Most commentators have focused on the great affinity that Cary Grant had for Ernie Mott, and the great under-appreciated performances he delivered in this and other similar roles. I completely agree. I regret that so many great actors such as Grant and Errol Flynn were typecast. I wish they had been able to leave us a broader cinematic legacy, and I wish that TCM exposed us to the breadth of their rich legacies more regularly.
None But the Lonely Heart is full of characters brought to life by familiar actors delivering absolutely spot-on performances. That is one of the film's great strengths.
The recreation of London's back streets on RKO's back lots and sound stages is also remarkably convincing. This is one of the components of what was termed "Movie Magic" before first, location shooting, then high-tech special effects, and finally, digitalization co-opted the term. This "art" of convincingly capturing the essence of a location within the confines of a studio is one of the quaint aspects of old films that, when done well, fascinates me. It is the essence of Imagination - both of the filmmaker and the audience. This film is "Movie Magic" at its best.
It is also a film of far greater depth than has been reflected in any of the comments. The symbolic bookends of this film are the 2 great world wars. It begins on the eve of Armistice Day (commemorating WWI) where Ernie Mott (everyman) meets Mr. Twite at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. Mott acknowledges that the unknown dead man might have been his father and Twite says he might have been his son. The two thus establish a bond that endures for the film and beyond. Mott's symbolic use of the term, "dad" to address the men in the film is also introduced, while Twite begins to refer to Mott as "son." Later we see Mott refer to everywoman (that is, every elder woman) as "mom," except in the latter part of the film he refers to his own mother as his "daughter," when he learns of her illness and he assumes the role of her caretaker. His old, habitual girlfriend (Jane Wyman) will accept him under her roof under any terms. But the new girl he meets, with a "kiddie" (who is never provided a name) wants security. She eventually forsakes him for her autocratic ex-husband, Mott's mobster boss, who ordered the beating of Ma Mott's Jewish friend, Ike Weber, and the ransacking of his business. Near the end of the film, both Mott and his Ma have been arrested for forsaking their honest ways and going after a quick, dishonest gain. Mott, bailed out of jail by Mr. Weber, has visited his dying Ma in jail probably for the last time. At film's end, on the eve of WWII, Mott and Twite gaze skyward and puzzle over the frightful noises they have been hearing overhead. Mott ends up on the stoop of his old girlfriend's flat. Will she let him in? Is he there for good? Has he learned his lesson?
This is a film about Idealism, Fascism, Materialism, the inevitability of War (?), the generational role reversal, the Brotherhood of Man, the Hegelian Dialectic . . . Hemingway wrote about a lost generation. Watch this film and see if you don't think there was also a lost British generation between the wars. Mott had been a disillusioned "ex-pat" up north who returned home to London.
None But the Lonely Heart is full of characters brought to life by familiar actors delivering absolutely spot-on performances. That is one of the film's great strengths.
The recreation of London's back streets on RKO's back lots and sound stages is also remarkably convincing. This is one of the components of what was termed "Movie Magic" before first, location shooting, then high-tech special effects, and finally, digitalization co-opted the term. This "art" of convincingly capturing the essence of a location within the confines of a studio is one of the quaint aspects of old films that, when done well, fascinates me. It is the essence of Imagination - both of the filmmaker and the audience. This film is "Movie Magic" at its best.
It is also a film of far greater depth than has been reflected in any of the comments. The symbolic bookends of this film are the 2 great world wars. It begins on the eve of Armistice Day (commemorating WWI) where Ernie Mott (everyman) meets Mr. Twite at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. Mott acknowledges that the unknown dead man might have been his father and Twite says he might have been his son. The two thus establish a bond that endures for the film and beyond. Mott's symbolic use of the term, "dad" to address the men in the film is also introduced, while Twite begins to refer to Mott as "son." Later we see Mott refer to everywoman (that is, every elder woman) as "mom," except in the latter part of the film he refers to his own mother as his "daughter," when he learns of her illness and he assumes the role of her caretaker. His old, habitual girlfriend (Jane Wyman) will accept him under her roof under any terms. But the new girl he meets, with a "kiddie" (who is never provided a name) wants security. She eventually forsakes him for her autocratic ex-husband, Mott's mobster boss, who ordered the beating of Ma Mott's Jewish friend, Ike Weber, and the ransacking of his business. Near the end of the film, both Mott and his Ma have been arrested for forsaking their honest ways and going after a quick, dishonest gain. Mott, bailed out of jail by Mr. Weber, has visited his dying Ma in jail probably for the last time. At film's end, on the eve of WWII, Mott and Twite gaze skyward and puzzle over the frightful noises they have been hearing overhead. Mott ends up on the stoop of his old girlfriend's flat. Will she let him in? Is he there for good? Has he learned his lesson?
This is a film about Idealism, Fascism, Materialism, the inevitability of War (?), the generational role reversal, the Brotherhood of Man, the Hegelian Dialectic . . . Hemingway wrote about a lost generation. Watch this film and see if you don't think there was also a lost British generation between the wars. Mott had been a disillusioned "ex-pat" up north who returned home to London.