''Dear Heart'' is a 1964 American romantic-comedy film starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...

and

Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...

as lonely middle-aged people who fall in love at a hotel convention. It was directed by Delbert Mann, from a screenplay by

Tad Mosel Tad Mosel (May 1, 1922 – August 24, 2008) was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' All the Way H ...

. Its theme song " Dear Heart" was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

Plot

Evie Jackson (

) is a middle-aged, single

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

from small-town Ohio who is attending a postmasters' convention at a New York City hotel. Outgoing, honest, and somewhat tactless, she has many friends but pines for a romantic relationship, one that will be more meaningful than the flings she has had with married conventioneers in previous years. She uses various means to make herself feel less lonely and more important, such as sending herself a welcome message and having herself paged in the hotel lobby. Harry Mork (

) is a middle-aged, womanizing, former traveling salesman for a greeting card company, who now wishes to settle down. Harry has accepted a promotion to an office job in New York City, and has gotten engaged to Phyllis (

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

), a middle-aged, widowed housewife from Altoona, Pennsylvania. Harry is staying alone in the same hotel as Evie while he starts his new job and finds an apartment, where Phyllis, who is still back in Altoona, will later join him. While Harry is checking in, Phyllis's son Patrick (

Michael Anderson Jr. Michael Joseph Anderson Jr. (born 6 August 1943) is an actor whose 40-year career includes roles in '' The Sundowners'', '' In Search of the Castaways'', ''The Sons of Katie Elder'', and ''Logan's Run''. During the 1966 television season he star ...

) suddenly arrives, seeking to bond with his new father. Harry is surprised to find that Patrick is not the young boy he had expected based on a photograph, but instead is an 18-year-old bohemian with a beard (which, it is later revealed, got him expelled from boarding school). Harry is mildly annoyed by Patrick's unexpected arrival and embarrassed by his casual attitude toward women, sex, and nudity, particularly after Patrick moves into Harry's hotel room with his purportedly platonic female friend Émile Zola Bernkrand (Joanna Crawford). Evie first meets Harry when they are forced to share a dinner table in the crowded hotel restaurant, but Harry is more interested in buxom blonde June Loveland (

Barbara Nichols Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was b ...

), a clerk in the hotel gift shop, than he is in the overly friendly Evie, and he quickly makes an excuse to leave for a tryst with June. Returning to the hotel, Harry meets Evie again in the lobby, where she is upset after escaping from the unwanted sexual advances of a strange man outside her room. Harry escorts her back to her room, and they make plans to go to the Statue of Liberty the next morning. However, the next morning, Patrick shows up again wanting to spend the day with Harry, so Harry breaks his date with Evie to look at apartments with Patrick and Zola. A disappointed Evie spends the day (after attending a postmaster seminar and party) with a trio of older spinster postmasters, but cheers up when Harry returns, proves that he left a message for her (at the front desk) about the change of plans, and offers to take her to dinner and show her the apartment he rented in Greenwich Village. Evie optimistically thinks Harry is planning to reveal that the apartment is intended for the two of them to occupy, and she is crushed when she realizes that Harry is planning to live there with his soon-to-be wife Phyllis. Harry takes Evie back to the hotel and impulsively kisses her, but Phyllis unexpectedly arrives from Altoona. So Harry goes to stay with her in the hotel across the street while Evie sadly arranges to return to Ohio the next day. Harry soon discovers that Phyllis does not want to live a happy, domestic life with him in the future in the old-fashioned apartment he rented. Instead, she wants to live in modern hotels with room service, where she won't have to cook or clean, and she wants to sleep in separate beds. She also wants Harry to be a father figure to Patrick so she won't have to deal with him and his teenage problems. Harry realizes that he truly loves Evie and that Patrick and Phyllis need to spend more time with each other rather than with him. He breaks his engagement and happily reunites with Evie at the busy train station just before she would have returned home.

Cast

as Harry Mork *

as Evie Jackson *

as Phyllis *

as Patrick * Charles Drake as Frank Taylor * Richard Deacon as Cruikshank *

as June Loveland *

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

as Miss Fox *

Ruth McDevitt Ruth Thane McDevitt ( Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. Career The daughter of John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft, McDevitt was born in Coldwater, Mich ...

as Miss Tait *

Alice Pearce Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She was brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of '' On the Town'' (1949). Pearce played comedic supporting roles in ...

as Miss Moore * Joanna Crawford as Émile Zola Bernkrand *

Patricia Barry Patricia Barry (born Patricia Allen White, November 16, 1921 – October 11, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Although Barry has numerous credits performing in stage productions and in films, the majority of her work wa ...

as Mitchell * Neva Patterson as Connie Templeton *

Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...

as The Masher * Hal Smith as party reveler

Production

''Dear Heart'' was written by Tad Mosel, from his own story.Crowther, Bosley. "Screen: 'Dear Heart' Is at Music Hall." ''New York Times.'' March 8, 1965. He originally wrote it as a teleplay for a May 1957 ''

Westinghouse Studio One ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948 and ended on Sept ...

'' episode, titled "The Out-Of-Towners", co-starring E.G. Marshall and

Eileen Heckart Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years. Early life Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), ...

. The film had a budget of about $1.8 million.Perry, Eleanor. "Marty's Spoiled Rich Sister." ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

''. February 5, 1965, p. 18. Principal shooting occurred from October 3 to November 22, 1963. Filming of the opening and closing scenes in

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

took advantage of just-commenced demolition process of the above-ground structures. It was Geraldine Page's first role as a leading lady. As production began, Glenn Ford's long-term relationship with actress Hope Lange was ending, and she married producer Alan Pakula, leaving Ford heartbroken. Although production of ''Dear Heart'' was generally a positive one, Ford could not stop brooding over Lange. Angela Lansbury took the role of the materialistic, good-hearted Phyllis because it gave her an opportunity to work with Geraldine Page.Edelman and Kupferberg, p. 174.

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

was hired to compose music for the film. Mancini felt such a gentle romantic film deserved a theme song. He quickly wrote music for the song, but it lacked lyrics. Mancini contacted

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...

, who was unavailable. So Mancini turned to

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans the ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

. The lyricists read the script, and came up with the lyrics and title for the song based on their reading of Geraldine Page's character.Sackett and Rovins, p. 177. The film's original title was "The Out-of-Towners", but Jay Livingston said he changed the title to ''Dear Heart'' when Martin Manulis heard the theme song. Warner Brothers was uncertain about when to release the film. Mancini, who had a 50% interest in the film's theme song with Larry Shayne, asked studio head

Jack L. Warner Jack Leonard Warner (born Jacob Warner; August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978) was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some ...

to release the film so that it would qualify for the March 1965 Academy Awards. Warner agreed to release it for a week in Los Angeles (which, under Academy rules, would qualify it for the Oscars), if Mancini and Shayne would pay for the local advertising. Because this would cost only $10,000, Mancini and Shayne agreed to do so. The film premiered on December 3, 1964 in Los Angeles, to qualify it for the 1964 awards season. It made its general release premiere at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

in New York City on March 8, 1965.

Reception

The film received little attention.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, writing for ''The New York Times'', called it "a stale, dull and humorless pretension at what its producers dare to describe as 'gay, sophisticated comedy,' and it makes almost scandalous misuse of the recognized talents of Geraldine Page." Eleanor Perry, writing for ''

'', felt that, although the film was aimed at average people, it was condescending and patronizing to them. Writing in 2008,

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

felt it had "excellent characterizations" and a solid supporting cast. Film historians Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg felt Lansbury's performance was thoughtful. ''Dear Heart'' holds a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 6 reviews.

Awards and nominations

References

Bibliography

* Edelman, Rob and Kupferberg, Audrey E. ''Angela Lansbury: A Life on Stage and Screen.'' Thorndike, Maine: G.K. Hall & Co., 1996. * Ford, Peter. ''Glenn Ford: A Life.'' Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. * Maltin, Leonard. ''Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide.'' New York: Plume/Penguin, 2008. * Mancini, Henry and Lees, Gene. ''Did They Mention the Music?'' New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. * Matthews, Charles. ''Oscar A to Z: A Complete Guide to More Than 2,400 Movies Nominated for Academy Awards.'' New York: Doubleday, 1995. * Monush, Barry. ''Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors.'' New York: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2003. * Sackett, Susan and Rovins, Marcia. ''Hollywood Sings!: An Inside Look at Sixty Years of Academy Award-Nominated Songs.'' New York: Billboard Books, 1995. * Shelley, Peter. ''Grande Dame Guignol Cinema: A History of Hag Horror From Baby Jane to Mother.'' Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2009.

External links

* * * * {{Delbert Mann 1964 films 1964 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films 1960s English-language films Films based on television plays Films directed by Delbert Mann Films scored by Henry Mancini Films set in hotels Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Warner Bros. films 1960s American films