Cary Grant, None But the Lonely Heart

as ERNIE MOTT

The two thoughts I had running through my head over and over again while watching None but the Lonely Heart was “this movie sucks” and most crucially, “I can’t believe he got nominated for this”. It’s dumbfounding that of all the iconic films in Cary Grant’s filmography, Oscar’s attention only came for Penny Serenade and for this one. As Ernie Mott (the film has a stupid habit of reiterating his name over and over again, as if it knows we’re so bored by the picture’s cruddiness that we’d tune it all out), the wandering loser who comes back to help out with his sick mom’s shop, only to get caught up in some illegal dealings, Cary is so totally, utterly…mundane.

Cary Grant, Penny Serenade

as ROGER ADAMS

Leave it to the Academy to flat out ignore Cary Grant's excellent comedic performances in some of the most acclaimed comedies of the time again and again, and then finally throwing him a bone for an utterly forgettable (and totally mediocre) melodrama. It often feels peculiar to be judging Grant for this particular performance, partly because he's a little bit out of his element and partly because he is stifled by a real clunker of a movie. As a result, it never feels like Grant is truly "on" in this movie like he is in his more iconic films, and the entire film and nomination feels so hasty, as if the Academy was saying, "look! we're acknowledging him! look at him here! he's so dramatic!"