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‘A Relic of the Bad Old Days’: Hollywood’s London in None but the Lonely Heart (1944)

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London on Film

Part of the book series: Screening Spaces ((SCSP))

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Abstract

This chapter analyses None but the Lonely Heart (1944) as a Hollywood ‘British’ film that is highly unusual for representing working-class London, and also unusual for having its debonair star, Cary Grant, cast as a Cockney drifter. Drawing on the personal papers of Cary Grant, the personal papers of screenwriter and director Clifford Odets, and RKO Pictures script and production files, this contribution explores how and why this gloomy portrait of 1930s London was made during World War II. It examines the adaptation of Richard Llewellyn’s novel, the wartime relevance of the film, and the stylish production design by Mordecai Gorelik. This chapter also considers the reception of the film, comparing American and British critical responses, and it comments on the film’s influence and legacy, including the accusation in the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings that it represented a form of communist propaganda.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Mark Glancy

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  1. Mark Glancy
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Correspondence to Mark Glancy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Pam Hirsch

  2. University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom

    Chris O'Rourke

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Glancy, M. (2017). ‘A Relic of the Bad Old Days’: Hollywood’s London in None but the Lonely Heart (1944). In: Hirsch, P., O'Rourke, C. (eds) London on Film. Screening Spaces. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64979-5_5

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