Cary Grant once said that “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be, and finally I became that person. Or he became me.”
Today, of course, Grant is remembered as the epitome of the suave gentleman, an image he carefully cultivated, but in 1944’s “None But the Lonely Heart,” he played a very different kind of man — the Cockney ne’er do well Ernie Mott, a role that allowed him to reach back to his working-class roots. He considered it one of his finest performances; his portrayal earned him an Oscar nomination.
Last week, Warner Archive issued a remastered DVD edition of the film, which attracted audiences when it was originally released but has since faded from view. It rarely shows up on TV or in revival theaters (it was released on VHS in 1995), but the movie, directed by Clifford Odets from Richard Llewellyn’s novel, remains a testament to Grant’s innate talent.
Born in Bristol, England, in 1904 as Archibald Alexander Leach to impoverished parents, Grant was 9 when his mother was institutionalized. Five years later, he was working with the Bob Pender comedy troupe, where he danced, performed acrobatics and even learned to stilt-walk.
He got only two chances to revisit his past on-screen. He was jovial fun in the 1935 Katharine Hepburn-starrer “Sylvia Scarlett” as a “gentleman adventurer.” But he’s a revelation in “None But the Lonely Heart,” offering up a performance of depth, complexity and emotion.
As the film opens, Grant’s Mott is returning to the poor London East End street where he grew up.
His mother (Ethel Barrymore), who owns a secondhand store, is angry that he has wasted his life and gives him an ultimatum — put down roots or leave.
Furious, Ernie plans to leave in the morning — until he learns that his mother is dying of cancer.
He decides to stay and help her.
Jane Wyatt plays his neighbor Aggie, a cellist who has long loved Ernie, and June Duprez is Ada, the love of his life who was once married to a still jealous gangster (George Coulouris).
Grant supposedly never took awards seriously and did not attend the 1945 Oscar ceremony. He lost the Academy Award to Bing Crosby for “Going My Way.” But according to friends, Grant was disheartened that he didn’t win the statuette because he considered his portrayal of Mott to be the best of his career. And he was right.
