Adam White, an earnest young man, tries to get a position at the local newspaper, The Gazette. For that, he goes right to William Shrike, the editor, meeting him at a lounge favored by writers of the paper. When Shrike asks him to write something for him on the spot, he gets impressed by White's prompt response. Adam is asked to report next day to the editor.
There are some things Adam White would like to keep secret. All he has revealed to Justy, his girlfriend, is that his parents were killed in a tragic accident and he spent most of his youth in an orphanage. Justy believes him. What she does not know is that Adam is hiding the truth about his early life. His father is in prison serving time for having killed his wife and a lover.
At The Gazette, Adam is offered a job dealing with the correspondence to the column "Miss Lonelyhearts", where people ask for help in coping with whatever is troubling them at the moment. William Shrike has problems of his own. Life with Florence, his wife, has never been the same after he found out about her deceit, something he cannot forget.
Adam is asked to select a letter and go see for himself about what makes the person seek to have the problem solved by a total stranger. He picks a lady whose husband is crippled and she is facing hard times. The woman turns out to be a fake, which was Shrike's suggestion, who turns out to want Adam for an illicit affair.
The film was written by Dore Schary, the man that had a long career in Hollywood in other capacities. It was based on a play written by Howard Teichmann, which was inspired in a Nathanael West novel. Directed by Vincent Donehue, "Lonelyhearts" tries to cover a lot of territory without finally satisfying. Perhaps the problem is in the staging of this theatrical piece. At times it feels static. It was painful to watch a Montgomery Clift's return to the movies after his almost fatal accident and new looks.
There are good ensemble playing all around, but the most interesting performances come from unexpected sources. Maureen Stapleton surprised with her Fay Doyle, for which she received an Oscar nomination. Robert Ryan does a fine Shrike, and Myrna Loy appears as his wife, Florence. There are other good character actors in the cast of the stature of Mike Kellin, Frank Overtone, Frank Maxwell and Onslow Stevens among others.
There are some things Adam White would like to keep secret. All he has revealed to Justy, his girlfriend, is that his parents were killed in a tragic accident and he spent most of his youth in an orphanage. Justy believes him. What she does not know is that Adam is hiding the truth about his early life. His father is in prison serving time for having killed his wife and a lover.
At The Gazette, Adam is offered a job dealing with the correspondence to the column "Miss Lonelyhearts", where people ask for help in coping with whatever is troubling them at the moment. William Shrike has problems of his own. Life with Florence, his wife, has never been the same after he found out about her deceit, something he cannot forget.
Adam is asked to select a letter and go see for himself about what makes the person seek to have the problem solved by a total stranger. He picks a lady whose husband is crippled and she is facing hard times. The woman turns out to be a fake, which was Shrike's suggestion, who turns out to want Adam for an illicit affair.
The film was written by Dore Schary, the man that had a long career in Hollywood in other capacities. It was based on a play written by Howard Teichmann, which was inspired in a Nathanael West novel. Directed by Vincent Donehue, "Lonelyhearts" tries to cover a lot of territory without finally satisfying. Perhaps the problem is in the staging of this theatrical piece. At times it feels static. It was painful to watch a Montgomery Clift's return to the movies after his almost fatal accident and new looks.
There are good ensemble playing all around, but the most interesting performances come from unexpected sources. Maureen Stapleton surprised with her Fay Doyle, for which she received an Oscar nomination. Robert Ryan does a fine Shrike, and Myrna Loy appears as his wife, Florence. There are other good character actors in the cast of the stature of Mike Kellin, Frank Overtone, Frank Maxwell and Onslow Stevens among others.