None But the Lonely Heart Reviews

This was a daring and inventive film in its day, and Grant, playing the dedicated outsider, and Barrymore, as his cockney mother, are superb. The time is just prior to WWII and the place is Whitechapel in the East End of London. Through these mean streets wanders Grant, a shiftless but lighthearted young man whose mother, Barrymore, runs a dingy second-hand furniture store. Grant and his mother exchange barbs whenever they meet; however, Grant is seldom home to occupy his room above the store. Instead, he vagabonds his way through the area, cadging cigarettes and food from friendly shopkeepers who have known him since boyhood. Particularly concerned about Grant and protective of his mother is the local pawnbroker, Shayne, who dispenses wisdom and wit, as does family friend Fitzgerald, a drifter. Though cellist Wyatt is in love with Grant, he forsakes her for sultry Duprez, the divorced wife of British underworld leader Coulouris. The gangster persuades Grant to join his band of thieves, knowing that Grant will spend his ill-gotten gain on the high-living Duprez. Odets's powerful script and direction do well by the Llewellyn novel, and the film is uncompromising in its portrayal of slum life. NONE BUT THE LONELY HEART was not a box-office winner, but has remained a critical favorite, boosted by a dedicated cast. To get Barrymore into the film during its hurried production schedule, RKO paid the expenses of closing the long-running play "The Corn Is Green," in which the actress was starring.