Customer Reviews

Lonelyhearts [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Patricia Bosworth's biography of Montgomery Clift, Clift is said to have hated the Dore Schary screenplay based on the novel by Nathaniel West and the play by Howard Teichman, calling it "Miss Lonelyhearts meets Andy Hardy", a joke on Schary as head of MGM. Whilst the treatment changes the fate of the Christ-like figure played by Clift, the character still suffers. He is burdened by the anguish of those who write to his advice column, his editor (Robert Ryan) is in pathological rage over the infidelity of his wife, his father is in jail for killing his Clift's mother, and his girlfriend is so controlling and possessive that she wants to know his "every thought". West's cynicism is prevalent in the Ryan character's ugliness - his contempt for humanity who he thinks are all fakes and frauds, and his humiliation of his wife as projected guilt over his own affairs. This all sounds pretty glum, and whilst I tend to agree with Clift's assessment of the Schary screenplay with the Clift romance with Dolores Hart as bland, one can be amused by the many ironies behind the scenes here. Casting Clift as a man who does not drink and one to dispense advice to the lost is laughable in light of Clift's alcoholism and shattered emotional state after his infamous car crash. However Clift remained a handsome man, perhaps even the change added character to his former face, and his shattered sensitivity makes his acting all the more remarkable. If him calling Hart "dear" and the way he leans on her reveals an essential falseness, the directness with Ryan more than compensates. Bosworth details the trouble the filmmakers had in capturing the scene where Clift punches someone, with Ryan finally providing the closeup, but Clift's pain afterwards is all too real. As Ryan's wife, Myrna Loy doesn't have much to do except be a masochist to Ryan's bile, but Maureen Stapleton is fun as a lonelyhearts letter writer who Ryan goads Clift into meeting. Stapleton's vengeful spite is very funny. Director Vincent J Donehue is said to have come from the theatre, which may explain the basic uncinematic style of the film, with the only notable visual image being a pan along a tree branch and back to suggest the passage of time.

A fine example of melding stage and screen. Debut film director Donehue had a stage background, lent a quality of intimacy to potent Dore Schary screenplay. Montgomery Clift, in obvious pain from disfiguring auto accident, provides added pathos to pathetic character, burdened from woes inflicted by cynical newspaper editor, sardonically played by Robert Ryan. Myrna Loy, as his beaten down wife, matches Ryan's sophisticated polished performance. Supporting cast lends considerable credibility, best supporting actress nomination for Maureen Stapleton well deserved. Supporting cast well represented by Frank Maxwell, Jackie Coogan and Mike Kellin. Donehue's subtle direction completes ensemble production, with Schary's personal views being intelligently injected without appearing stagey. Sadly, Donehue died shortly after this film was completed. Schary and Ryan had a productive history together in Hollywood, hallmarked by landmark 1947's Crossfire. Lonelyhearts ably shows both men's commitment to fine film making, and they were reunited one final time for a tribute to Schary on Ralph Edwards' This Is Your Life. Video version recently re-released after being withdrawn from distribution in past few years, should be superb when done in DVD, highlighted by cinematograper John Alton's muted black and white photography.

In this tale based on Nathaniel West's 1930s novel "Miss Lonelyhearts," Adam White, an enigmatic man with a past that at times gives the viewer pause, challenges a cynical newspaper publisher over the stuff and substance of human nature. We really never find out who wins, but the film is superb, with many layers of emotional depth. Clift plays his lead character a bit too tautly, and much of the time comes off as a terrorized, wooden fellow who's had one too many snorts of his drug of choice. Still, it's a human yarn full of poignancy, and the supporting characters give fine performances. For a story based on the news business, why wasn't this movie given more press?

Based on one of the handful of great American novels - by Nathaniel West, the author of "Day of the Locust", who died very young - this film was a wasted opportunity that is interesting none the less. The cast is wonderful but the surrealistic novel is both adapted and directed as if it were a social reality tract. Clift is fine as a shattered center, uncomfortably true to his own life at the time, but he's truer to the source material than the film is, so seems at odds with it. Myrna Loy is wonderful in a part that hardly exists in the book, and could have been cut from the film. To give you an idea who should have directed this material, Cocteau would have been ideal. Or Ken Russell before he became Hollywood bloated. Other plays have been written from the novel, but it's a black poem, and like "Locust" perhaps no film could truly express it. All the same, see it, then find the book. It could be argued it's the greatest American art novel ever written, rivaled only by the work of James Purdy and Jane Bowles.

The themes of this drama are well defined. The idealistic young man (Clift) believes in goodness and wants to be forgiving. Somehow it doesn't quite come off as he planned. His antagonist (Ryan)explains later that he (Clift) has won because in the face of the reality of human nature he bent but didn't break.

No stereotype characters in this one. They are a little complex and believeable. Myrna Loy, as Ryan's wife, looks like she is underplaying. But on reflection she is the reality of the wife who has been emotionally exhausted but doesn't quite know what to do.

Make sure you see this one.

A must for all Montgomery Clift fans. I liked it when I saw it on the late show thirty years ago and I like it today. It has a wonderful "noir" feel to it and will be appreciated by fans of black and white movies. He was a rare and wonderful actor.

An aspiring writer (Montgomery Clift) is hired by a newspaper and is assigned to write the "Lonely Hearts" column, dispensing advice to readers with personal problems. His cynical editor (Robert Ryan) taunts him for his idealism and challenges him to actually meet one of his readers which he does with disastrous results. Based on the novel by Nathanael West (DAY OF THE LOCUST), the film doesn't follow the novel very closely, eliminating most of the book's dark humor. Still, even in its watered down version, it's an above average melodrama. Clift is about ten years too old for the part of the young cub and he looks used up. But both Ryan as his vicious tongued editor who enjoys verbally humiliating his wife and Myrna Loy as his abused wife are both quite good as is Maureen Stapleton (who received an Oscar nomination for her performance here) as a lonely but disturbed housewife. Perhaps a noble failure at best but often quite poignant. Directed by Vincent J. Donehue. With Dolores Hart, Jackie Coogan, Frank Overton, Mike Kellin and Frank Maxwell.

The MGM DVD from Spain is a very good B&W transfer in a 1.33 aspect ratio rather than wide screen but visually, nothing seems lost.

Producer Dore Schary had a reputation for making good films with strong social messages. Especially, it seemed the moral problem was primary concern to him. LONELYHEARTS may not be a popular example among the Schary's creations, but it is the most sincere and well thought work from this socially conscious producer.

At any rate, it was the first film done by Schary's independent production, therefore, the producer must had enjoyed considerable freedom over making the film. Furthermore, the producer wrote the screenplay by himself. Schary promoted a stage director, Vincent J. Donehue for its director. It was Donehue's first film assignment, but he did a great job of making a worth while drama. Donehue was able to adopt the authentic theatrical dignity to LONELYHEARTS that the film actually is gripping as it was the live performance. He surely knew how to place actors and how to extract best of them.

Monty Clift played Adam White, a sensitive writer for the Chronicle News Paper. When the time of the filming, Clift had personal problems, like drug use and alcoholism, but ironically, because of the problems, his performance was somewhat realistic portraying the troubled man with a broken heart. His Adam White is fragile as the thin ice. In another side stands Robert Ryan, the sarcastic editor of the Chronicle. Ryan's Bill Shrike is responsible for Adam's nervous breakdown, but Shrike himself is not without troubles. Ryan teamed with Schary in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, and the film was much more respected in the public, however, LONELYHEARTS allowed Ryan to enjoy more sensitive expression which emphasized the illness of mankind. Also, Maureen Stapleton is remarkable as the confused house wife, who seeks help from equally confused Adam.

Some might say the resolution of the film, which put emphasis on forgiveness, is little indulgent, though it is undeniably important theme for the living, and its more and more so in this modern age in such we are struggling. LONELYHEATS was a quite pure film and it is successful projecting a solution to the modern day problems. Thus, the film should be respected again, and deserves its revival.

This adaptation of the classic Nathaniel West novel is a forgotten treasure, with stunning performances. It is also notable as being Maureen Stapleton's first film, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. A stellar cast and a fine script. I saw this film when it was first released and it continues to be one of my all-time favorite films.

I was very happy to receive my VHS movie of Montgomery Clift. It was in excellent condition, sealed as promised, and so far has worked perfectly on my VCR. It took a few weeks to arrive, but it was reasonably priced, so it was worth waiting for. Thank you!