Lonelyhearts [Blu-ray]

Director: Vincent J. Donehue Vincent J. Donehue

Overview

For his film directorial debut, producer Dore Schary selected a longtime pet property: Miss Lonelyhearts, Nathaniel West's trenchant 1933 novel. Montgomery Clift delivers a haunting performance as journalist Adam White, assigned by his cynical editor Adam Shrike (Robert Ryan) to take over a newspaper advice column. Signing himself Miss Lonelyhearts, White is appalled by the human misery pouring out of the letters sent to him (one of his correspndents was born without a nose), but Shrike insists that anyone who'd write to such a column is fake. To find out for himself, White looks up one of the correspondents, unhappily married Fay Doyle (Oscar-nominated Maureen Stapleton). His pity for the seriously disturbed Fay nearly leads to tragedy (in the novel, there's no "nearly"). Meanwhile, Shrike tries to contend with his own tottering marriage to his wife Florence (Myrna Loy). In additional to shortening the title to Lonelyhearts, Dore Schary made a number of radical changes in the original, adding an overabundance of "meaningful" dialogue and softening the character of Florence Shrike. Purists were enraged by Schary's liberties, while critics carped at his perfunctory direction; audiences, however, seemed to like the film.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/2022
UPC:	0738329259648
Original Release:	1958
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	24,739

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Montgomery Clift	Adam White
Robert Ryan	William Shrike
Myrna Loy	Florence Shrike
Dolores Hart	Justy Sargent
Maureen Stapleton	Fay Doyle
Frank Maxwell	Pat Doyle
Jackie Coogan	Ned Gates
Mike Kellin	Frank Goldsmith
Frank Overton	Mr. Sargent
Don Washbrook	Don Sargent,Johnny Sargent
Onslow Stevens	Mr. Lassiter
Mary Alan Hokanson	Edna
John Gallaudet	Bartender
Lee Zimmer	Jerry
J.B. Welch	Charlie
Charles Wagenheim	Bartender
Frank Richards	Taxi Driver
Dorothy Neumann	Mrs. Cannon

Technical Credits

Dore Schary

Dore Schary

Screenwriter,Producer

Editorial Reviews

Although Lonelyhearts is overall only an average movie, it does featured some decidedly above average acting. In fact, Lonelyhearts boasts one of the very finest performances of Montgomery Clift, albeit one that is not among his best known or most viewed. Clift, who had only recently been involved in an accident that left him physically scarred and emotionally unsure, is mesmerizing. Few other actors could plumb the depths of insecure emotionality as Clift did; even when at his strongest and most powerful, there's always the sense that if he pushed further, he would suddenly crumble. As a columnist who absorbs the emotional messes of those to whom he must give advice, Clift is in his element -- electrifying, repellent, scornful, terrified, vulnerable, and appealing by turns. He is well matched by Maureen Stapleton in her film debut, portraying a chillingly unbalanced letter writer. Robert Ryan and Myrna Loy also contribute some very fine moments. Unfortunately, the cast has to deal with a screenplay that never gels in the way it intends. Some of the dialogue is far too over-the-top, and the strands of the stories don't come together in the desired manner. Also a problem is Vincent J. Donahue's direction, which is a bit claustrophobic and which, in terms of making the film cinematic, too hesitant.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler