None But the Lonely Heart (1944)

Director:

Clifford Odets

Writers:

Clifford Odets (written for the screen by)
Richard Llewellyn (from the novel by)

Release Date:

17 October 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

When an itinerant reluctantly returns home to help his sickly mother run her shop, they're both tempted to turn to crime to help make ends meet.

Plot Keywords:

Cancer | Unrequited Love | Automobile Theft | Slum | Pawnbroker

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Ernie Mott
Ethel Barrymore	...	Ma Mott (as Miss Ethel Barrymore)
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Henry Twite
June Duprez	...	Ada Brantline
Jane Wyatt	...	Aggie Hunter
George Coulouris	...	Jim Mordinoy
Dan Duryea	...	Lew Tate
Roman Bohnen	...	Dad Pettyjohn
Konstantin Shayne	...	Ike Weber
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Katherine Allen	...	Millie Wilson (uncredited)
William Ambler	...	Bus Driver (uncredited)
George Atkinson	...	Man with Gramophone (uncredited)
Polly Bailey	...	Ma Floom (uncredited)
Ted Billings	...	Cockney Bum (uncredited)
Rosemary Blong	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Sammy Blum	...	Drunk in Funfair (uncredited)
Marina Bohnen	...	Girl (uncredited)
Matthew Boulton	...	First Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Eva Leonard Boyne	...	Ma Chalmers (uncredited)
William Challee	...	Knocker Jones (uncredited)
Robin Sanders Clark	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
David Clyde	...	Policeman with Stripes (uncredited)
Marie De Becker	...	Madam La Vaka (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Marcel Dill	...	Percy (uncredited)
Diane Dyer	...	Ada's Baby (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Second Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Virginia Farmer	...	Ma Segwiss (uncredited)
Lita Gordon	...	Girl (uncredited)
Helena Grant	...	Old Woman in Shop (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	Man Walking into 'Funfare' (uncredited)
Alec Harford	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Forrester Harvey	...	Shooting Galley Proprietor (uncredited)
Herbert Heywood	...	Dad Fitchitt (uncredited)
Keith Hitchcock	...	Roly Poly Man (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Policeman at Crash Site (uncredited)
Rosalind Ivan	...	Mrs. Clara Tate (uncredited)
Jack Jackson	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Tiny Jones	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Policeman Outside (uncredited)
Skelton Knaggs	...	Lou 'Slush' Atley (uncredited)
Rosemary La Planche	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Morton Lowry	...	Taz Jones (uncredited)
John Meredith	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Chef Milani	...	Rossi (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Joseph North	...	Old Man (uncredited)
William O'Leary	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Elsie Prescott	...	Old Lady (uncredited)
Barry Regan	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Al Rhein	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Renie Riano	...	Flo (uncredited)
Amelia Romano	...	Lame Girl (uncredited)
Nancy Russell	...	Girl (uncredited)
Yorke Sherwood	...	Cell Block Policeman (uncredited)
Ernest Shields	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Ida Shoemaker	...	Old Lady (uncredited)
Art Smith	...	Mr. Marjoriebanks (uncredited)
Walter Soderling	...	Pa Floom (uncredited)
Helene Thimig	...	Sister Nurse (uncredited)
Roy Thomas	...	Rookie Policeman (uncredited)
Charles S. Thompson	...	Defeated Man (uncredited)
David Thursby	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Diedra Vale	...	Miss Tate (uncredited)
Queenie Vassar	...	Mrs. Jane Snowden (uncredited)
Clare Verdera	...	Barmaid (uncredited)
Joseph Vitale	...	'Cosh' Simmons (uncredited)
Milton Wallace	...	Ike Lesser (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Bill Wolfe	...	Blind Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Clifford Odets

Writing credits
Clifford Odets		(written for the screen by)
Richard Llewellyn		(from the novel by)

Produced by
David Hempstead	....	producer
Sherman Todd	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Hanns Eisler

Cinematography by
George Barnes		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Roland Gross

Production Design by
Mordecai Gorelik

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Jack Okey

Set Decoration by
Harley Miller		(set decorations)
Darrell Silvera		(set decorations)

Costume Design by
Renié		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Lloyd Richards	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ruby Rosenberg	....	assistant director
Lynn Shores	....	director: action footage (uncredited)

Sound Department
James G. Stewart	....	rerecordist
Richard Van Hessen	....	recordist

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Edith Conrad	....	stand-in: Ethel Barrymore (uncredited)
Barbara Gray	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Mal Merrihugh	....	stand-in: Cary Grant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents) (as RKO Radio Pictures, Inc, )

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:U (video rating) (1997) | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-7 (2004) | USA:Approved (PCA #10039) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:U (tv rating)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Author Richard Llewellyn was strongly opposed to the casting of Cary Grant, demanding to know how the 40-year-old actor could play a 19-year-old character.

Quotes:

Aggie Hunter:Don't worry for me. I'm here if you need me. I can't help my own nature. If I love you it's something I can't help, and something that I need. People are what they are and love what they love, and I don't see any sense in trying to be something else. I wouldn't trade it for a box at the opera, the thing I feel for you. And you can't change it or take it away from me. And there you are mister jack in the box.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Cary Grant: A Class Apart (#18.3)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Romance No.6, Op.6 (None But the Lonely Heart)

Painful but interesting.

I found this movie to be very painful to watch. It is not your typical Hollywood, let's glamorise everything, everyone has money, let's make it look pretty. These people are grindingly poor, the mother is dying of cancer, and our boy is trying to be his own man, without money or position. Tuning pianos seems like a difficult way to earn a living, but makes use of the only talent he really has, which is perfect pitch. For those who don't know, it is the ability to name any tone or note that you hear. This movie has a great supporting cast, Barry Fitzgerald and Jane Wyatt, just to mention two. Grant's mother is one of my favorite actresses, Ethel Barrymore. She really has too much class for the part she plays. And the sets make you glad you don't have to live there. Still memorable, though, in spite of being so depressing.