, which John Singer would not tolerate for a moment. Still, it's poignant that the only friend with whom he can truly connect is Antonapoulos (Chuck McCann), who is deaf and mentally impaired. Antonapoulos is intellectually inferior to the chess-playing Singer and unwittingly he tries Singer's seemingly bottomless patience. Singer attempts to branch out by helping a struggling drunk (Stacy Keach), a petulant teenager (Sondra Locke), and an officious doctor (Percy Rodriguez), but each takes him for granted in unknowingly thoughtless ways. The subplots in Robert Ellis Miller's film don't truly come together, feeling like floating strands out of different movies, which edge toward melodrama. The film labors to afflict almost every character with some abnormality, just to underscore the thesis that the world is full of lost souls trying to connect with each other. But the central character portrait of Singer is vivid and heartbreaking, excusing some of the film's minor faults. Locke makes a forceful debut, which also earned her a supporting actress nomination. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
LeRoy G. Deane - Art Director, Albert Wolsky - Costume Designer, Robert J. Anderson - First Assistant Director, Robert Ellis Miller - Director, John F. Burnett - Editor, Joel Freeman - Executive Producer, Dave Grusin - Composer (Music Score), Albert S. Greenway - Makeup, James Wong Howe - Cinematographer, Marc Merson - Producer, Thomas C. Ryan - Producer, Thomas C. Ryan - Screenwriter, Carson McCullers - Book Author
Singer is a deaf-mute whose small world brings him in contact with a young girl, Mick, who cherishes a seemingly hopeless dream of becoming a concert pianist. At first hostile, Mick soon becomes friends with Singer, hoping to enlarge his small world. Three other central characters come to Singer for help also, each of them seeing in him a powerful force. Simply because he is a deaf mute, they are able to create their understanding of his being from their own desires.
