User reviews

The lives of a woman and man intersect at a New York hotel in this sentimental story from 1964. Glenn Ford plays Harry Mork, a traveling salesman who has decided to slow down and settle down after years of schmoozing, boozing and extracurricular intrigues. Geraldine Page plays Evie Jackson, a small-town postal worker who annually visits the big cities for the industry convention and a chance to let loose a little and take in the sights.

Evie is the person who has never met a stranger. Outwardly she is an eternal optimist and delights in knowing everyone's names, as if that knowledge makes them friends. Under the surface, though, she might be "Miss Lonelyhearts" from Hitchcock's "Rear Window" in a few years, if her life situation doesn't resolve into a satisfactory conclusion. Ms. Page's portrayal of Evie is so fascinating that she dominates the film. Frankly, my attention is always riveted to the screen when this film plays, even though I know how it turns out. As others have pointed out, this is a performance worthy of an Oscar.

The screenplay is very well written, allowing the viewer to observe every aspect of the characters, learning their way of life, their fears, and even their hidden dreams. The acting is good across the board. The end result is very satisfying, especially for viewers who can identify with the emotional vulnerability of the two main characters.

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!

Harry Mork (Glenn Ford's character) unfolds as a man getting older and wanting roots, family and belonging. But all are bundled into longing. For what he's longing for he's not sure.

An eccentric postmistress(Geraldine Page) Evie, grows on him. She appears out of nowhere and she slowly gets into his mind and heart.

Patrick, the son of a would-be fussy wife (Angela Lansbury)to Harry, becomes Harry's portal unto a different world. A world of assertiveness.

Patrick, too, longs for love, found in a pre-hippie girlfriend named Zola, but he, too, knows that there is much more than a quicky and a fleeting relationship in Zola. Like Harry, Patrick is longing. And in Patrick, Harry sees a bit of himself. Something Patrick says makes Harry think: "Something has Got to be done about me!" Patrick emphasizes to Harry about being assertive in love.

But the movie is more than relationships or the lack of.

In Dear Heart we see a man edging closer to commitment. Not the commitment to Lansbury but one to the charming and under-the-radar Evie. Will they find love? Will they marry? Would they adopt the charming and introspective and grown Patrick?

Love is found sometimes unexpectedly. Found love is to be acted upon before he or she flees. I expect that Harry made that commitment to Evie and, the next year, at the postmasters convention, Evie will have a roommate and a table for two.

It's an amazing little movie. It's early 1960s but seems more in tune with the late 1960s. Like you would give love a chance, give this movie a chance.

Watched the first three minutes and was so taken with Geraldine Page's performance I spent noon til two glued to the TV. All the acting is wonderful with Glenn Ford at his best and Angela Lansbury at her usual level of excellence. Im about to look up who wrote and directed this. The combination of wit, charm and, above all, restraint is intoxicating. Any student of acting should watch Geraldine's perf over and over to watch how she plays against the pathos and chooses the sunny choice in a character that in other hands would fade into the shadows of sentimentality. The ending is strangely abrupt. If they wanted to end it suddenly they should have let her settling onto her suitcase in Penn station with studied delight be the final image.

Geraldine Page is so adorable in this film, and she delivers a wonderful performance. The story follows a rather well-trod path, but it does so stylishly, and the truth is, sometimes you're with the wrong person when the right person comes along in life, and that's what this film is about. It's also about staying true to yourself while single; Page's character remains friendly and considerate even though she's surrounded by a bunch of randy men staying at a hotel for a postmaster's convention. One old man gives her his room key and asks her to come at midnight to "spare me a night of mortal agony;" she says she'll be there, but then cheerfully gives the key to a friend and informs her that Stu is up to his old tricks. A married father of four comes on to harder, leading to this exchange:

Him: "What is everything?" (in a relationship) Her: (speaking of an affair) "It's not a hotel in Chicago. Or New York." Him: "You're wrong, Evie, it is. It's what everything else in the whole damn world is getting at. It's the best page in the book." Her: "But you can't just read that one page. It doesn't make any sense by itself. It's just nothing. I don't want nothing."

Meanwhile, a traveling salesman (Glenn Ford) is also staying in the hotel. He's had his share of fun while on the road, and in fact in the film's first scene he drops by a lover's apartment for what she thinks will be early morning martinis and sex, only to inform her that he's getting married. They cheerfully part while another man calls her up, and she arranges for him to come over and take the salesman's place; this is a rather horny movie amidst the sweetness of its romance, something I liked about it. There's also the woman at the magazine counter who has regular encounters at the hotel across the street, leading to a funny moment where she greets the desk clerk after all the attempts to create a false story as to why she'll be going up there without any luggage. And there's the feisty woman conventioneer from Hot Springs who embarrasses the organizer of the event by bursting into his room and saying "I shook the old man, Squeaky! Let's play house!" thinking he's alone. What a euphemism, "let's play house."

The script is peppered with other little bits of comedy, such as the soon to be son-in-law billing things to Ford's account without a care in the world, or him telling Ford that the days of men always being the ones to chase women are over. In response to how it was in Ford's day, he quips, "That's a very stimulating piece of Americana." The woman he intends to marry shows up late and it was a treat to see Angela Lansbury in this part. She doesn't have much to do here, but it was eyebrow-raising when her character makes it clear that as a wife she would have no problems with her husband having affairs.

This is really Geraldine Page's movie though. The film acknowledges sex but its heart is always in the right place, and Page is at the center of that. Her conversations with everyone around her are earnest, and her character is lovable because she's so decent and self-aware. The kiss Ford lays on her up in her hotel room is pretty damn steamy too. I'm probably rounding up a little bit, but I'm sucker for this kind of fare, and I was delighted with this hidden little gem.

It was made when I was just a teenager, when everything was not yet always filmed in color! I had never seen it before, but the Henry Mancini song was very well known. Not exactly a screwball comedy but it comes close. Glen Ford and Geraldine Page are perfect together. A great romantic comedy from the "old" days. A chance meeting between two very lonely middle aged people in NYC. Angela Lansbury swoops in at the end with a short but effective performance, as the worst woman in the world for Glen Ford not to marry! Look also for many well-known character actors from movies of this time.

This is an absolutely delightful romantic comedy. Like many others, I am amazed that I never heard of it before a few days ago, when it appeared on TCM. I recorded it (love that DVR) and watched it yesterday.

I agree with others who say that the acting of the two leads, Ford and Page was excellent. So too was that of the supporting characters Lansbury and Nichols. But the many fine small touches stand out too. I loved seeing the old Penn Station in New York, long since destroyed. I loved the look of the girlfriend of Ford's "son", with the hair style, clothes, and big glasses. That brings back some high school memories. The many fine little one-liner or throw-away jokes, such as "nice wig" or Ford: "I have a psychic thing;" Nichols: "I don't want to see it."

But even beyond that, I was amazed by the portrayal of the society and customs of 1963 New York. Shades of Mad Men! No, there were no Madison Avenue Ad executives, but the banter and casual sex displayed was an eye opener. I thought that all happened ten years later? Even the look and feel of Ford's character was remarkably like Don Draper. I seriously wonder if this movie was not an inspiration for Matthew Weiner when he created Mad Men.

Glenn Ford was the Swiss Army Knife of male post-Golden Age actors. He played Army officers fighting the Nazi's, Ford made the West safe for settlers, and trouble for outlaws. Add Dear Jeart to the list of his great romantic dramas/comedy's headed by The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Pocketful of Miracles,The Gazebo and The Teahouse of the August Moon. I'm glad Ford made this picture, I can't think of any of actor who would have been as natural in the role of an engaged (man to a social climber Angela Lansbury) promoted from his Greeting Card sales position its onto New York, he's in management now. While housed in an NYC hotel, he meets Geraldine Page, a small town Postmaster in the city for a convention. Page was outstanding, she quickly develops feelings for the Ford character whose life seems to become complicated with his new son, his odd female friend, his fierce, and now Miss Page's character. The real story continues from this point. Dear Heart might have been improved by dropping the ditzy magazine/newspaper stand girl, Peterson, Fords new NYC boss. They scramble the story rather than enriching it. You do enjoy the older three Postmistress's who disapprove of Page missing any presentations. The trio includes Mary Wicks who should have had a larger role. It's a lovely film with the memorable song "Gear Hearts" played throughout. The characters are terrific, although it's impossible to warm up to Phyllis, Lansbury's character. I loved the story filled with on and off relationships. It's a solid 8; IMO.

Glenn Ford is at his best in a terrific love story, Geraldine Page is the quirky Postmistress, Angela Lansbury is the faience who plans on filling her dreams with Ford's character as the vehicle for escaping Altoona. It's a sweet love triangle involving middle aged folks wishing for a new life or an end to their loneliness. See it on TCM, I've tried to find a DVD without success. TCM has "Dear Heart" on its schedule with regularity. "Dear Heart" represents the greatest era of Hollywood and it does so quite well.