None But the Lonely Heart (1944)
Directed by Clifford Odets

Film Review

Any doubts as to Cary Grant's claims to be a serious actor are firmly laid to rest in this sombre yet intensely moving melodrama, the first film to be directed by the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Clifford Odets.   None But the Lonely Heart  earned Grant the second of his two Best Actor Oscar nominations (he never actually won the award but received an Honorary Oscar in 1970), for a performance that is widely considered his best.  Sporting a plausible imitation of a Cockney accent (last heard in Gunga Din, 1939), Grant positively devours Odets' slightly overwrought screen adaptation of Richard Llewellyn's novel and, in a role that is a world apart from the kind he is known for, he plays havoc with our heartstrings, so convincing is he as a young man struggling to come to terms with the crushing limitations of his working class origins.

Grant's is not the only captivating performance offered by the film.  Odets somehow persuaded Ethel Barrymore to take a break from her successful stage run and return to the cinema after a ten year hiatus, winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her devastating portrayal of Grant's devoted mother.  Now pretty well typecast as the villain after his standout performance in Watch on the Rhine (1943), George Coulouris was the obvious casting choice for the part of the sadistic gangster boss who lures Grant away from the straight narrow, and once again he does not disappoint.  With Jane Wyatt, June Duprez and Barry Fitzgerald thrown into the mix, all giving of their best, None But the Lonely Heart could hardly fail to please the critics.  Unfortunately, poorly publicised and ill-suited for the time in which it was released, the film struggled to find an audience and lost money for its studio, RKO.  An oddity for its time, and a rare departure for Cary Grant into the unglamorous world of the proletariat, it is a film that has much to commend it - strong performances, authentic characterisation and a stifling sense of confinement that is perfectly in tune with its subject matter.  After this impressive debut, it is curious that Odets directed only one further film, The Story on Page One (1959).

Film Synopsis

On the eve of WWII, Ernie Mott returns to his home in the East End of London, but he has no intention of staying.  He seeks a better life, and hopes that one day, by travelling around, he may find it.  One night, he shares a romantic evening with an attractive young woman named Ada, who is none too pleased when he tells her he intends to leave town the next morning.  Before he can resume his travels, Ernie is shocked to discover that his mother has terminal cancer.  Transformed into the dutiful son, he helps out in his mother's bric-a-brac shop, but soon wishes he could find an easier way to make money.  When Jim Mordinoy, the local mobster, offers him just that, he jumps at the chance, but it isn't long before his conscience gets the better of him...