Much of this film is easy to like...it's just too bad that the sum of these parts don't add up to make a great film. However, despite its many flaws, the film is often interesting and nearly earns a 7.
The film begins with Montgomery Clift sitting in a bar--talking with Myrna Loy. It seems that she is the wife of a newspaper editor and Clift wants a job--so he's cultivated her friendship. However, so far, all his attempts to meet with her husband to talk about a job have come to naught--until the husband, Robert Ryan, enters the bar. During this initial meeting, it's soon obvious that Ryan is an abrasive man--and one of the most contemptibly cynical men I've ever seen in film. Each and every word he spoke dripped with disdain and sarcasm--and he was a very easy person to hate. One reviewer felt this was too easy a role for Ryan, as he did play quite a few characters similar to this. However, none were ever this horrible and it still didn't change the fact that his character was electrifying and created a strong visceral hatred within the audience--now THAT'S effective.
Despite Ryan being a jerk, he decides to give Clift a chance on the paper. At first, it's inexplicable--why would such a nasty piece of work do something nice? However, later you learn that he's given Clift a job partly to mess with his mind and partly to make sure that this happy and optimistic man (Clift) could be ruined--made into a cynic as well. How he intended to do it is to give Clift the "lonelyhearts" column to do--figuring all the hard-luck stories he'll read about will crush his optimism. While this doesn't exactly happen, Clift does take the job very seriously...too seriously. He is torn apart and tormented by the stories and his inability to solve these problems---and Ryan has a ball watching him suffer! And, if you've seen many Clift films, you'll know that he was an actor who seemed to love to suffer--playing similar characters in quite a few films. There's a lot more to the story than that this, but I don't want to ruin it by saying a lot more.
Some aspects of the film worked very well. Ryan and Loy made for a fascinating couple--despite their age difference (which was handled well by powdering Ryan's hair a bit). His nastiness and her quiet misery was something to see! Clift, also, was quite good. However, there was a huge casting problem in the film. Clift's girlfriend (Delored Hart) was completely wrong for the film. Part of it was just bad casting. Ms. Hart appeared to be only about 17 years-old (though she was actually 20) and with Clift looking significantly older (particularly since this film was made after his serious car accident which took away much of his boyish good looks--and looking at least 35), they were a strange couple. It's made a lot worse by the writing for her character, as, at times, she acts like a 17 year-old and is a very weak person in the film--way too weak to have possibly been the partner of a strong but quiet Clift. He was simply too bright, too strong-willed and too deep for such a shallow girlfriend.
Another problem with the film is that although it often seemed gritty and cynical (especially when it came to the plot involving the vicious and manipulative lady played by Maureen Stapleton) and at other times the film seemed way too idealistic and silly--such as at the end, when the horrible Ryan inexplicably changes character. This simply would not happen in real life--especially with so little provocation. It seemed more like a plot device than a realistic portrait.
Overall, while the film has many shortcomings, it also is quite intriguing and worth seeing--if you can look past its limitations.
The film begins with Montgomery Clift sitting in a bar--talking with Myrna Loy. It seems that she is the wife of a newspaper editor and Clift wants a job--so he's cultivated her friendship. However, so far, all his attempts to meet with her husband to talk about a job have come to naught--until the husband, Robert Ryan, enters the bar. During this initial meeting, it's soon obvious that Ryan is an abrasive man--and one of the most contemptibly cynical men I've ever seen in film. Each and every word he spoke dripped with disdain and sarcasm--and he was a very easy person to hate. One reviewer felt this was too easy a role for Ryan, as he did play quite a few characters similar to this. However, none were ever this horrible and it still didn't change the fact that his character was electrifying and created a strong visceral hatred within the audience--now THAT'S effective.
Despite Ryan being a jerk, he decides to give Clift a chance on the paper. At first, it's inexplicable--why would such a nasty piece of work do something nice? However, later you learn that he's given Clift a job partly to mess with his mind and partly to make sure that this happy and optimistic man (Clift) could be ruined--made into a cynic as well. How he intended to do it is to give Clift the "lonelyhearts" column to do--figuring all the hard-luck stories he'll read about will crush his optimism. While this doesn't exactly happen, Clift does take the job very seriously...too seriously. He is torn apart and tormented by the stories and his inability to solve these problems---and Ryan has a ball watching him suffer! And, if you've seen many Clift films, you'll know that he was an actor who seemed to love to suffer--playing similar characters in quite a few films. There's a lot more to the story than that this, but I don't want to ruin it by saying a lot more.
Some aspects of the film worked very well. Ryan and Loy made for a fascinating couple--despite their age difference (which was handled well by powdering Ryan's hair a bit). His nastiness and her quiet misery was something to see! Clift, also, was quite good. However, there was a huge casting problem in the film. Clift's girlfriend (Delored Hart) was completely wrong for the film. Part of it was just bad casting. Ms. Hart appeared to be only about 17 years-old (though she was actually 20) and with Clift looking significantly older (particularly since this film was made after his serious car accident which took away much of his boyish good looks--and looking at least 35), they were a strange couple. It's made a lot worse by the writing for her character, as, at times, she acts like a 17 year-old and is a very weak person in the film--way too weak to have possibly been the partner of a strong but quiet Clift. He was simply too bright, too strong-willed and too deep for such a shallow girlfriend.
Another problem with the film is that although it often seemed gritty and cynical (especially when it came to the plot involving the vicious and manipulative lady played by Maureen Stapleton) and at other times the film seemed way too idealistic and silly--such as at the end, when the horrible Ryan inexplicably changes character. This simply would not happen in real life--especially with so little provocation. It seemed more like a plot device than a realistic portrait.
Overall, while the film has many shortcomings, it also is quite intriguing and worth seeing--if you can look past its limitations.