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Lonelyhearts



 
 
Lonelyhearts (also known as Miss Lonelyheart ) is a 1958 film noir
Film noir

Film noir is a film term used primarily to describe stylish cinema of the United States Crime film, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation....
 drama film directed by Vincent J. Donehue
Vincent J. Donehue

Vincent Julian Donehue was an USA director noted mainly for his theatre work, with occasional film and television credits .Donehue was born in Whitehall , New York....
. It is based on the play by Howard Teichmann and the 1933 novel Miss Lonelyhearts
Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts, published in 1933, is Nathanael West's second novel. It is an Expressionist black comedy set in New York City during the Great Depression....
 by Nathanael West
Nathanael West

Nathanael West was a US author, screenwriter and satirist....
.

The film stars Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift

Edward Montgomery Clift was an United Statesn film actor. He was known for his brooding, sensitive, working-class character roles, and received four Academy Award nominations during his career....
, Robert Ryan
Robert Ryan

Robert Bushnell Ryan was an Academy Award and British Academy of Film and Television Arts-nominated United States actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains....
, Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy

Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, but after a few minor roles in silent films, she devoted herself fully to an acting career, and from 1925 gradually established herself as a film actress....
, Jackie Coogan
Jackie Coogan

John Leslie Coogan was an United States actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent film....
, Dolores Hart
Dolores Hart

Dolores Hart is an United States Roman Catholic Church nun and former actor. She made 10 films in 5 years, playing opposite Stephen Boyd, Montgomery Clift, George Hamilton and Robert Wagner, having made her movie debut with Elvis Presley in Loving You ....
, and Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton

Lois Maureen Stapleton was an United States Academy Awards-, Emmy Award- and two-time Tony Award-winning actor in film, theatre and television....
 in her first film role. Stapleton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
 as well as for a Golden Globe.
aniel West's novel on which this film was based was adapted for the screen in 1933
1933 in film

Events*British Film Institute founded.*March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey....
 as Advice to the Lovelorn starring Lee Tracy
Lee Tracy

Lee Tracy was an Academy Award-nominated United States actor.Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia , he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then he served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I....
.






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Encyclopedia


Lonelyhearts (also known as Miss Lonelyheart ) is a 1958 film noir
Film noir

Film noir is a film term used primarily to describe stylish cinema of the United States Crime film, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation....
 drama film directed by Vincent J. Donehue
Vincent J. Donehue

Vincent Julian Donehue was an USA director noted mainly for his theatre work, with occasional film and television credits .Donehue was born in Whitehall , New York....
. It is based on the play by Howard Teichmann and the 1933 novel Miss Lonelyhearts
Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts, published in 1933, is Nathanael West's second novel. It is an Expressionist black comedy set in New York City during the Great Depression....
 by Nathanael West
Nathanael West

Nathanael West was a US author, screenwriter and satirist....
.

The film stars Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift

Edward Montgomery Clift was an United Statesn film actor. He was known for his brooding, sensitive, working-class character roles, and received four Academy Award nominations during his career....
, Robert Ryan
Robert Ryan

Robert Bushnell Ryan was an Academy Award and British Academy of Film and Television Arts-nominated United States actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains....
, Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy

Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, but after a few minor roles in silent films, she devoted herself fully to an acting career, and from 1925 gradually established herself as a film actress....
, Jackie Coogan
Jackie Coogan

John Leslie Coogan was an United States actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent film....
, Dolores Hart
Dolores Hart

Dolores Hart is an United States Roman Catholic Church nun and former actor. She made 10 films in 5 years, playing opposite Stephen Boyd, Montgomery Clift, George Hamilton and Robert Wagner, having made her movie debut with Elvis Presley in Loving You ....
, and Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton

Lois Maureen Stapleton was an United States Academy Awards-, Emmy Award- and two-time Tony Award-winning actor in film, theatre and television....
 in her first film role. Stapleton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry....
 as well as for a Golden Globe.

Background and production

Nathaniel West's novel on which this film was based was adapted for the screen in 1933
1933 in film

Events*British Film Institute founded.*March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey....
 as Advice to the Lovelorn starring Lee Tracy
Lee Tracy

Lee Tracy was an Academy Award-nominated United States actor.Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia , he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then he served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I....
. It was made by 20th Century Pictures and distributed by United Artists
United Artists

United Artists Entertainment LLC is an United States film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company....
, directed by Alfred L. Werker
Alfred L. Werker

Alfred L. Werker was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs, Werker directed his first film in 1925....
 from a screenplay by Leonard Praskins. The film was more of a comedy-drama than this version.

In 1957, the novel was adapted into a stage play entitled Miss Lonelyhearts by Howard Teichmann. It opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre

The Music Box Theater is a legitimate Broadway theatre theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C....
 on October 3, 1957 in a production directed by Alan Schneider
Alan Schneider

'Alan Schneider' was an United States theatre direction and mentor responsible for more than 100 theatre productions. He directed the 1956 American premiere of Waiting for Godot; Edward Albee's Who?s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Tiny Alice; Michael Weller's Moonchildren and Loose Ends ; Harold Pinter's The Birthday Part...
 and designed by Jo Mielziner
Jo Mielziner

Jo Mielziner was an United States theatrical scenic design, costume design, and lighting design designer born in Paris, France. He was considered one of the most influential theatre designers of the 20th century, designing the scenery and often the lighting for over 200 productions, many of which became American classics....
. It ran for only twelve performances.

Plot summary


The story opens on the small town street. A man throws a bundle of papers onto the sidewalk from the back of a truck labeled "Chronicle". Clift is sitting in a bar when a woman offers him a drink. He refuses, telling her how alcohol seems to be poisonous to him. After a talking with her for a while he finds out that she is married to the editor of the paper where he is hoping to work. The editor shows up to meet his wife only to find her talking to Monty. When he asks how Monty found him, Monty says, "I heard that there was a bar where newspaper people hang out. I came here since it is the closest to the Chronicle, the only paper in town." The Mrs. tells that Monty can write and that he deserves the chance to prove it. Ryan says, "O.K., so write!" Clift hems and haws momentarily, but then delivers the following story: "The Chronincle is pleased to announce the addition of a new member to our staff. He met the Editor in Chief, who went so far as to insult his own wife in an effort to provoke the new staff member. Instead of punching the editor in the face, he accepted a position on the paper.

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