Dear Heart

I don't know about Chimale1025's claim that "Children under 35" won't enjoy it unless they are exceptionally mature, but I am currently in my mid-20s and have loved this film since I saw it on TCM in my early 20's. Then again, many of my favorite films deal with the loneliness of not quite fitting in to society's big picture.

This is a lovely story of two lonely people who find each other at just the right time, and the growing closeness between the two forces them to look at their lives more clearly and see what they really want out of life. The title song by Mancini is rather cloying and irritating, but I can overlook that for the wonderful performances by Ford and Page. Lansbury is also quite good as the supposed shrew and "tomato", but even she is not entirely unsympathetic in the end. She is also lonely, you see.

Anyone who has been truly lonely or is sympathetic to that position will react emotionally to this film. True, it is a little dated, but that is a large part of its charm for the innocence and hope that fills it. Definitely worth a look, and hopefully it will appear on DVD soon enough!

This is a film about two middle aged people in search of their soul mates. It is a very adult film. Children under 35 usually don't find it very rewarding unless they possess an unusual emotional maturity. I loved it the first time I saw it when I was about 22, but I didn't understand its depths until I was about 38. It shows the despair of lonely singles. It shows the "innocence" of the never attached. A spinster (what an ageist and sexist term) and a not too old jaded and bored bachelor try to make relationships which don't really fit work for them. The efforts they go through and the situations they find themselves in make for a lovely and sweet ride. The resolution is extremely gratifying and not so unrealistic. Its tone, mood and pacing as the two meet and learn about each other build beautifully. I don't want a remake, but I miss movies of this maturity, thought and charm. No glamour, no glitz, no silly gags, no pretty young things, this film shows ordinary people with ordinary problems trying to find someone to love in a world that isn't always kind to people past their "prime". Geraldine Page is revelatory as the slightly ridiculous woman who grows more lovely as the story progresses. Glenn Ford's charms are used to their maximum effect and Angela Landsbury adds the right shrewish tone. This is a must see for people who love a good complicated normal romance.

There are two reasons for watching this film. The most important one is the chance to watch one of the great actresses of our time at work. The other is Mancini's beautiful theme. Evie Jackson is in NYC for the annual postmasters' convention,and Harry Mork is apartment-hunting. Harry and Evie are staying at the same hotel and meet. Harry tells Evie he's engaged and asks her to supply a woman's appraisal of an apartment he's considering. The scene at the apartment, where Evie slowly realizes that he really IS engaged (and not wooing her) is an acting tour de force. That one scene is worth the price of admission. I saw the film at its opening, at Radio City Music Hall, and I'll never forget it - or Geraldine Page.

88/100. An exceptional, and I feel a very underrated film with Geraldine Page giving an outstanding and unforgettable performance. She gives the character of Evie so many personal nuances and touches. She really is amazing. Angela Lansbury is also incredible in a supporting role, and nails the character with confidence and style. A lot of the smaller characters are television staples, Richard Deacon, Hal Smith, Ruth McDevitt and Alice Pearce. Barbara Nichols gives a very memorable and funny performance as the woman at the concessions counter.

It is a wonderfully simple and uncomplicated story. Delbert Mann does a superb job with his subtle direction. Very well written with deeply developed characters you care about. Glenn Ford is quite good in a warm and subtle performance. A very special gem of a film.

I note that a DVD version of this charming film is available in Great Britain, but not here . (Our VHS version is not in stock from one major source and one wonders if the British DVD is also out-of-stock.) This title boasts two truly fine actresses, Geraldine Page and Angela Lansbury (although the latter has little more than a cameo, of which she makes the most, as always), plus a wonderful supporting cast as well. Ordinarily I've found Glenn Ford to be rather dull in several of his big screen performances but in this one I recall finding him well-suited to his role and giving an entirely sympathetic and amusing account of himself opposite Ms. Page in a role she obviously relished.

With a well-remembered theme song and a nice music score by the prolific Henry Mancini, there's probably no danger of this one being remade, I suspect, and, since it's close to perfect in this original telling, let's just hope that a DVD release will eventually allow us to revisit the qualities that made it genuinely appealing for mature audiences forty years ago and, I feel sure, still would today.